Here at Heirloom, high-quality healthy food is something that we think everyone should have access to without having to spend hours in the kitchen. Finding the time to create a balanced meal and have it on the table by dinnertime isn’t always a simple task, and nutrition can easily be thrown out the window. That being said, we’ve partnered with our friends at The Villages Grown to bring nutrition to your table from a local hub of freshness. Our menu rotates based on the season, and a new Heirloom menu is being curated towards including what The Villages Grown and its farm partners provide as well as expanding the selections that we currently offer.
Although nutrition should be a valuable asset in everyone's life, in reality it is much more than that, it is a necessity. A couple of weeks ago we attended a meet-and-greet event at Aviv Clinic, where we focused on encouraging healthy eating habits for their three-month hyperbaric oxygen therapy program's patients. Oxygen therapy is more beneficial to patients when paired with a nutritious diet. That being the case, the limelight of the event was the importance of locally grown, healthy foods - and teaching former and current Aviv patients their part in escorting that into their communities. That consisted of sampling some of our current menu items, featuring vegetable cups, cheese and charcuterie, roasted beets and pecan salad with hemp (a new crop to The Villages Grown), salmon cakes garnished with The Villages Grown’s cilantro, nut-free pesto pasta, and strawberry almond crisp. In accordance to the theme of the event, each table was decorated with a vase that contained lettuce and herb plants, which emulated botanical arrangements. 
Kathryn Parker, a dietitian with Aviv, mentioned that several of Aviv's patients wanted someone to prepare healthy meals for them. With our ready-to-eat meals, patients at Aviv were introduced to a service that conveniently supplies meals with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. As stated by Rosie Gizelt, our project manager here at Heirloom, “There’s so many more nutrients in there when you don’t have so many preservatives. Upcoming offerings will be designed with the needs of Aviv patients in mind, for instance, reducing salt and incorporating more superfoods." Our food is made fresh in the morning, and delivered to residents that afternoon. In order to keep the process easy, villagers can order online via Heirloom for weekly home delivery here.
As stated by the President of Puff 'n Stuff, Tracy Vessillo, "I couldn’t be happier. The partnership is phenomenal. If we could get this out as a vehicle for a healthier community, I couldn’t be more proud.” We were humbled to hear that this event gained enough interest to be featured in The Villages Daily Sun newspaper - which aided in spreading the word about the service we provide to our community and surrounding areas.