A Gainesville catering company has just finished delivering about 1,000 healthy meals to families of children receiving chemotherapy.
Eat The 80’s co-owner Carlee Marhefka and her husband, Chris, developed the idea of a healthy meal delivery service while training clients at their gym. Marhefka said gym-goers would constantly make excuses as to why they didn’t eat well.
They knew they wanted to help others with their business, she said. In 2015, Eat The 80 started its Meals that Heal Program, through which staff members deliver healthy meals to families at UF Health Shands Hospital and North Florida Regional Medical Center.
“We knew by doing that we were giving them something that would really nourish them and also something that was going to help them save time so that they could spend it with the people they care about,” she said.
In January 2015, the company raised $3,000 through a Facebook campaign, Marhefka said.
In a few months, the Climb for Cancer Foundation awarded Eat The 80 a grant to continue work without having to use company profits. Eat The 80 serves 25 meals a week for free, Marhefka said.
Sarah Houder, the executive assistant at Eat The 80, said the members of the family always have big smiles on their faces when she and the team deliver the meals.
“A lot of times, the families are having quiet time or the kids aren’t quite feeling up for chatting,” Houder said. “But they are always really grateful to receive the meals, and they always say thank you so many times. It feels really great.”
Marhefka said she plans to keep doing the meals as long as she can.
“This is something that we enjoy doing, and if we are able to give back we are going to continue to do that,” she said.
