Sarah Leathers, Healing Meals Community Project
Meet Sarah Leathers, an inspiring entrepreneur and community leader from Avon, Connecticut. Sarah is the founder and CEO of Healing Meals Community Project. This remarkable organization provides nutritious, 100% organic meals to families facing a health crisis while empowering youth and adult volunteers by fostering compassion and leadership skills.
Since its founding in 2016, Healing Meals has delivered 185,000 meals to 2,700 people across more than 70 Connecticut towns. With a deep passion for supporting others, Sarah has created a space where food is a source of nourishment and a means of healing and connection.
A graduate of Union College with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Certified Health and Wellness Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Sarah combines her engineering expertise and wellness education to excel in corporate and nonprofit sectors. Her work has been recognized on platforms like TEDxHartford, where she shared her vision of building stronger communities through food and kindness. And that is exactly what her team does: “Spread Love Wildly.”
What an incredible honor to sit down and talk with her.
Sarah, tell us who is impacted by the work that you do?
"The work we do impacts so many people, starting with our clients. We provide meals to families facing a health crisis, serving up to four people per family. When someone is sick, everyone feels the stress, so we nourish and support the entire household for 12 to 24 weeks. Our goal is to show them that food matters to their health. By encouraging healthier choices—like eating a vegetable or two a day, cutting back on sugary drinks, or drinking more water—we help them build habits that can improve their well-being long-term. And it’s not just their health; it’s the generations that follow. When a family shifts how they eat and live, those changes can become ingrained in their children and beyond. For example, a family that starts off relying on processed foods might end up making small but meaningful strides toward better health—that’s a huge success.
Beyond our clients, our volunteers are deeply impacted, too. We have about 120 volunteers a week in our kitchen, and a third of them are youth. For them, this is a chance to discover purpose and belonging. They build connections—whether they’re widowed, retired, struggling, or just looking for a place to contribute. We create a safe space where they can be themselves, and that matters. Our doors are always open, so the ripple effect extends to the broader community. When a young person leaves here feeling more purposeful or anyone walks away uplifted, they carry that energy to the next person they meet. We’re spreading kindness and joy outward.
Then, there are our corporate groups and donors. Our corporate volunteers feel good about supporting us, and our donors—who may not be able to come in person—know their contributions make a difference. Honestly, anyone connected to Healing Meals is impacted for the better, and that’s what drives us."
Do you have a personal connection to this work?
“My connection to this work is inspired by the meaningful work my sister started and further rooted in my own health crisis. That experience showed me just how vital community is—not only for me but also for my family. Knowing we were supported and cared for made all the difference during that challenging time.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with youth in various capacities—specifically young men in inner-city communities who had dropped out of high school. I helped them through a tutoring program within a construction setting (I have a construction background.) I’ve also worked with children with disabilities, and so seeing people for who they are and the gifts that they bring is very centered around what we do. Ensuring that everyone feels honored for who they are lies at the heart of what we do.”
While rewarding, purpose-driven work can also require significant energy from us. Do you have a self-care routine that helps you maintain balance?
"I have to laugh when you ask about my self-care routine because, honestly, it's been a work in progress. Over the years, I’ve come to realize—and accept—that I’m a workaholic. It’s taken time to acknowledge this, but I’m grateful for the people in my life, like my sister and my husband, who call me out when I need it. In the past, my wake-up calls often came in the form of getting sick, almost like the universe telling me to slow down and listen. A major health crisis a few years ago really stopped me in my tracks for 18 months, and that became a turning point for me.
I’m slowly making improvements. This past year, 2024, was definitely a step in the right direction. I’ve started getting up early in the morning to take time for myself—whether it’s learning something new, walking, or working out with weight training or Qigong. Exercising in the morning makes me feel so much better, more alert, and on task throughout the day. Prioritizing self-care more each day has also been possible because I’ve built a strong team I can rely on, which allows me to let go of the day-to-day a bit more. It’s still a journey—I’m nine years in, and it’s taken me this long to realize how important this is for me.
On a personal level, I have four grandbabies, and I want to make sure I’m present and healthy for them. That’s been a huge motivator. To hold myself accountable in a fun way, my husband and I have started using a calendar on our refrigerator to track our daily self-care activities, like what exercise we did or how we cared for ourselves. He’s very competitive, so I know this will keep him motivated too! It’s a fun and encouraging way for both of us to stay on track together."
Curious. Has there been a particular challenge in your own life, where looking back now, you realize it was a pivotal moment in your own growth journey?
"A pivotal moment in my growth journey was my experience at Procter & Gamble. I went into that job right out of college as a mechanical engineer, thinking I was going to become the first female president of the company. But as I navigated corporate America and the ‘good old boys’ club mentality, I realized what people were doing to get ahead, and it just didn’t sit right with me. I had to ask myself, ‘How are you going to show up in the world, and what are your standards?’ Eventually, I made the incredibly difficult decision to leave. I had no job lined up, but I knew I couldn’t continue - it wasn’t sustainable. I was dealing with an ulcer, I weighed just 100 pounds, and I thought to myself, ‘This isn’t right for me.’ Walking away from such an incredible opportunity felt like a brave decision, and even though it was hard, I look back now and think, ‘You’re a badass for leaving.’
I grew up in a family where I was lucky to have a dad who always told me I could do anything I set my mind to, as long as I worked hard at it. That belief gave me the courage to pursue engineering school, even though I wasn’t the top math or science student. I loved physics and was intrigued by it, so I thought, ‘I might not make it, but if I don’t try, I’ll regret it.’ And I was okay with that uncertainty. Engineering school wasn’t easy - there were 45 men and only eight women in the program - but I stayed true to what felt right for me and pushed forward.
After college, I received lots of job offers. Companies at the time wanted to show they were hiring women, and I felt fortunate for those opportunities. But my time at Procter & Gamble taught me that I needed to figure out what was truly right for me, and that experience was pivotal. Later in life, I took another big leap: starting a nonprofit in my 50s. I had no idea what was involved, but I believed the right people would come along to help, and I knew it was something I needed to do. These moments—leaving a corporate career, taking risks, and trusting in the process—have shaped who I am and how I show up in the world."
Community and mentorship are so important. Is there a particular person or persons that you’ve drawn inspiration from over the years?
"My dad had one way of being with us, but my mother was truly the epitome of kindness, grace, and community. She never worked outside the home, but she volunteered for everything, and our doors were always open. She was happiest when our table was full of people she could nourish—she was an incredible cook. My dad traveled the world for work, and whenever he was home, he’d invite salespeople or colleagues over to our house instead of taking them out. So we grew up in a family where gathering around the dining room table was a way of life. That spirit of generosity and kindness shaped us deeply, and both of my parents modeled what it meant to show up for the community. My dad was incredibly generous financially, and seeing how they both contributed to the world around them was simply what we knew.
I’ll never forget it. I came home from school in third grade. I told my mom about a girl on the bus from Switzerland whose family had just moved into town. My mom immediately said, 'Get in the car.' She drove to their house, got out of the car, walked up to introduce herself, and Irene and my mom became the dearest of friends. We are still friends with their family today. They were here for three years, and that experience stuck with me. We had lived in Germany for a short period, so my mom knew how hard it was to come into a community where you didn’t know anyone. Her feeling was, 'If I can be that one person to open the door, then that’s what I’m going to do.' That example of kindness and connection was incredibly important to me.
Growing up in a congregational church, there was a woman, Nancy Nation, who ran the Christian Education Program and was definitely a mentor for me. Similar to my mother, she showed up for others in such an inspiring way. I was really drawn to her positivity—she always saw the light, just like my mother. My mom always saw her cup as overflowing, even in her later years living in assisted living.
I actually have a bracelet that says, 'Choose joy,' because she used to say, 'I meet people here who wake up grumpy, and it’s so much easier to wake up and be joyful—and so much harder not to.' That was a standing thing between us, and it always stuck with me.
She was an incredible woman. I remember coming home from college - or even my friends coming home from college - and they’d go to see my mom. Or being on the sidelines of soccer with my kids. If my mom wasn’t there, people would ask, 'Where’s your mom?' And when she was there, everybody would check in. She just had this way about her—you wanted to be around her. The same with Nancy. I found that people were drawn to them both, and I’ve often reflected on what it was about them that made such a difference. It gave me an opportunity to see how I want to be in the world.
Sarah, what advice would you offer the woman with a whisper in her heart to lean deeper into her power?
"Own it. Do it. If the universe is nudging you, listen - because whatever your gift to the world is, the world needs you to live it, even if it’s hard. When we lean into what we’re called to do and really trust it, the benefits far outweigh the challenges. You will reap the rewards a hundred times over when you’re living in alignment with your purpose.
I am so much more open to what’s being dropped in my lap - opportunities that I might not have noticed before because I was too stressed or caught up to see through the fog. It takes time and work, but we all have those voices in our heads reminding us of what we’re called to do. Sometimes, that calling might lead you to take action yourself, or it might mean getting involved with an organization where you can offer incredible value because of what you bring to the table. Either way, you have to trust that nudge.
I think back to some of my experiences—like going from Procter & Gamble to working in construction. I was hired by two men who started a company: one of them was all in on hiring me, while the other said, ‘She’ll never make it.’ That lit a fire in me, and I thought, 'Oh, really?' I was completely out of my comfort zone, but I figured out how to maneuver through it, knowing I was okay with it being hard and that I was going to get there.”
