Michelle Wohlfarth, owner of the Healthy Living Kitchen (HLK), in Hummelstown, loves that her business has become such a respected resource for seasonal whole foods and healthy living. Over the last year, HLK has really expanded and grown. After moving into a new space, Wohlfarth developed and executed a Culinary Training Program to train teachers that can go into the community and teach others about eating a whole foods diet. There are now five teachers teaching and assisting with classes.

Wolhfarth has also begun building a team of Institute for Integrative Nutrition-trained health coaches. “We are collaborating with these coaches to help them provide their clients what they need from a food perspective. We feel that if we work as a team, it’s much easier for individual coaches to focus their attention on their clients, as opposed to marketing and trying to find new clients on their own,” explains the certified nutrition and wellness coach. “Healthy Living Kitchen offers health coaches a community of services including a professional work space, cooking classes, workshops, products, healthy food options and continuing education that is relevant to their health coaching and well-being.”

Wohlfarth has spent 10 years teaching the community whole foods cooking with onsite coaching, cooking classes and food therapy classes, and has diligently worked to build a brand that is reliable and recognized in the community. “It was not an easy road, since health coaching is a rather new idea in our area. I feel that there are many local coaches that could benefit from the work that I’ve already done and get right into doing what they love—working with clients,” she says.

Wohlfarth firmly believes that health coaching is an integral part of good health. “People want to get healthy, but often don’t have a clear path, and can get confused with all the conflicting information that’s out there. Health coaches serve as this guide and have a very high success rate when they work with people. Whether it's a diagnosis from their doctor or personal goals, they want to achieve; coaches keep people focused,” she says.  

Healthy Living Kitchen provides a space for coaches to work with clients in a professional setting, as well as classes and workshops and healthy food that they can offer to support each client’s journey. “We also offer continuing education for the coaching team and coaching support in the way of team building,” says Wohlfarth. “Each coach has an expertise, and as we get clients, we refer them to the coach that can help with their particular needs.”

Wohlfarth shares that the Healthy Living Kitchen is seeking more coaches to join their team. “We’re seeking coaches who want to benefit from what we have, as well as contribute to the team atmosphere that we’re creating. Our long-term goal is to enhance the healing community with more options. HLK is the hub that will provide the strong base for local providers and coaches to begin speaking the same language. This is how we will begin to close the loop on chronic illness and pain,” she explains.

Healthy Living Kitchen is located at 16 S. Rosanna St., Hummelstown. For more information, call 717-512-0077 or visit HealthyLivingKitchenPA.com.

Erin Lehn Floresca is a frequent contributor to Natural Awakenings magazine.