Paying It Forward: Supporting Sulla & Jason
At Vintage Meadows, one of our core values is paying it forward.
Over the years, we’ve experienced firsthand how meaningful the generosity of others can be during difficult seasons. Because of that, we’re always looking for opportunities to extend that same kindness to others when they need it most.
As we’ve built relationships with our customers, we’ve also built friendships. And through those friendships, we sometimes learn when someone in our community is walking through a hard chapter — whether that’s job loss, injury, illness, or the loss of a loved one. While those moments are incredibly difficult, they are also moments when a community can come together and support one another.
That’s exactly why we created our Pay It Forward program.
Meet Sulla & Jason
Sulla has been part of the Vintage Meadows community for more than ten years. She first met Katrina at the Goshen farmers market, and that simple introduction grew into a long-standing relationship with the farm. Over time, Sulla’s love for Vintage Meadows food spread to the people around her — many of her friends and family eventually became customers as well. In fact, her enthusiasm helped play a role in starting the Homer Glen drop site.
For years, Sulla and her husband Jason were living in southern Illinois and working toward a dream of opening a restaurant together. But in October of 2025, life took an unexpected turn.
Sulla began feeling unwell. Little by little, her body started to change. She lost mobility, experienced swelling throughout her body, and needed help with everyday tasks. After extensive testing, doctors finally gave them an answer: she had been diagnosed with Lupus.
Because of her health, they made the difficult decision to stop pursuing their restaurant plans — a dream they had invested a great deal of time and money into. Jason continued working construction out of town, but eventually the couple moved back in with Sulla’s parents as they navigated this new reality.
Then, at the end of March, another medical emergency struck.
Jason had just returned home from a week working his new job in Wisconsin when he told Sulla he wasn’t feeling well. He went to lie down, but woke a couple of hours later with severe chest pain and tightness. His left arm was throbbing and numb.
They went straight to the emergency room.
Jason had suffered a heart attack.
Doctors admitted him immediately and performed an angiogram, which revealed that all three of his arteries were blocked. He needed open-heart surgery. A few days later, he underwent the procedure.
But the challenges weren’t over.
On the second day after surgery, Jason went into cardiac arrest and had to be shocked back into rhythm. Doctors performed additional procedures and implanted an internal defibrillator to help regulate his heart moving forward. Jason is now recovering, but doctors have told him he cannot return to work for about 12 weeks.
With Sulla unable to work due to lupus and Jason recovering from major heart surgery after just starting a new job, the couple currently does not have medical insurance and are facing significant financial pressure.
How You Can Help
This is where our Pay It Forward program comes in.
When you place an order in our online store, you have the option to add a “Pay It Forward” item to your cart.
Each Pay It Forward item represents a $10 donation, and you can add as many as you’d like.
Examples:
1 Pay It Forward = $10 donation
5 Pay It Forwards = $50 donation
10 Pay It Forwards = $100 donation
Every Pay It Forward donation goes directly to the family in need in the form of store credit so they can continue feeding their family with nourishing food without worrying about grocery costs during a difficult season.
100% of your donation goes to the family.
At Vintage Meadows, we cover all credit card and processing fees associated with the Pay It Forward program so that every dollar you give goes directly toward helping them.
A Community That Cares
One of the things we love most about the Vintage Meadows community is the way people show up for one another. Small acts of generosity can add up to something truly meaningful.
If you feel led to help support Sulla and Jason during this time, you can do so simply by adding a Pay It Forward to your next order.
Together, we can help carry some of the burden and remind them they are not walking this road alone.