By Annette Pinder

Andrea and John Neidrauer took a leap of faith in 2019 when they launched their business, Terra House, in the village of Akron. John, a classical guitar performance major from SUNY Fredonia with a passion for food, was teaching private lessons, while Andrea, who holds a master’s degree in cancer prevention research from the University at Buffalo, was working as an integrative nutritionist at the time.

“As a nutritional counselor, I realized that although families believe personal health is important, they either lack the time to prioritize it or don’t know where to start. A staggering 86% of the calories Americans consume come from highly processed foods filled with additives, chemicals, dyes, sugar, and unhealthy fats. Consequently, we have a population that’s overweight but nutrient-deprived, leading to alarmingly high rates of chronic disease,” says Andrea.

It is this knowledge, passion, and combined experience that motivated Andrea and John to leave their current jobs and venture into the food industry. “Terra House started as a meal pick-up service, providing healthy, fully prepared meals for families. When COVID hit, sales tripled. In 2021, we attempted to run an Artisan Café for a few years, but inflation and staffing issues made it hard to manage. However, our classes and catering kept growing, so we decided to focus on the aspects of the business we loved and that also worked well for us,” Andrea explained.

John and Andrea view food as medicine, and this belief guides their business, which offers a meal pick-up service three days a week, a rotating weekly menu, full-service catering, and cooking classes. “In our classes, we really focus on the quality of ingredients. Pasta is made from two main ingredients: eggs and flour. Using high-quality ingredients, such as free-range eggs and local organic flour, produces nutrient-dense food, and the rich flavor reflects this. People often think that eating healthy is too costly. We teach our class participants how to include clean eating on a budget,” says John.

Terra House offers a wide range of public and private classes for people of all ages. They have held many courses for Girl Scout troops, birthday and holiday parties, and currently run a monthly inclusion cooking program. Last year, they also began hosting companies for team-building workshops.

“We love holding these classes. It’s an opportunity to teach an invaluable skill while also demonstrating the importance of food for our health,” says Andrea. Terra House has recently started focusing on working with local businesses through catering and classes to support wellness in the workplace. She also hopes to become more involved with local schools and youth programs.

John and Andrea have three children, ages 22, 15, and 12, and they live in Akron with their dog, cats, chickens, and bees. They enjoy gardening, homesteading, traveling, hiking, kayaking, spending time with family, listening to music, and, of course, cooking and baking! To learn more about the services, menus, and classes offered by Terra House, visit their website at www.terrahouseakron.com.