Lakeland-based Vegetation Plant Foods, LLC, is set to move its whole food, plant-based meals into 1439 East Gary Rd, according to a plan review filed with the city of Lakeland. The business has been operating out of Catapult’s commercial kitchen incubator, where customers received locally sourced weekly meal options through Vegetation’s mailing list, placed orders between Thursday-Sunday, and picked up fresh meals the following week.
Co-Founder and Manager Rima Schillinger’s own vegetarian journey began when she turned 50, to fend off the health problems that run in her family. After researching in depth and obtaining a Colin Campbell eCornell degree in Nutrition Studies, Schillinger experimented in her home until moving to the Catapult Kitchen.
“I was at Catapult for three years,” Schillinger told What Not Tampa in a phone interview. “They really are [wonderful]. It helped me figure out how to cook in a commercial kitchen. We had so much support from their staff to get me to the point where I could confidently get into my own kitchen or cafe.”
“The new menu will include favorites,” Schillinger continued, “but will add more seasonal things and also more fresh new items on a rotating basis for our customers.” She assures that they’ll continue pickups for pre-orders, “which were the bulk of what we did at Catapult,” with the potential to offer delivery in the future.
That menu features nearly every iteration of whole foods you can imagine: mini lentil loaves with a zesty sauce, plant-based Thanksgiving meals, soy buffalo tacos, and seasonal specialties like roasted vegetables over quinoa topped with maple dijon dressing; more examples of their offerings are on their Facebook page.
Vegetation suspended orders as of Dec 20, 2022, to focus on preparing the new space, per a social media announcement. Schillinger told What Now Tampa that they’re aiming to open at the end of February or the beginning of March 2023. Vegetation will share the building with Strickland Construction, Inc., a general contractor working in the Lakeland area since 2001, and occupies a parking lot with Mills & Nebraska Architectural Products’ location and 4,800 square foot warehouse.
They’re set to inhabit the space formerly leased by No Guilt Baking, a well-reviewed homemade bakery that opened its doors in 2020 but ran into obstacles due to both the COVID-19 closures and Hurricane Ian, according to their GoFundMe page.
