This is the third in a series of profiles of our owners—their stories, and what drew them to Prairie Food Co-op. If you would like to be featured, please let us know! Fill out our blog form here and someone will contact you in the next few weeks.
Tim Weselak
Dr. Weselak is a Prairie Food Co-op Owner that you should know! Dr. Tim, as he likes to be called, is a Lombard native, now living in Oakbrook. He and his wife have three children, ages 5, 2 and 5 months. As a chiropractor in practice for 16 years, he is the owner of West Suburban Wellness in Lombard.
Q: What prompted you to join the Prairie Food Co-op?
A: Fresh, local, organic food – that is what I live and teach my patients. The mission of the Prairie Food Co-op aligns with everything I do. I first learned about it through someone at a local Chamber networking event, who was there talking about the Co-op, and then heard about it more through multiple Lombard connections.
I love that I’ll know where my food is coming from—from local farmers that are an earshot in the radius from the town. I also like to help support the community, too. It’s a win-win.
Q. What introduced you to wellness as a living concept?
A: When I was 15, I injured my shoulder as a pitcher on the local baseball team. After seeing several doctors who couldn’t help me, it was the chiropractor my dad went to for his back who got me healed, pain-free and back on the mound—with no drugs and no surgery. After graduating from Glenbard East High School, I followed a path to become a chiropractor. After practicing in Chicago, I started my own practice in Lombard in 2005.
Q. What makes you tick?
A: Fitness in general, health, nutrition, my family. I play guitar and have been songwriting for years—though I do less of it now with three kids. I love being involved in the community.
Q: What sparked your interest in local, sustainably grown, fresh organic food?
A: Food can be a huge part of the healing process. Chronic inflammation leads to almost all of the major chronic diseases that plague our modern society, and it is fueled by processed food. Eating foods that bring down the inflammation helps you feel and heal better. The more you eat foods from nature, the better off you’ll be.
Q: Tell us about your vision for the Prairie Food Co-op.
A: It’s going to be THE place to go for the healthiest local organic foods. I also think it can be a community wellness hub, with information on other local wellness activities—maybe monthly workshops that would be tied into the items that are sold there.
Q. How have you gotten involved in the Prairie Food Co-op?
A: West Suburban Wellness partnered with the Co-op at an event at Noon Whistle Brewing at the end of January. West Suburban Wellness also offered a great promotion to help generate new Owners by offering a free year of massages to one lucky new Owner. I also mention it to my patients.