FarmOn! Advice: Think Carefully about your Food’s Origin
A recent gathering of support for the FarmOn! Foundation at Café of Love in Mount Kisco offered an instant reminder of what constitutes the most ideal farm to table food. Just because something states “farm” does not mean a food is healthful, reminds FarmOn! Foundation founder and Family Farm advocate Tessa Edick.
Edick said it’s critical to distinguish between food from “factory farms” versus “family farms; each one of us needs to give careful thought to where the food on your plate came from, and also, at least once a day, choose a local ingredient!”
“It can make a big difference in your family’s healthy development when you eat fresh food acquired directly from a family farm,” said Edick.
While learning about FarmOn!, attendees enjoyed a platter of family farm fresh veggies and also Café of Love’s signature fried chick peas and beverages from the café’s beautiful lounge area while learning about FarmOn!. The event was sponsored by Houlihan Lawrence.
Wescthester Ambassador for FarmOn! Jackie Graziano of Katonah has embraced the group’s efforts to not only bring family farm fresh ingredients into area schools but to also teach the value of farm fresh eating to kids. Programming is intended to be fun and innovative, says Edick. One program “celebrating local farms and local foods” is described below. Notes Graziano: “I love the idea of an “edible education” in schools; it brings everything together!” — Grace Bennett
“Back to the Farm” Series in Pougkeepsie
FarmOn! Foundation in partnership with the Poughkeepsie Farm Project and local support in the Poughkeepsie School District is presenting “Back to the Farm,” this month, a month-long series of events in the Poughkeepsie School District celebrating local farms and local food.
FarmOn! Staff explain that there’s a missing link between farms and schools and that it’s essential that we bridge it for the health of our children and our communities.
FarmOn! Foundation is sponsoring the school cafeterias to serve a locally-sourced dish featuring Slope Farm to School New York State Ground Beef to more than 4,000 students district-wide throughout the month. Students at all four elementary schools will also enjoy tastings of local raw vegetables provided by the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, local milk provided by Hudson Valley Fresh, local apple taste tests lead by the Dutchess County Department of Health’s nutrition educator, and cooking demos and tastings of locally sourced vegetable dishes presented by chef interns from the Culinary Institute of America.
Every 2nd grader district-wide will visit the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, seeing how food is grown, harvesting and tasting fresh vegetables straight from the ground. Every 4th grader district-wide will visit a Hudson Valley Fresh dairy farm and see how cows are milked, tasting fresh milk and yogurt. Other interactive activities and demonstrations are also planned.
MORE ABOUT FARMON! FOUNDATION:
FarmOn! Foundation is a non-profit organization of professional farmers, educators, influencers, supporters, nutritionists, students, and community leaders invested in the future of local agriculture and building local economies. FarmOn! Foundation creates and funds youth educational programming and is working to preserve family farming in America with an edible education. Some of FarmOn! Foundation partners include TasteNY, John Varvatos, Bronx Zoo, NYS Department of Ag & Markets, Local Economies Project, Hudson Valley Fresh, Maple Hill Creamery, Yelp, Whole Foods Market, Modern Farmer, Cornell University CALS, NBA, Disney, and SUNY. In the first-ever partnership of its kind, students at SUNY Cobleskill, Morrisville State College and the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will be able to live and work at the Foundation’s working farm– FarmOn! at Empire Farm in Columbia County in New York State gaining real life experiences in the food production field. Learning will range from seed and soil crop planning to growing food, harvesting it, producing, and cooking food in a commercial teaching kitchen and extend all the way to custom growing for New York’s institutions, caterers, retailers and chefs.
For additional information, please visit www.farmonfoundation.org.
The NEXT MHA Community Conversation is November 4! Inside Press is the Proud Sponsor
Inside Chappaqua and Inside Armonk Magazines are proud sponsors of this MHA Community Conversation. Please look for event coverage in the upcoming Winter/Holiday edition at theinsidepress.com.
Join the SToPP 5k to End Sexual Assault on College Campuses, October 17-18
On October 17-18 The New Agenda Foundation launches its first annual SToPP 5k walk/run to raise awareness, empower campus peer leaders, and educate college administrators about ways to end campus sexual assault.
The SToPP 5k is a call to action to Stop. Think. Protect Peers against a rising tide of sexual violence on campus. A Washington Post-Kaiser Foundation survey found that 20 percent of college women (and 5 percent of college men) reported being sexually assaulted. A Journal of Adolescent Health study found that 19 percent of college women are assaulted freshman year.
The main event run will take place in New York City’s Battery Park, October 18th at 9:00 am. Other college campuses across the nation will join in satellite local run/walks and awareness raising events, including the University of Rochester, University of Delaware and Cornell University. To join, host your own event or receive more information, go to SToPP5k.org.
The New Agenda president, Amy Siskind, called the recent Association of American Universities survey finding that more than 1 in 5 female undergrads at top schools suffer sexual attacks utterly appalling and hugely motivating. “This isn’t just a wake up call,” Siskind said. “It is a call to action.”
In a Huffington Post op-ed titled “The Secret Your Son Isn’t Telling You About Campus Sexual Assault,” Siskind said parents have largely abdicated their responsibility to have conversations with their sons about sexual consent.
“So instead, our media and social media, of which our teens consume more than 11 hours per day, are doing the teaching,” Siskind said. “Having a talk with our daughters — which of course we should continue to do — is not a solution to this epidemic. Not to overstate the obvious; but college women aren’t doing the raping!”
Research continues to show an alarming lack of awareness about what constitutes rape and callousness about harm to victims. “There are troubling attitudes and beliefs about sexual violence that must be challenged to ensure colleges are safe places to learn and grow,” Siskind said. I’m pleased to see campaigns like New York’s “Enough is Enough”spread across campuses to educate students, parents, faculty and administrators.”
The legal and political environments are moving toward greater accountability, but faster progress is needed. Affirmative consent laws in California and New York make having sex without clear consent illegal. American Bar Association delegates passed three resolutions advocating for victims of campus sexual assault.
Finally, 124 colleges are under investigation by the Department of Education for mishandling cases of sexual assault, and the list is growing. Colleges, under increasing scrutiny, are finally rethinking and revising their processes for handling sexual assault. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is sponsoring a bill, the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, which will mandate that colleges create strict guidelines for handing sexual assault.
“The New Agenda Foundation’s SToPP 5k gives us a chance to raise awareness about the harsh realities of campus sexual assault,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “These alarming rates of campus violence are unacceptable and we have a responsibility to make sure our colleges and universities are safe for students. SToPP 5k has given us the unique opportunity to stand together, unified in our efforts to combat these crimes. As the school year gets underway, lets continue to have an open conversation about campus sexual assault because our students deserve real accountability without fear of their safety.”
Siskind said to underscore the SToPP5k mission, “Our rallying cry is “It ends here. It ends now!” October 17-18 New York City and nationwide. To sign up, host a race on your campus and access social media assets for promoting the SToPP 5k go to www.thenewagenda.net and www.stopp5k.org
Day of SCRABBLE® to benefit the Community Center of Northern Westchester
Want to test your SCRABBLE skills against some of the top players in the USA? Get a taste of tournament SCRABBLE? Or enjoy a casual game with neighbors and friends?
Come to the Katonah Library on Saturday November 28 for three fun SCRABBLE opportunities:
Main Event: 7-game fully rated NASPA tournament
Newcomers Event: 3-game unrated afternoon tournament for new players
Community Game Play: stop by and enjoy a casual game with neighbors and friends
Full details and registration information:
http://bit.ly/katonahscrabble
Silent Auction, raffle and tournament proceeds will benefit the Community Center of Northern Westchester. CCNW provides food and closing for thousands of households across more than 30 communities in Northern Westchester. Their services are offered free of charge to all who need help. Please visit:http://communitycenternw.org
