The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Mt. Kisco Child Care Center

Where Caring Meets Cooking … Local Restaurateurs Give Back at “Feed Me Fresh: An Edible Evening”

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Cocktail hour at Feed Me Fresh event

For 21 years, the Mount Kisco Child Care Center (MKCCC) has brought the community together through its annual “Feed Me Fresh: An Edible Evening” event. The fundraiser unites families, friends, and local restaurants through celebrating the importance of supporting early childhood education, healthy nutrition, and accessible childcare.

However, those who are close to the cause know that the Feed Me Fresh tradition is more than just a fundraiser. Thanks to the generosity and dedication of partnership restaurants who donate their time and provide services, staff, and delicious food, Feed Me Fresh has become an evening defined by community collectivity.

Maarten Steenman from La Tulipe preparing dessert

Dawn Meyerski, Executive Director of MKCCC describes the event atmosphere as unique to most fundraisers. “The evening is far more casual,” Meyerski says. “The cocktail hour, when all the restaurants are there and people are mingling, is very different from other fundraisers. This one seems to feel like home. I think the people who come feel that.”

That warm, inviting energy is exactly what keeps longtime supporters like Exit 4 Food Hall Owner and Chef Isi Albanese returning year after year. A part of Feed Me Fresh since the beginning, Albanese shares that his favorite part of the night is the social cocktail hour.

“That’s when the magic happens,” he says. “You see the board members, supporters, chefs, and volunteers come together – tasting the best of what local food has to offer, sharing stories, and making connections.”

“For restaurant owners like me,” he adds, “it’s our chance to give back, to connect with the people who support the Center, and to remind everyone that great food and great causes go hand in hand.”

Isi Albanese Chef and Owner of Exit 4

Proceeds from the event, held at Ivanna Farms in Mount Kisco, go towards supporting scholarships for local working families so that they may have access to high-quality childcare and early childhood education.

When thinking about an outstanding aspect of the evening, Tommy Calandrucci, Co-Owner and Chef at both Stone Fire and Basilico restaurants, admires the event landscaping.

“They put the place together beautifully,” he says. “It has this farm-to-table feeling.”
Feed Me Fresh not only celebrates community involvement, it also reflects the Center’s core values and mission. Through the delivery of a fresh, healthy plated dinner by Calandrucci’s team, and all the other participating restaurants, who prepare amazing tastings, the event brings to life MKCCC’s commitment to nutrition and hands-on learning, incorporating their “Feed Me Fresh” curriculum.

“I am happy to be a part of something that is local and touches the families in our community,” says Calandrucci about his continued involvement in the annual fundraiser.

This year’s Feed Me Fresh event will be held on September 20th and will embrace a festive fig theme. Regarding his culinary plans for the evening, Isi Albanese says, “I’m not sure yet what we’ll serve, but I promise it’ll be great.”

Teaching Children Values Through Sowing Seeds

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Mount Kisco Child Care Center (MKCCC), a non-profit providing nurturing support and equitable access to high quality childcare for working families in Westchester, has a program called Feed Me Fresh, which is their seed-to-table nutrition education curriculum. Dawn Meyerski, Executive Director of MKCCC, provided insight into this program, through an enlightening interview.

Dawn outlined the program’s commitment to teaching children about organic and whole natural foods, emphasizing how they incorporate them into their daily diet. MKCCC has set up gardens in the children’s playground, where they learn to grow and harvest their own vegetables. From planting to picking, cleaning, cooking, and eating what they have grown, the Feed Me Fresh program is flourishing. The aim of this program is to not only feed the children well, but to teach them where their food comes from.

To help the children find interest in eating healthy foods, MKCCC incorporates cooking activities into their lunch period. For example, the children have learned to make spinach and cous cous from scratch. This program has allowed children at a young age to get connected to and build a love for vegetables and natural foods. They have found children are willingly trying broccoli or spinach, foods typically challenging for younglings to eat, when they grow them and put them into recipes. Dawn remarked, “Although not all children would rather eat kale than cookies, most of them enjoy the kale!”

The Feed Me Fresh curriculum was inspired by Alice Waters, a woman who ran a food service in California using edible schoolyards. Initially, MKCCC was skeptical about adopting this program, but in 2002, after moving to a new building they implemented garden beds and began their journey to mirror the service in California.

Over the years, Susan Rubin, the farm educator at MKCCC, brought a similar seed-to-table program to the Mount Kisco Elementary School. Dawn added that MKCCC school age children had a “higher food IQ” because of the program in the preschool. These children stand out where they are more knowledgeable about growing different vegetables and crops, as well as being passionate about eating fresh vegetables.

In the summer months, MKCCC summer campers, which range in age from kindergarten to fifth grade, work in their own playground gardens and grow any crops of their choice. They also manage their own farmers’ market, selling their fresh produce on the front porch of MKCCC. This program not only teaches children about nutrition and eating healthy but also helps them learn to market and research prices for their products. The money the children earn is split: half goes back to expanding their gardens, and the other half is donated to a charity of the campers’ choice, teaching the children the importance of giving back to the community. Donations have been made to the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, NY, the Mount Kisco Food Pantry, and a Louisiana strawberry farmer who lost his crops due to weather conditions.

The children’s favorite crop to grow is the three sisters’ garden: corn, beans and squash. In this garden, the three plants work together and grow around each other. The crop symbolizes cooperation, and the children learn valuable skills in teamwork, both in the gardens and the kitchen.

“While we live in a world where anything is accessible in 30 seconds, the children learn about patience and gratitude as they wait for their gardens to prosper. They learn to manage their frustration and slow down, understanding that not every plant grows. These children learn the natural process and cycle of growth, realizing that you can’t make a carrot grow any faster than a carrot grows.” Dawn explains that this hands-on program teaches the children to “not be afraid to eat spinach.” MKCCC has high hopes for the future of the program and are looking to maintain and expand it.