Poughkeepsie Farm Project is proud to announce an innovative new program, Poughkeepsie Food Power At Home, which will put fresh produce into the kitchens of 100 students and their families beginning this month. “Poughkeepsie Farm Project’s mission to cultivate a just and sustainable food system in Mid-Hudson Valley is taking an important step forward by piloting Poughkeepsie Food Power At Home,” said Ray Armater, Executive Director of Poughkeepsie Farm Project. “We are grateful for a $15,000 grant award from the Henry Nias Foundation for this project.” Fittingly, the kick-off for Poughkeepsie Food Power At Home coincides with February 28, known in the farming community as the official Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) day. Poughkeepsie Food Power At Home will give students in PFP’s after-school programs mini CSA shares, which are also available for purchase by the community at large through Poughkeepsie Farm Project.
Poughkeepsie Food Power at Home is a unique culinary enrichment program because it provides all the tools necessary for students to take their newly honed cooking skills to the next level in their home kitchen. As teachers know, true mastery of a skill results in the authentic performance of that skill. The intergenerational sharing that will result from Poughkeepsie Food Power At Home is, quite literally, the icing on the cake of the ongoing after school programs conducted by the Poughkeepsie Farm Project.
Poughkeepsie Food Power At Home will allow 100 students to take home three Poughkeepsie-grown produce items every week, such as carrots, kale, and beets. Each week of the program, students will prepare recipes in their Poughkeepsie Food Power garden club and will then bring that recipe – and the produce necessary to recreate it – home, to then prepare it with their families. It will provide students with the resources to take home not only produce, but the nutrition education and skills they are cultivating in the classroom. The pilot program will run through April 2020, and will start up again in September 2020 for the new school year.
“One of the strengths of Poughkeepsie Food Power At Home is that it invites and enables a strong family engagement component,” said Jamie Levato, Education Director for PFP. “Our students are learning about food from different cultures, seasonal eating, and growing their own food. This project enables the students to continue building their skills and knowledge at home with their families.”