| MAY 6, 2010 -- For the last two years, Kim Reynolds has dedicated her time to specializing in health and wellness and how they tie into fueling the body.
And as food service manager at the Integrated Day Charter School since the fall, Reynolds has made it a point to make sure the children under her charge eat healthy and understand what that means.
With educating the students, and the public, in mind, Reynolds has put together a Farm to School night from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 6, at the Norwich school.
"This event is to inform, inspire and encourage everyone to know more about local choices available," Reynolds said. "To teach everyone how what we eat affects our culture, health and economy."
Farmers of Eastern Connecticut will provide Reynolds, of Uncasville, with produce she will prepare for sampling for the evening, and there will be information available about Connecticut farms and starting your own backyard garden. Whole Foods, of Glastonbury, is donating reusable bags for families to collect promotional material.
Farms involved include Cedar Meadow Farm and Aiki Farms, both in Ledyard, Holmberg Farms in Gales Ferry, Beltane Farms and Farmers Cow, both in Lebanon, and Stonewall Apiary in Hanover. Most will provide information for visitors to take home, while Farmers Cow and Stonewall Apiary will be on site. Stonewall Apiary will have samples of honey and a display of its beeswax candles, as well as other honey and beeswax products such as lotions and wood polish.
"I would like the public to learn that honeybees are an essential part of agricultural production and that honeybee populations are in decline," Stuart Woronecki said. "Because of this, beekeeping is more important than ever."
Woronecki and his wife, Terri-Ann, are co-owners of Stonewall Apiary. Terri-Ann Woronecki is also the music teacher at Integrated Day Charter School.
Woronecki will bring with him a display of beekeeping tools, protective clothing, a complete honeybee colony the students can take apart and an observation hive with live honeybees.
‘Tasty local products'
"I am hopeful that the public will leave with a better sense of how important it really is to support our local farmers," Reynolds said. "And, furthermore, how tasty local products are. If we can educate our children on how important it is to nourish our bodies and make healthier choices, I believe we will have a future full of happier, healthier people."
The night will also include costumed characters. Costumes of a cow, a chicken, an ear of corn on the cob, a carrot and an apple, were borrowed from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture for students and faculty to dress in for the evening.
"When I became chef at the charter school, I felt it was my duty to educate today's youth about how to properly nourish themselves," Reynolds said. "How to make proper choices. How to limit their intake of sugar and bad fats. I am here to inform, inspire and encourage healthy choices."
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