Mount Kisco Child Care Center Parents to Hold 'Feed Me Fresh' for Sustainable Food

On Saturday, Sept. 25, the sixth annual Feed Me Fresh benefit will be held at Ivanna Farms to support the Mount Kisco Child Care Center (MKCCC).

The event demonstrates the center's sustainable nutrition program by incorporating food tastings from local restaurants around Mount Kisco, Bedford, and Armonk who practice the use of local produce from farms around the area.

While the theme supports families making healthy lifestyle decisions, the event itself benefits the scholarship program for the 161 kids enrolled at center from ages 3 months up to 11 years old.

"Fifty percent of our families are on some kind of scholarship assistance," explained Dottie Jordan, the Exective Director at MKCCC. "The need for scholarships is critical so Feed Me Fresh and other special events at the center really help pay part of their tuition."

Besides the feature tastings, jazz music will be performed and a popular silent auction has been organized at the event which will also be honoring several individuals for their dedication and commitment to the center:

• Pam Moskowitz of Chappaqua: As the volunteer coordinator at the center, Moskowitz has created a dynamic program that coordinates over 50 active volunteers every week.
• Cynthia & Patrick Brennan of Katonah: As parents of children at the center and owners of Table Local Market in Bedford Hills, the Brennan's "represent and embrace the whole concept of supporting local farmers and sustainability in the community," according to Dottie Jordan.
• Mimi Edelman of Katonah: Through her passionate work as owner of I&Me and as a farm educator, Edelman helped initiate and create a curriculum for the seed to table nutrition program at the center.

On a recent visit to the center, Dottie Jordan provided us with a tour of their on-site food and nutrition program, where children grow vegetables outdoors on the property while learning the process of where food comes from. Eventually, this food is cooked and eaten, while also used for farmers market events held at the center.

Just like the vegetables in the backyard at the center, the Feed Me Fresh event has grown since it's inception. The first year saw 150 people turn out while this past year had 300 in attendance.

This event will mark the first year where parents from the MKCCC are organizing the event, with Lauren Wysmuller of Mt. Kisco, and Lauren Schwarzfeld, of Golden's Bridge, volunteering their efforts as co-chairs. Both parents each have two children who attend the center and understand the importance of their involvement in the annual benefit.

"Being both working parents of two young children, we are definitely strapped for time with trying to fit everything in but it really has been an eye-opening experience," explained Wysmuller. "It really has put us in touch with a portion of the community that we wouldn't have interacted with as much."

As the event is held to support the families who are in need of scholarship assistance, it has been a challenge to gather the interest of parents who can't afford to attend the event. The solution was to find ways for everyone to contribute and the involvement of parents has already been very rewarding.

"It shows the parents of the center just how much the community cares about the center and about what we're doing here," said Schwarzfeld. "To see how many people who don't have any tangible ties to the center come out and lend their support financially, it's really nice."

• Where: Ivanna Farms, 153 Wood Rd., Mount Kisco
  Date: Sept. 25 
  Time: 6:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.
• Website: http://www.mkdcc.org/sixth-annual-feed-me-fresh.html
• Phone: 914-241-2135
• Email: feedmefresh2010@gmail.com
• Price: $175 per ticket
• Featuring Tastings From: Bellizzi, Café of Love, Captain Lawrence Brewing Co., Coffee Labs Roasters, Crabtree's Kittle House, Feed Me Fresh Kitchen, French American Bistro, The Flying Pig on Lexington, John Boy's Farm, Johnny Gelato, La Tulipe Desserts, Myong Private Label Gourmet, North, Quaker Hill Tavern, Table Local Market, Taylored Menus, Village Social Kitchen & Bar