Get healthy at Fox Valley Food For Health's Spring Market
There isn't much doubt that the ladies who support Fox Valley Food for Health as kitchen mentors for teens in the program know a thing or two about preparing healthy meals.
Even though the program has been extremely helpful for patients dealing with cancer and other serious illnesses, it also makes sense to make available foods that are simply much better for you than most of the stuff we eat.
Those involved with Fox Valley Food for Health created a concept called The Market that launched last December as a “Get Ready for the Holidays” idea. The Market showcased the skills of the kitchen mentors who taught the high school teens how to prepare meals for the ill. It was mainly to allow others to sample and purchase highly nutritious food.
The idea continues with the Spring Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 30, at PB Kitchen Design, 200 S. Third St. in Geneva.
But it's bigger and better, as the market now features the mentors and other supporters, all of whom have their own businesses featuring the types of food, snacks and treats that are good for you.
The event has the special promotion of selling the popular “Anytime Crunch” created by the team in the Fox Valley Food for Health kitchen. It will also have homemade mustards, krauts, crackers, jams, sweets, and a local cookbook.
All proceeds from the sale of “Anytime Crunch” and Doggone-it! Healthy Dog Biscuits will be donated to FVFFH.
“Our goal is to promote the idea of delicious food as a way to bring our community together and reinforce the notion that our community is a special place where people willingly give back and pitch in to help each other,” said Susan Leigh, a founder and director of FVFFH for more than six years.
Linda McFadden of Past Basket and the PB Kitchen Design has hosted various events for the organization and has helped raise more than $25,000 for charity in the past.
McFadden will share her expertise in table design at the Spring Market, joining other chefs and their businesses. Those include Betsy Sanchez of All You Knead; Marcie Carlson of Morning Walk Market; Mary Krystinak of Mary's Wholesome Living; Charlotte Zierer of The Cookbook You Grab First; and Leigh of Doggone-it!
“Creating a network of people who support each other through good food is not only fun, but develops lasting, healthy relationships,” Leigh added. “Contributing to FVFFH, a charity whose mission this group feels strongly about, is a wonderful side benefit to our efforts.”
Cultivating brands:
Maybe it was only a matter of time before those starting service-oriented small businesses would turn to young people to find out the best use of modern digital tools for marketing.
The Incubator Entrepreneurship Program at Batavia High School features students who have developed and launched startup companies with a simple mission — they help drive traffic, particularly young consumers, to local businesses.
The term “traffic” in this case means more customers, of course, but also more communication and interaction on social media platforms.
Business owners wanting to learn more will want to attend the Incubator Expo from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, April 1, at Pal Joey's Restaurant in Batavia.
GeoFluence LLC is one such business operated by Batavia High School seniors Benjamin Schieber, Reid Coyle and William Fitch. They will share social media ideas and cost-effective measures with business owners attending the expo.
“We are an advertising agency that uses Influencer marketing over social media to advertise in specific areas and specific demographics,” Schieber said. “We provide marketing campaigns that use Influencers in the business community to promote to the teenage demographic and provide the service of creating social media pages on platforms most popular with teenagers.
“Lots of people don't know exactly what we mean by Influencers,” Schieber added. “In a town like Batavia, an Influencer is anyone with a large following on their social media.”
So, you learned something right there. And you're likely to learn more from keynote speaker Nathan Uno of Chicago-based Cultivate, as well as another Batavia High student company called SnapAdventure.
The event is free and Pal Joey's is offering complimentary appetizers and soft drinks.
Dennis Piron instructs the Incubator program and he can provide more information about the program and the expo at Dennis.Piron@bps101.net.
It's a murder:
Pheasant Run's Bourbon Street has long offered that New Orleans-style look, and the St. Charles History Museum is going to play off that historic twist for its annual spring fundraiser.
Vero Voce theater group will present “Murder on the Bayou” interactive murder mystery from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 12, at the St. Charles resort's Bourbon Street setting.
Those attending are encouraged to dress in a 1920s New Orleans theme and look for clues after a “murder” takes place. In between all of that, a three-course dinner and desserts will be served.
Cost is $75 per person, available on the Pheasant Run website.
Helps the pets:
If you love animals and also don't mind a plate of spaghetti, the Homes for Endangered and Lost Pets, or H.E.L.P., has something for you.
The agency is offering an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner fundraiser from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, April 7, at the Riverview Banquets facility in Batavia. As you might imagine, it does have a special name — the SPAYghetti Dinner.
Bake sale goodies and gift basket raffles are also part of the event.
Tickets are not sold at the door, but can be purchased online at the helpinganimals.org website and clicking on the spaghetti dinner tab under “events.”
Tickets are $10, but $8 for seniors 55 and older and children 12 and younger. The banquet site is at 1117 Washington Ave.
dheun@sbcglobal.net