Newfield schools receives grant for food service project

The Newfield Central School District (CSD) was recently awarded grant funding to help improve the meals served within its school buildings.

The district received $548,445 from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health for a two-year period.

“We are very excited to be awarded this grant,” said Perry Gorgen, Newfield CSD’s business administrator. “We’ve been working for several years to transform the food we serve our students, and those efforts have put us in position to really benefit from this grant opportunity. The grant aligns with our goal of cooking delicious meals, from scratch, with simple ingredients — this [grant] will provide us with more information, recommendations and the funding to put those new ideas into practice.”

The district is calling the food service project “Cooking from Scratch at Newfield CSD,” Gorgen said. It includes the following goals:

• Analyze the ingredients in school meals
• Promote whole-food offerings and reduce use of ultraprocessed foods and ingredients
• Measure potential changes in meals pre- and post-intervention

“We plan to use the grant to purchase new equipment that will allow us to safely and efficiently process simple ingredients like fresh meats and vegetables,” Gorgen said. “We will also use funds to analyze our recipes, research new practices and put those recommendations into place, through contractual partners and in-house staff.”

According to information from a recent Newfield Board of Education meeting, the grant funding will assist the district in increasing use of “fresh ingredients and reducing ultra-processed foods. It also allows us to work with the Chef Ann Foundation’s research team to evaluate our recipes and make adjustments based on scientific analysis.”

Gorgen noted the importance of the funding, adding that the grant will allow Newfield CSD “to make investments in new equipment and bring in outside resources to look at our current recipes and practices and help us improve.”

“We will certainly be keeping our eye out for any opportunities that fit our mission and our goals,” Gorgen said.

In brief:

Presentation on forests, farms and floods is Sept. 18

Newfield Public Library will welcome Harry Greene of Propagate for a presentation and discussion about forests, farms and floods on Sept. 18 at 6 p.m.

The library provided some background on Greene’s presentation: “How can we grow good food while reducing flood risk? Yards, farms, pastures, and roads all affect the creeks and lakes downstream. Every few years, Tompkins County experiences extreme rain and flash flooding, and almost every year we’re faced with challenging water quality in Cayuga Lake. Can the landscapes that grow our food also catch runoff and slow stormwater? Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees and farming. It scales up to production agriculture, and it scales down to our backyards. Trees hold onto soil and absorb intense rains, but are they profitable for farms and society?”

For more information, go to newfieldpubliclibrary.org.

Upcoming Newfield BOE meetings

The Newfield Board of Education is scheduled to meet on Sept. 18 and Oct. 9 and 23, each time at 6:30 p.m. at the Weaver Conference Room on the second floor of the elementary school at 247 Main St. in Newfield. 

The public is invited to attend. For more information, contact district clerk Lori Owens at lowens@newfieldschools.org. Meeting agendas are available at newfieldschools.org.

Upcoming meetings for the town of Newfield

The Newfield Town Board is scheduled to meet on Sept. 18 and 25, each time at 7 p.m. at the Masonic Temple at 186 Main St. in Newfield. The public is invited to attend either in person or via Zoom.

For more information, contact the town hall at 607-564-9981. Meeting agendas are available at newfieldny.org.

Yoga at the library every Saturday

A yoga for beginners class takes place from 10-11 a.m. on Saturdays at Newfield Public Library..

Phyllis KuanYin Chi, a yoga teacher certified through Yoga Farm in Lansing, leads the class. The instructor has additional training in trauma-informed yoga.

The class is on the second floor of the library. It is suitable for people new to yoga or those with mobility issues. There is also an opportunity to deepen poses for those with more experience.

The class is for ages 18 and older. Participants must have their own yoga mat or blanket. The class is free, but there is a suggested donation of $10.

‘Mind Over Body’ program on Sept. 10

Newfield Public Library will host its “Mind Over Body” program on Wednesday, Sept. 10.

Led by instructor Mitch Raymond, the program will take place on the second floor of the library at 6 p.m. Raymond’s presentation breaks down how to “improve the strength, flexibility, stability, balance and skill” of participants’ bodies through practices that “enhance neuromuscular connection and physiologic well being,” according to a description.

The library recommends bringing a yoga mat to the program, and participants will work with the library’s chairs and tables to assist with stability. The program has a suggested donation of $10.