Hello,
everyone! We hope that you are doing well after last Friday's “bombogenesis”
nor'easter. We also hope that you’ll be able to come down and shop for
your fruit and veggie favorites at our next delicious Pathfinder Produce
market, Thursday, March 8, from 1 to 5 p.m.
I have a
few upcoming Pathfinder news notices to share:
- Our OVER 21! Community Classes are getting underway this
week with Yoga Sessions and ZUMBA, and our arts & crafts classes are
starting up in April. Check out the downloadable registration form for more information.
- We'd also like to encourage everyone to sign up by April 1 for our upcoming DASH TO THE
SPLASH sessions, starting on April 9. This year's Dash program will
feature meetings each Monday at 4:30 p.m. (for six weeks), to motivate you
and help you train for the FIFTH annual SPLASH PATH at Pathfinder Village
on Saturday, May 19. More information is available at our website. This year's Splash Path will be raising
funds to start a new Mobile Market to help make fresh and tasty produce
more available in our neighboring communities.
- Also, in celebration of World Down Syndrome Day on March 21
(3-21), everyone at Pathfinder Village will be showing off their crazy
socks; it's part of a global movement to celebrate the contributions and
talents of people with Down syndrome. We invite everyone to take part by
wearing their craziest socks on Wednesday, March 21. If you take a
picture of you and your friends wearing your crazy socks, and send it by
messenger to our Pathfinder Village Facebook Page, we'll share it with our
fans and friends. It will be a lot of fun to see how creative and colorful
everyone can be on this growing celebration of our brothers and sisters
with Down syndrome.
****
One thing I've loved about my work
at Pathfinder Village is the “can do” attitude that everyone shares in making
our Village a vibrant, responsive, inclusive community. That "positivity" shines
through every day as residents and students discover new skills and access more
opportunities, and as staff and senior leaders work together to build
meaningful programs that reflect and amplify our mission: Pathfinder
Village will promote a healthy, progressive environment that respects the
individual, supporting a life of value and independence.
That mission is our anchor and has
led us to some amazing places … like our upcoming Splash Path 5K,
which will celebrate its fifth anniversary this year on May 19. Another
“can do” project that has been incredible has been Pathfinder Produce.
Last week, as I was doing my
shopping, I took some time to visit with my friends from Pathfinder's Adult Day
Services, who do a great job in organizing and running the market each week.
Brandy was at her station, handing out shopping baskets and greeting customers.
Jared, now one of our bloggers, was running the produce scale. Daniel, a 2017
graduate of Pathfinder School, was learning the finer points of how to tally
purchases on the register (something I'm not able to do, fumble fingers that I
am). My good friend Chris, our anchor man at the check-out, was helpful in
bagging my purchases. As I was getting my purchases together, there was a lot
of friendly talk and smiles … something I look forward to on Thursday
afternoons.
In the summer months, my friends
at ADS also contribute to the market by growing fresh items at the three hoop
houses and the Button Greenhouse. By having some locally grown items on sale,
it nicely balances out the other produce items we feature at the market. This
addition, which started back after we built our first hoop house through the
proceeds of one of our first Splash Paths, is another way that synergy has
taken root at Pathfinder.
Contrary to what Shakespeare
opined about the Ides of March, this March 15 will be a red-letter day at
Pathfinder Produce as we celebrate our FIFTH ANNIVERSARY; it’s quite a
milestone to have created a reproducible solution to local fresh food desert
dilemmas. As it has on each anniversary, the market will offer special 5%
discounts on produce purchases, spotlight some prize drawings and give-aways,
and start Pathfinder's official observance of World Down Syndrome Day, which
officially is celebrated on March 21 – the 3-21 numerical representation of the
date symbolizes the three copies of the 21st chromosome, which is
the genetic coding of Trisomy 21.
That week will also signify
a new growth phase for the market: On Monday, March 12 and Tuesday, March 13,
we will officially introduce our new secure online ordering platform and drop-off
service for our loyal customers. Each week, we will post our market offerings
online and customers can place orders up through 11:59 p.m. each Tuesday.
On Thursdays, as we're getting our
Edmeston market ready, our ADS members will fill online orders and have them
ready for pick-up by our patrons who appreciate healthy produce but may not
have time to shop. Our “premium picked produce packages” will be available at
two locations, either at the Edmeston main market (1 to 5 p.m.) or at our
satellite location at the United Methodist Church, 17 Church Street, Morris
(from 3 p.m.). Payment will be made online through major credit cards; those
who use the USDA's Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program cards may
telephone in orders at (607) 965-8377, ext. 187, on Mondays and Tuesdays during regular business hours.
We will continue with our weekly
“veggie blog” and Facebook posts to share our market headlines, and will keep
you posted as we work toward creating the new Mobile Market, a project that
we're working on with area 5-2-1-0 Committee members, the Bassett Research
Institute, private donors and other community partners who appreciate how
important a healthy diet can be for everyone.
In closing, everyone at Pathfinder
Produce and Pathfinder Village thanks you for a tremendous five years of the
market, for your steady patronage and support, and for believing in “the little
market that could!”
Until next time, eat well and be
well,
Lori (and the entire Pathfinder
Produce All-Star Team)
