Supporting the community and organizations that do good is a big part of our mission at PRINT., especially groups that share our food philosophies. One of our favorite groups to work with is Wellness in the Schools. WITS was founded in 2005 by a group of concerned parents and educators and implements a number of cool programs to inspire public school kids to eat healthy, keep fit and respect the environment.
The program we participate in regularly with WITS is the Wellness Labs, which we do three times a year. Wellness in the School picks a seasonal ingredient and the chef instructors go into a classroom, talk about the ingredient, and teach the kids how to make something delicious and nutritious with it. It’s hands-on education where the kids get to learn, make, and taste.
This was our second cafe day of the school year with PS20 — in the Fall we did the Kale Labs, where Chef Charles’s Kale Salad was a huge success.
To celebrate what the students had learned about braising carrots in their labs, we brought in carrots in a liquid form as juice to offer a fun drinkable way to enjoy the vegetable. To make it a little more interesting we juiced local organic purple carrots from Norwich Meadows Farm, in Norwich, NY, and decided to call it Purple People Eater Juice!
The funky color did spin some kids heads for a loop, but once they tasted the naturally sweet fresh juice they were hooked!
We look forward to planning our special event with some PS20 classes at the end of the school year, which will include a garden visit and planting! We also can’t wait to participate in this year’s fundraiser at Riverpark on May 5th.
