For the first time in its 13 year history, The Sylvia Center’s expertise in healthy food and cooking education for children and their families, to which the Kinderhook, NY and New York City-based nonprofit is dedicated, is available to the general public throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond. With sites where it normally conducts its sessions closed,
The Sylvia Center has gone digital with a summer-long schedule of free virtual learning events designed to engage parents and their kids of all ages kids with informative culinary connected fun. Led by the organization’s professional educators and community chefs, the programming takes the form of two cycles of stand-alone virtual family cooking classes presented live and a dynamic weekly series of daily themed videos, ranging from the preparation of plant based dishes and cooking with youngster to food related DIY activities.
The 60 to 90-minute Virtual Family Cooking Classes are live Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 5 p.m., through Sept. 2 and Aug. 20 , respectively (see schedule at www.sylviacenter.org/virtualcooking). Families are encouraged to work in real time right along with then chef instructor as they prepare dishes like Summer Vegetable Mac n’ Cheese, with Strawberry Lemonade and Beet and Turnip Fritters, Herbed Yogurt Sauce. The recipe(s) for each class is posted on The Sylvia Center’s virtual cooking page a week in advance, so participants can make sure to have all necessary supplies on hand. In addition to teaching how to make deliciously healthful food, the classes explore a wide range of topics, such as the seasonality of ingredients, knife skills and sanitation in the kitchen. Registration for any of the classes is via email to theresa.morelli@sylviacenter.org.
The video series on The Sylvia Center’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sylviacenter/ and (brand new!) YouTube https://bit.ly/2DnVKI5 channels, will start Monday July 13 and finish on Friday, August 17. Every video is a complete independent experience and new content for each day’s theme will be posted at noon that day. The daily themes follow:
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For those living near either Kinderhook, NY or Philmont, NY, there are farm fresh ingredient kit options associated with the Virtual Family Cooking Classes.* For each of the Wednesday evening classes, a recipe kit with all the locally sourced ingredients needed for that week’s recipe can be preordered at least a week in advance, and picked up on the day before the class, Tuesday, at Katchkie Farm, 745 Fischer Road Extension, Kinderhook, NY 12106 between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. A $12 donation is suggested.
For the Thursday classes, the Philmont Cooperative offers a complete meal kit brimming with all the ingredients for the evening’s class and more to make a mouthwatering seasonally driven dinner for four. The cost is just $12, which translates to up to 90 minutes of edifying family fun activity and dinner for four for only $12, a rather extraordinary bargain. Again., preordering a week in advance is necessary, with pick-up on Thursdays, the day of the class, from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Philmont Food Cooperative, 116 Main St., Philmont, NY 12565.
To participate in any of The Sylvia Center’s Wednesday and Thursday evening free, live and stand-alone Virtual Family y Cooking Classes, (and to pre-order the associated kits) contact Theresa Morelli at theresa.morelli@sylviacenter.org. A link will be sent to you to attend the class(es) of your choice. There is no registration for Sylvia Center’s weekly series of daily themed videos, which are posted at noon Monday through Friday on the organization’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sylviacenter/ and YouTube https://bit.ly/2DnVKI5 channels for at convenience viewing.
For additional information about any of The Sylvia’s Summer 2020 Program Schedule, visit www.sylviacenter.org/digital-learning or contact info@sylviacenter.org.
*The kits are completely optional. Anyone can participate in the classes for free on the device of their choice in their kitchen or elsewhere.
About The Sylvia Center:
Founded in 2007 to address the growing tide of childhood diet related disease burdens within overlooked communities, The Sylvia Center educates young people on the connection between food and health, empowering them to lead healthier, more productive lives.
Always focused on community impact, The Sylvia Center strategically partners with community-based organizations, schools, religious organizations, and local businesses who share its values in order to deliver programming in all five boroughs of New York City, and Columbia County in upstate New York. The education team is composed of trained chefs, Registered Dietitians, nutrition educators, sanitation experts and educational professionals.
The Sylvia Center’s robust catalog of student-centered programs includes ”Cooks for Health, “ Teen culinary Apprenticeship” the farm-based “Full Plate on The Farm” at Kinderhook, NY’s organic Katchkie Farm, where the organization maintains a learning center and garden.
The Sylvia Center is a 501(b)(3) nonprofit is located at 2417 Third Avenue, Suite 300. Bronx, NY 10451 and The Sylvia Center at Katchkie Farm, 745B Fischer Road Extension. Kinderhook, NY 12106. Email: info@sylviacenter.org
