Kimballs at Youth Summit

Kristin and Mark with horses Sam and Silver and dog Jet. (Press-Republican photo)

The Food Day Youth Summit on October 24 will kick off with a keynote presentation by Mark and Kristin Kimball.

At their 500-acre, horse-powered farm in Essex County, Mark and Kristin raise enough vegetables, meat, maple syrup, and grains to feed a hundred “farm members” for a full year. Kristin has written about their life in the Adirondacks in her acclaimed new book, The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love. This dynamic duo has given lively presentations to audiences of all ages.

Food Day—October 24, 2011—is a nationwide event that aims to change the way Americans eat and think about food.

In northern New York, high schools across the region are being invited to celebrate Food Day at a Food Day Youth Summit, to be held on the campus of SUNY Potsdam. GardenShare, in partnership with the Health Initiative, will host high school students for a day of dynamic presentations, interactive workshops, and discussions centered around these topics:

• Enjoying healthy food & creating healthy diets
• Considering alternatives in local agriculture
• Ending hunger & making food affordable
• Understanding our food system
• Curbing junk-food marketing to kids.

Every high school in the Adirondack-North Country region is invited to participate, and there is no fee to attend. In addition, GardenShare is offering financial aid to assist schools with the cost of transportation and substitute teachers.

You can help by encouraging someone you know—a high school student, teacher, food service staff, or school administrator—to send a team to the summit.

Space is limited and preregistration is required.

For full information about the Food Day Youth Summit, registration, and school scholarships, click here.