Happy fall everybody! It’s the time of year for pumpkin-spiced everything, the Big E, and of course, school open houses! Our FoodCorps Service Member, Greta Shwachman, has been making the rounds at the open houses, spreading the word about ChicopeeFRESH and engaging parents in a brand new recipe contest!

We’re asking parents to submit tasty, nutritious recipes that ideally use local ingredients and are simple to prepare. Easy right? Not exactly, but we are confident that Chicopee parents are up for the challenge!

The goal of the contest is to find delicious, kid-approved recipes that students will enjoy in the cafeteria. The top three recipes will be taste tested with students, and the most popular recipe will be featured on the school menu. The winning parent, in addition to well-deserved bragging rights, will receive a $25 gift card to Big Y, with the two runners up receiving $15 gift cards.

Stay tuned for the results of the contest! We can’t wait to see all of the entries, and more importantly to feature a kid-approved family recipe on our menu!

Hello everyone! My name is Greta Shwachman and I am thrilled to be serving as a FoodCorps service member with the Chicopee Public Schools Food Service Department this year! 

For those of you who may be wondering “What is FoodCorps?”, it is a nation-wide team of AmeriCorps leaders who connect kids to real food and help them grow up healthy. (Find more info here!) Over the course of the 2015-2016 school year I’ll be working with the Chicopee community and the ChicopeeFRESH team to educate students, facilitate fun hands-on cooking and gardening activities, and source more local foods for school lunch trays! You’ll probably be able to spot me in my nifty purple FoodCorps shirt so don’t hesitate to come over and say hi! 

A little background on me: I hail from the South Shore of Massachusetts but just graduated with my bachelors in Health Sciences from Rice University in Houston, TX. I’m passionate about wellness, good food (anything cheesy!), and making sure that every kid grows up to be a healthy, happy, and productive individual! 

We have some exciting stuff in the works so look for more updates from me throughout the year here on our website and blog, as well as on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts! 

If you want to get involved, have any ideas or suggestions, or just want to offer some feedback, please feel free to email me at greta.shwachman@foodcorps.org.