As part of their field experience, UNH Nutritional Science students — Vivien Fam, Lauren Goldthwaite, Erin Greenhalgh, Sarah Iske, and Kim Mayo — report on Brookford Farm’s recent visit to Dover High School:

Hello Seacoast Community! Mary Brower of Brookford Farm in Rollinsford, NH came to Dover High School to share yogurt on Friday, April 8th. The focus of the partnership with farmers and chefs at Dover Public Schools is to promote healthful, local food. The project provides education first, before naively trying to change habitual eating patterns. The process began as a capstone project researched by Matt Benham, UNH EcoGastronomy Dual Major graduate, and is now in action thanks to a team of five Nutritional Science Field Experience undergrads.

The event was coordinated to promote a simple, organic food option and to provide educational materials that boast the health benefits, like basic nutrition information per serving: calories, fat and protein. The term organic was defined, so students could begin to understand the lasting health and environmental impact of foods grown without the use of harmful fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics or genetically modified organisms. Simply put, raw, local foods taste better!

Brookford Farm provided five gallons of plain, low-fat organic yogurt. For those students who preferred a sweeter treat, a drizzle of local honey was provided as a natural sweetener. Mary also brought pamphlets, posters, and a variety of flours to show the students diversity of products made on the farm.

The high school students were very interactive, as they were able to taste the delicious yogurt and learn information about the farm through pictures, and by chatting with Mary. By the end of lunch, the bucket of yogurt was nearly gone!

The UNH students gathered an outstanding amount of feedback through a survey that they created and distributed during the tasting. The survey responses were quite positive and will provide needed information as to whether or not Brookford Farm yogurt will be added to Dover High School’s yogurt bar. Either way, the event gave our community and high school students a taste of the local food scene. For more information visit [1] www.Brookfordfarm.com or Facebook: [2] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brookford-Farm/142997449050488

Food for thought… another event coming up at Dover High School:

Chef Evan Hennessy, April 29^th 

Later in April, local chef and owner of Flavor Concepts, Evan Hennessy, will be accompanying the UNH students at Dover High School for a cook-in! He will work in the kitchen to whip up a tasty chicken stir-fry that will be given to the students as a 4-ounce tasting. Chef Evan will use all fresh ingredients and locally farmed chicken from Lasting Legacy [3] http://www.llfarm.net/ in his recipe. We hope to “wow” the students into a new menu option. And surveys will be provided as a way to gain feedback. The pressure is on… if the results are high, the menu cycle will include Chef Evan’s stir-fry!