Remember a few months ago, when I tried to eat my way through this?
Defeat, thy name is Belly Buster Challenge.
Man, my body just recoiled remembering the mere attempt. In any case, I recently returned to the scene of this adventure of a sandwich, Classic Café, to make a complete culinary 180. Because as it turns out, Classic Café also takes part in a local initiative I recently learned about called "Creating Healthy Places."
"Creating Healthy Places" uses a New York State Department of Health Grant of $875,000 for a five-year project to make Elmira a healthier place to live. Its focus is on improvement of parks, increased access to public spaces, community gardens, and working with restaurants to provide healthy options for diners.
The list of participants? Too huge to list here, but includes a wide variety of local organizations that continuously work toward those goals, and representatives from each who come together monthly to collaborate on their progress.
So I ventured out to see some of the fruits of their labors, with my first stop being the café, which is one of three restaurants on board so far (the others being The Starlite Room - where they don't fry anything, they bake - and Hill Top Inn). If you've visited any of them lately, you might have noticed this type of signage:
All three have healthy menu options, and if you choose one, you receive a coupon for $2 off that entree. So this Chicken Caesar Wrap I got? Cost me $5.83. It was a freakin' steal.
Other healthy items at Classic Café, all marked in the menu, include a Garden Burger, Classic House, Grilled Chicken, and Chef Salads (low-cal dressings available), Deli or Garden Salad Wraps, a Woodstock Veggie Sandwich and a Veggie Panini.
(There's also Mrs. Dash available on the tables, and I'll be honest, I had no idea what that was, but it's a brand of salt-free seasonings. Live and learn, and find cool recipes.)
My next stop was this site, located at 362 West Church Street:
It's a vacant lot with a water spigot sticking out of it right now, but that spigot is the first step toward its becoming a Community Garden. The Near Westside Neighborhood Association is looking to plant fruit trees, fruit bushes and vegetables, and to put in a gazebo and seating area so small events can be held there as well.
The "Creating Healthy Places" folks are also looking to utilize MEWUs at various locations, including Divan Elementary. (Does that not sound like a great name for a "Star Wars" robot? MEWU?)
MEWU could have been 3P0 and R2's buddy.
MEWU, though, stands for Mobile Edible Wall Unit, and looks like this:
The MEWU is a great source of fresh fruits and vegetables that can easily be moved around to make sure its plants get enough sun, and in the case of the school, is a great way to teach kids about growing their own healthy food.
My last two stops were to check out the first playgrounds that have been completely revamped as a result of this initiative. And I mean completely revamped.
Here's "The Before Picture" for McKinnon Park:
Here's "The Before Picture" for McKinnon Park:
It's not even practically screaming for a makeover. It's flat-out screaming for one.
And here's what it looks like now:
Fact: The surface temperature of Saturn is -288 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yeah, I went down the slide. Found out that doesn't go QUITE as smoothly when you're 28.
The swings were delightful, though.
The swings were delightful, though.
And there was just as impressive a change over at Southside's Millers Pond Park. Then:
And now:
Fact: A black rhino's horn is composed of congealed hair.
If you've never been to Millers Pond, by the way (as I hadn't), you should check it out. It's a pretty spot.
The best part about all of this is that it's only the beginning. The initiative aims to include more restaurants and healthy dining options, more park makeovers, increased, safer accessibility (addressing sidewalk, crosswalk, street light, signage issues, etc.), and more. So I'm excited to see what this transformative group rolls out in the next few years!
For questions about "Creating Healthy Places" contact:
Connie Scudder, Creating Healthy Places Grant Facilitator
St. Joseph's Hospital, 555 St. Joseph's Blvd., Elmira, NY 14901
(607) 795-8001, CScudder@stjosephs.org
