Kegel's Produce Playground is used by its customers and community groups as a meeting place. It also serves as a venue to educate consumers about the produce it offers.
Lynne Zanowski, left, a representative of NRG and parent volunteer for St. Leo the Great school, discusses the process of grant writing with students from Smith Middle School at Kegel's Produce Playground. NRG is an initiative of Penn State Hershey's Center for Nutrition and Activity that empowers teens to be active and eat healthy.
Students from St. Leo the Great take a break during a meeting at Kegel's Produce Playground to enjoy fruits and vegetables. The meeting focused on introducing healthier foods to their school through securing a Highmark Healthy High 5 Grant, which is part of a five-year promotion of the Highmark Foundation.
Playing with your food is not always encouraged, but it is at Kegel's Produce Playground on Old Tree Drive in Lancaster.
The "playground" is a full-service kitchen used by Kegel's Produce to educate customers, clients and students about nutrition, diet and its produce.
In addition, the kitchen is rented out by clubs or organizations whose members don't have the space needed for their events. In the past, the space has been used by the League of Women Voters, The Janus School and cooking classes to benefit Schreiber Pediatric Center.
According to Deb Brooks, customer service manager of Produce Playground, many of the customers find it convenient that there is space to cook where guests dine and observe the cooking.
The convection ovens, prep areas and cooking stations are located so those sitting at the high-top tables and low four-top tables in the eating area can see what is being prepared.
The kitchen also is used as a testing ground for recipes and new ways to use the produce sold by Kegel's. For Valentine's day, more than 1,000 strawberries were dipped in chocolate in the kitchen and sold to customers through orders that were picked up at the "playground" by Kegel's.
The location also was used recently by students from Solanco School District's Smith Middle School and St. Leo the Great School. These students met at the professional-grade kitchen to share ideas about securing a Highmark Healthy High 5 grant. The grant is part of a five-year, $100 million children's health promotion of the Highmark Foundation. Past recipients of this grant proposed to promote physical and nutritional well-being, educate about school violence, boost student's self-esteem and work to eliminate bullying.
The Smith students helped write the grant request during the 2007-2008 school year and the school is reaping the benefits now during the 2008-2009 school year. The grant awarded the school $9,000 for fruits and vegetables and $1,000 to promote the grant.
The Smith students were involved with the grant writing through NRG (short for "energy") and worked with NRG representative Lynne Zanowski and Smith Middle School nurse Sue Myers. Zanowski is the parent volunteer for the St. Leo school group, comprised of six seventh-graders. Although the grant proposal is in its infancy, many of the group are exuberant about getting healthy foods among their cafeteria's offerings.
"Right now we just have canned fruit," Sara Palczewski, 14, said. "That's why I pack. That's why I care about working on this grant."
Brooks serves as an adviser to the students from Smith Middle School and helps to customize their fruits and vegetables from week to week.
"That's what is nice about these grants," Brooks said. "They have more leeway in how the food can be used. We can send them veggies that can be used in stir-fry or put out as is."
Kegel's supplies and packages the fruits and vegetables for each school's order. The company can send the precut produce to the schools in large or small quantities, according to each school's specifications.
During a recent tour of the facility, the Smith and St. Leo students were able to see how the produce is stored and what each fruit or vegetable requires in its handling.
"That's what is nice about having the Produce Playground right here," Brooks said. "It gives people a little more inspiration to work with the fresh fruits and vegetables."
"It is so rewarding to see where it comes from and educate ourselves even more," front-person Tyler McCardell, 14, said. McCardell, who admitted he initially got involved with the group as a way to get out of class, traveled to Washington, D.C., last year to take part in an NRG conference and is well-versed on the topic of nutrition and the initiative to get more healthy foods in schools.
The other students agreed and talked of their involvement with Kegel's as beneficial and an asset to both the business and the school groups.
The fee to use the facility is dependent upon the use. Kegel's customers, nonprofit organizations and fundraisers are charged a lower fee than a private company would be charged, Brooks said.
"We try to give back to the community as much as possible and welcome these type of functions," Brooks said.
Kegel's Produce Playground, 392-6612, extension 637
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E-mail: cesbenshade@lnpnews.com