This past Saturday the Red Hook Community Center and Red Hook Senior Services Committee co-hosted a Senior Expo. The Foundation was happy to table, as well as help plan the food demonstration and Drawdown eco-challenge activity. The Drawdown challenge was a team-based competition to gain points for doing more sustainable things (specifically focused on three challenges related to food: reducing consumption of animal products, smaller portions and being mindful of how hungry you actually are, and eating local). A Red Hook Town team and Bard plus community team competed to earn points and start bettering the planet!
We were so lucky to have Tessa Rothwell (Ambassador Class ‘19), Emma Donohue (Ambassador Class ‘18), Brenna Dolen (Ambassador Class ‘18), and Director Ali Fraenkel’s Dad, Chef Tony, put their all into this event.
Here’s a note from Emma:
The senior expo at the community center was a hit! It was fabulous to see all the different vendors and the people that attended the event. Our involvement with Chef Tony was especially well received, with people coming back for seconds remarking how amazing the soup tasted or that they were surprised that they enjoyed the salad. What made the event special for me was getting to see everyone try a new food and truly enjoying the dishes. One of our goals was to educate people about more sustainable, nutritious food options that were easy to prepare in advance or right on the spot. I think Chef Tony came up with perfect options for the audience we were hoping to engage with. Overall, participating in the expo was a great way to interact with the senior community of Red Hook on a personal level, and it was nice to listen to them tell stories, ask questions, and be excited about the foods we were preparing and the work the Ascienzo Family Foundation is doing around the community. Thank you to Jennifer Van Voorhis and Tony Fraenkel who came and volunteered their time to serve and prepare food! It would not have been the same without your involvement. Thank you to Sarah Ugolini for inviting us to join the day, to Mr. A for guiding us through the planning and involving us in AFF, to Brenna who recently moved west but was very much a key player in planning the event, and to Tessa who did an amazing job with incorporating the Drawdown Challenge into our table.
What a great use of the Community Center space and opportunity to engage the senior community in Red Hook. We all loved being a part of this event!
