Green for Pink, Countryside Conservancy and Mustard Seed Market have teamed up to help 10 area cancer patients find a fresh approach to treatment recovery through a four-week program focused on learning to select and prepare locally grown produce. The pilot Seasonal Market Share Program will begin June 30 at Countryside Farmers’ Market at Highland Square.
“Eating properly is difficult enough when we’re well,” explains Green for Pink founder Tara Reynolds, who created the program based on her own breast cancer experience. “Add to that the cumulative fatigue and side effects from radiation and chemotherapy and something as simple as planning, shopping for and preparing a healthy meal can seem overwhelming. This program helps bridge the space between cancer and a new, healthy life after cancer.”
“We are always happy to help introduce customers to vendors and the local, seasonal products we have at the markets,” said Erin Molnar, Farmers’ Market manager at Countryside, “especially when the goal is to positively impact their health and their lives. Fresh from harvest produce is packed with more of the nutrients that we aim to get from fruits and veggies and can really maximize the benefit of what we are feeding our bodies.”
Gabriel Nabors, second-generation owner of Mustard Seed Market & Café, added that he is excited to partner with and support this program. “My mother, Margaret, brought our Golden Standards to Northeast Ohio in 1981 as one of the first pioneers to advocate natural foods. Community members can count on us to do the homework for them and ensure their pantry is filled with the cleanest ingredients around.”
The Seasonal Market Share Program is available at no cost, although participants must fill out an application and be selected to participate. The program includes:
• Countryside Farmers’ Market at Highland Square tour
• Mustard Seed Market Highland Square location tour
• Mustard Seed Market’s presentation, The Current State of Food
• Recipe demonstrations at Mustard Seed Market
• $20 to spend on produce at the market each week
• Produce tote
• A copy of Kris Carr’s best-selling cookbook, “Crazy, Sexy Kitchen: 150 Plant-Empowered Recipes to Ignite a Mouthwatering Revolution”
• Easy seasonal recipes from Green for Pink
• Nutritional literature from PCRM – the Physician’s Counsel for Responsible Medicine
• Life-long membership to Green for Pink’s private online chat group
Applications and more information are available by contacting [email protected].
If the pilot is successful, the partnership hopes to take 10 more patients through the program this fall and expand the program for 2017. Green for Pink is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting nutritional support to cancer patients and their families. The organization advocates a healthy diet for quality of life throughout diagnosis, treatment, recovery and beyond.
Countryside Farmers’ Market at Highland Square is located on the corner of West Market Street and Conger Avenue and is surrounded by the eclectic businesses of the Highland Square neighborhood.
Countryside Farmers’ Markets are free and open to the public. For purchases, customers may use cash, check, credit card, or the Ohio Direction Card. Ohio Direction Card holders are also eligible for Carrot Cash, a program that provides matching funds for purchases of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Countryside Conservancy manages three thriving farmers’ markets and offers educational programming for farmers, backyard gardeners and home cooks with their Countryside U courses. Through its Countryside Initiative program, the nonprofit has reestablished working family farms in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. To learn more visit www.cvcountryside.org.
Mustard Seed Market & Café is the largest locally-owned retailer of natural, organic and healthy lifestyle products in Ohio. It’s been part of the community since 1981, with two locations in Akron and one in the Cleveland suburb of Solon. A locally owned family business, the market’s specialty is providing high quality natural and organic foods, natural health and beauty products, with education and information regarding food issues and good practices. For more information, visit www.mustardseedmarket.com.
