LOCAL EDISON WOMAN CREATES “A TASTE OF COMMUNITY”
TO FOSTER INTERGENERATIONAL HARMONY BETWEEN TEENS AND SENIORS
The first luncheon event of A Taste of Community will be held at The Frog and The Peach restaurant in downtown New Brunswick on Saturday, February 25. Krystal Vickers, a stay-at-home mother of 3 and resident of Edison, developed the idea for this event as an assignment for a Leadership Course she is attending. The task was to create an event that fosters positive community relationship building based on something the student was passionate about. “For me, that’s food. I love food and the social conviviality of breaking bread together. I also see a need for connection between the teens and seniors focused on community. The goal is to create an environment that fosters awareness, gratitude and connectedness between these two generations.”
The idea is for the teens to help serve the 3-course lunch to about 40 seniors, and then to have an opportunity for both teens and seniors to chat and get to know a bit about each other. When Krystal shared the idea for the event with her friend Pat Pearson, she was so inspired that she contacted Rosalyn Ford, the founder of The Angel Network of Bluegrass, Inc. of Somerset. The Angel Network of Bluegrass, Inc. is now on board as well.
Ms Vickers approached the New Brunswick based teen group S.L.O.T. -- Student Liaison Outreach Team – and the New Brunswick High School Key Club to participate in the event and seniors are being recruited through local churches.
Betsy Alger, an owner of The Frog and The Peach, is enthusiastic about this community event. “There are a lot of events for restaurants to be involved in. They are all for a good cause and we just can’t do every one of them. This one hit home. It’s an opportunity to be a part of the community in which the restaurant has resided for over 20 years! I love the grass roots quality of it and am indeed caught up in Krystal's passionate enthusiasm.”
The Frog and The Peach is donating their space and the food and labor from their kitchen to make the main course for the lunch, which will be a Honey and Thyme Glazed Organic Chicken with Butternut Squash and Spinach Spatzle. Chef Dan Slobodian, formerly of Dan’s on Main and now a culinary educator that works with kids, will help coordinate the day’s activities with The Frog and The Peach Chef Bruce Lefebvre. In a nice New Brunswick synergy, Chef Slobodian once worked at The Frog and The Peach, and Bruce Lefebvre worked for Chef Dan when he first started cooking.
Other local businesses are participating as well, with New Brunswick restaurant Delta’s providing the salad course, and Mr. Tod’s Pie Factory of Somerset will be donating individual pies for each guest.
For interview opportunities or to send a photographer or cameraman to cover the event, please contact Krystal Vickers, tel. 732- 819 – 9297. The event will be held at 12: 30pm at
The Frog and The Peach, 29 Dennis Street, New Brunswick, tel 732-846-3216.
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