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09/23/2019 12:00 AMSweet potato brownies. Cheesy scalloped zucchini. Cauliflower parmesan. These aren't your grandma's recipes -- but they're just as tasty, and lot better for you. If you're ready to take a few easy steps towards healthier eating and cooking, Branford Gets Fresh is ready to help.
Everything you need to know – healthy recipes shared by home cooks and local chefs, easy ways to bring more fresh food and produce into your family's diet, healthy eating tips and nutrition updates – is online and at your fingertips at the Branford Gets Fresh public Facebook page, which recently went live.
"We're a local initiative which is focused on providing opportunities for residents of Branford to learn more about healthier foods and how to cook them," said group founder and Branford resident Frank Carrano. "So the whole idea behind it is that we can improve our quality of life by becoming healthier by eating foods that are better for us."
Carrano served 10 years on Branford's Board of Education before retiring as board chair in 2013 and then helped to co-found non-profit Branford Arts and Cultural Alliance (BACA). He said Branford has all the right tools to succeed in eventually redefining itself as a "Blue Zone;" and Branford Gets Fresh is a great first step towards that goal.
The term "Blue Zone" first popped up in 2005, when National Geographic pointed out regions of the world where people live much longer than average. Now, there's a "Blue Zone" movement sweeping communities across the country, said Carrano.
"My personal, long-term goal is to develop Branford into a Blue Zone, which is a designation a community can achieve by enacting various programs that support healthier living," he said. "I thought a good place to start was eating healthy foods and cooking. In the end, the goal of the Blue Zone is people live longer and live a happier life, because all the things that affect the quality of your life are being supported throughout the community by organizations that provide those services. So this is step one toward that goal."
Branford Gets Fresh is backed by a coalition of community organizations which signed on to join the effort, including Community Dining Room (CDR), Branford Food Pantry, Chartwells (which is Branford Public Schools' food service provider), Soundview Family YMCA, East Shore District Health Department (ESDHD), Branford High School (BHS) Culinary Arts, Connecticut celebrity chef and private culinary teacher Betty Ann Donegan, Shoreline Eldercare Alliance, Branford Community Garden (BCG) and Branford Stop & Shop.
Representatives from each group began meeting in May to set the framework and goals for Branford Gets Fresh.
"I sort of gathered the group just by thinking about people who might be interested in such an initiative because of the things they do and the organizations they're involved in," said Carrano.
ESDHD Public Health Educator Barbara Naclerio said the gathered groups bring a lot to the table to assist with the mission of Branford Gets Fresh.
"We all, in our own way, promote healthy eating, so as a collaborative, we can all help each other," she said.
Carrano and BHS Culinary Arts teacher Mindy Baker (who also came up with the group's name) curate the group's Facebook page. There, residents will find much more than the answer to that burning question, "What's for dinner?" Naclerio said ideas that pop up on the Facebook page can help busy families make healthier meals.
"We have so many families who have a lot of activities going on, and one of the things they want to know is how do you make healthy meals when you're in and out of the house a lot? This can help," said Naclerio.
Kids can get involved in the effort simply by coming along on a shopping trip to help pick out the ingredients. At Branford Stop & Shop, kids can also help by hunting for one, two or three "Guiding Stars" on healthier food items. The stars indicate good-to-best nutritious options, said Melissa Gillon, Store Manager.
"We're all about healthy eating," said Gillon. "With Guiding Stars, you can follow stars on our tags and signs throughout the store, rather than reading nutrition labels. It's a quick way to find what you need for healthier eating."
The store also carries regional and local produce. On a smaller scale, BCG provides very local produce to help the community, and is very interested in working as a partner with Branford Gets Fresh to ramp up the volunteer group's efforts to help the community get behind growing their own produce, said BCG's Malaine Trecoske.
"We have [an] all- volunteer effort to grow produce for Community Dining Room, and an educational component that we're working on spreading on how to grow you own," said Trecoske.
CDR has already done much to elevate its home-delivery and dining room meals to include more fresh produce, and also brings community connections and support to Branford Gets Fresh, said CDR volunteer Courtney Rosenberg. She's helping the group to develop its first fundraising event, "A Fresh Taste of the Branford Shoreline" set for Sunday, Nov. 6, from 6 – 8 p.m. at Stony Creek Brewery, 5 Indian Neck Ave.
"We have many local restaurants presenting dishes with foods that are tasty, delicious and healthy for people to taste; and all of the proceeds from the night are going back to the [Branford] charities [of] Community Dining Room, Feed Branford Kids and Branford Food Pantry," said Rosenberg.
Tickets, $50, are available now and can be purchased on the link posted at Branford Gets Fresh.
Donegan, who will be cooking up a surprise to dish out at the benefit on Nov. 6, said she's been a fan of healthy eating for decades; and has plenty of delicious ideas and recipes for kitchen chefs and family cooks looking for healthier options.
"I've been preaching healthy food long before it was popular! I've been doing this since 1975," said Donegan.
Outside of the home, groups including BHS Culinary Arts, Chartwells, Soundview Y and Branford Eldercare will help spread the news and interest in healthier eating and promote lifestyle upgrades through exercise and wellness programming, said Carrano.
"Soundview Y brings the marriage of exercise and healthy eating -- they're going to be developing programs that will focus on that. For Chartwells, their goal is to increase the amount of fresh food and produce they buy for the students; and Shoreline Elder Care is a resource we want to tap into, as well," said Carrano.
On Friday, Sept. 20, Chartwells/BPS head chef John Turenne shared a post on the Branford Gets Fresh Facebook page showing photos from a "Student Choice – Food Your Way" menu taste-off at BHS featuring fresh produce in sides and main dishes (barbecue vs. Indian) served up by BHS Culinary Arts students.
Posts contributed by members of the coalition and members of the community are welcome, said Carrano.
"We hope that this will be the vehicle through which people will learn more about healthy cooking and healthy eating, and that they will be posting recipes to share and posting pictures of what they ate," he said.
Branford Gets Fresh Facebook page already has nearly 400 followers who can access healthy food recipes, share ideas and food techniques. The page is also drawing response from local restaurants sharing posts of healthy menu items with fresh ingredients. Branford Gets Fresh wants to encourage more restaurants to add healthy, fresh ingredient alternatives to their menus.
As a statement released by the group summarized, "Healthy eating can lead to a healthier community, by impacting the incidents of diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. A healthier community is a benefit for all of us. This is the first aspect of a plan to effect community wide changes which can provide opportunities for all of us to lead healthier, happier and longer lives."