Vanderheyden Partners With Capital Roots
Contact: Cathy Yudzevich
cyudzevich@vanderheyden.org
Vanderheyden Partners With Capital Roots
Virtual Veggie Mobile from Capital Roots
Wynantskill, NY - Vanderheyden has announced a collaboration effort with Capital Roots in Troy, where local fruits and vegetables will be supplied and delivered by the Virtual Veggie Mobile for the more than 230 meals served on a daily basis at our Main Campus in Wynantskill.
The fresh, local produce will be used for both our lunch and breakfast programs at the school cafeteria in the Richard A. Desrochers Educational Center. In the near future, produce from Capital Roots will be served in our Group Homes at several locations in the Capital Region.
"This is just the type of collaborative partnership that Capital Roots envisioned when we created the Virtual Veggie Mobile," says Amy Klein, Executive Director of Capital Roots. "Our online marketplace is filling an important niche in our community, and we are happy to be providing a service that will help organizations, such as Vanderheyden, improve the quality of the meals they provide to constituents."
Vanderheyden's President and CEO Karen Carpenter Palumbo states, "This united effort will serve both our organizations well, and we are thrilled to begin using the program. The Capital Roots produce will also enable us to increase the fresh, healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables we serve our students and staff, at more affordable prices."
Food Service Manager John Piombino says the program is beneficial in many ways. "The Capital Roots website is user friendly, and provides great detail on each produce item, as well as the exact farm the produce is coming from." He adds "the quality of the produce has been outstanding."
Capital Roots is a 40-year-old non-profit organization that nourishes healthy communities with more than 50 Community Gardens, The Veggie Mobile, Healthy Stores, The Produce Project, Squash Hunger and more. Capital Roots is headquartered at The Urban Grow Center, a regional food hub focused on urban agriculture and produce distribution to four counties, enabling Capital Roots to triple our ability to deliver fresh food and services to underserved neighborhoods and low-income families. Learn more at www.capitalroots.org.
Vanderheyden began as the Troy Orphan Asylum in 1833. Today, our facilities provide a safe haven for youth, adults and families who have experienced family disruption, trauma, abuse, emotional difficulty, developmental disability and learning problems. The Richard A. Durocher's Educational Center at Vanderheyden is a Regents accredited 7-12 grade program that provides education to individuals who are at risk of not succeeding at school and those in need of a special education. For more information visit www.vanderheyden.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.