MOUNT VERNON — Senior citizens crowded the Mount Vernon Public Square on Saturday for the inaugural Seniors Get Fresh Day, held during and after the weekly Farmers Market.
The event, hosted by the Knox County Task Force for Older Adults and staffed by its members, was the brainchild of certified executive chef and local-foods supporter Paul Higgins of Howard, and his company, A Journey in Taste, Ariel Corp., Fox Hollow Farms, OSU Extension-Knox County, Summerville at HillenVale and Wal-Mart also sponsored the event, which was organized by Higgins, Autumn Health Care, Centerburg Senior Services, Knox County Local Foods Council, Mental Health America, the Ohio Eastern Star Home and The Station Break.
More than 40 vendors set up booths to distribute information, and the Knox County Commissioners issued a proclamation declaring May 30 “Knox County Seniors Get Fresh Day.” Musical entertainment was provided by the PresbyTones from First Presbyterian Church of Mount Vernon, members of the Mount Vernon High School chorale and musician James Taylor.
Nathan Arnold, intern with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, arrived from Columbus to promote the Ohio Proud Program.
“We’re here today to support Ohio’s economy in buying local,” Arnold said. “We travel the state promoting Ohio’s agriculture, frozen food, fresh food, beverages, wines and more. Whenever you see our Ohio Proud logo, you know that you’re buying products that are at least 50 percent grown, raised or processed in the state.”
“This is a special senior citizens day,” said Hank Boyd, Centerburg. “They’re setting us up with rhubarb tarts, too.”
The tarts, made during a volunteer event also organized by Higgins, were made from locally grown rhubarb and presented to every senior who visited the event. Nearly 1,000 tarts were made, and the majority distributed through the home meal delivery programs in Knox County.
“We like to come up to the farmers market,” said Marlene Carter, who lives near Utica, “and spend some time on the Square. We meet our friends here. I love fruits and vegetables. I could live on them.”
“I could live on green beans,” added her husband James “Buck” Carter. “For 40 years I had a farm and raised a big garden. We won a lot of trophies for having the biggest yield on one acre of ground. But I had a stroke, then I had a hip replacement and now I rent out my ground. But I still put in a big garden.”
“This is the beginning of the growing season,” Higgins said. “The idea behind this was to remind our seniors to eat their fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s a countywide effort. We’re an agricultural community and this is a way to kick off the growing season and remind everyone to eat fresh. As someone said, ‘You know your doctor, you know your dentist, you ought to know your farmer.’ The emphasis is on not only eating fresh, but also eating safe and knowing where your food comes from.”
“We’ve gotten together to encourage seniors to eat fresh, and what better place to start than our own farmers market?” asked Mary Gillan, marketing director at Country Club Retirement Campus and a member of the Task Force for Older Adults.
“I think it’s important that seniors are made aware of the wonderful resources we have in Knox County,” said Pat Law, owner of Home Instead Senior Care, “including this wonderful farmers market.
“To me, this is what this community is all about,” she added, gesturing at the large crowd, the food and the booths. “The giving, the sharing, the generosity, not only to seniors but to everybody.”
“Isn’t this neat?” added Dodie Melvin, executive director of Mental Health America. “I think we should do this all the time.”
Even Troy Cooper, Extension educator-horticulture at OSU Extension-Knox County, was surprised by the enthusiasm and the size of the crowd.
“Wow,” he said. “It’s been great.”
