Decorate a Gingerbread Cookie at the Windmill and Help Feed the Hungry
PENN YAN – Starting Nov. 25 at the Windmill Farm and Craft Market, every gingerbread cookie you decorate with gumdrops and icing will mean brighter holidays for area residents who rely on Foodlink to help put meals on the table.
“We are beginning a Gingerbread Cookie Decorating event which will run several weeks.” Anyone may buy a cookie for $2 to decorate,” said Jeff Squires, the Windmill’s board president. ”The market will provide everything that’s needed, including decorating help. The $2 will go to Foodlink, the Rochester based food bank and the Windmill will match up to $1,000 in donations.”
Squires said he contacted Foodlink, the Feeding America food bank that serves 10 counties in the Rochester/Finger Lakes region including Yates County. The organization works to alleviate food insecurity by distributing food to a network of human service agencies and targets the root causes of hunger through its state-of-the-art commercial kitchen and dozens of food-related programs
“They loved the donation and event idea and they are pleased to be thought of,” Squires said, noting that the Windmill’s merchants were looking for something to do for the holidays that would benefit as many people as possible. ”The decorating event is a great way to allow our vendors and our customers to support this very worthwhile group that helps so many in the region.”
In 2016, Foodlink distributed 17.4 million pounds of food, including 4.9 million pounds of produce. Foodlink’s nutrition educators empower people to make healthy choices and its food access programs provide new access points to nutritious food in underserved communities. For every dollar donated to Foodlink, the organization provides three meals.
The Windmill Farm and Craft Market, located on Route 14A between Penn Yan and Dundee, is open every Saturday from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. from the end of April until the second week of December. The market, with more than 200 vendors at peak season, is celebrating its 30th year in operation in 2017. The last day the Windmill will be open this year is Dec. 9.
In addition to the Gingerbread Man Cookie Decorating event, in the coming weeks, the Windmill will also sponsor photos with Santa and Christmas caroling, as well as other holiday festivities.
For more information about the Windmill, go to www.thewindmil.com or follow on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/The-Windmill-Farm-and-Craft-Market-109524976362055/. For more information about Foodlink, go to http://foodlinkny.org/ or follow on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FoodlinkNY/.
