Food 'n Fun Brings Together 4-H Club Members
Food ‘n Fun Brings Together 4-H Club Members
Written by Jennifer Korneski, 4-H Healthy Living Program Coordinator
Food ‘n Fun was held Saturday, May 7, 2022, at the Ted Blum 4-H Center. This annual event is a great opportunity for Somerset County 4-H club members, of all ages, to come together and share their creativity and culinary talents in a laid back evening of fun. The event is open to all Somerset County 4-H Club members, In fact, none of the participating clubs were cooking clubs which made the evening even more impressive.
Club chose a theme to create a table setting and balanced menu around that theme, following the guidelines of MyPlate. Upon arrival at the 4-H center, clubs were judged how well they worked together as a team to set up. Members then enjoyed food and conversation with each other, their leaders and a judge who evaluated each club on their table setting, meal offerings, menu and understanding of how their menu fit into MyPlate guidelines. All participating clubs received a blue rosette to show on their fair display in August.
Thank you to the 4-H Clubs who participated in this year’s event:
Crazy Frog Hoppers, led by Mellissa and Annette Smutko, chose “Wild Bunch” as their theme and decorated a table fit for a jungle party complete with animal balloons, safari hats, animal print clothing, personalized place mats, and dishes like white tiger penne alfredo, lion pasta, homemade rolls that looked like bears and zebra bars and white tiger chow for dessert!
Gingersnaps, led by Erin Torres and Carey Rosado, chose “The Enchanted Forest” as their theme and put together a beautiful table scape complete with homemade tissue paper flowers for chair decorations and flower headbands for each guest. I had the pleasure of dining with this club and enjoyed getting to know the members who ranged in ages from 1st grade to 6th grade. I was blown away with their creative ideas and culinary talents that set the stage for a true enchanted forest experience from lemonade with fresh squeezed strawberries to delicate and tasty cucumber tea sandwiches to homemade apple pie.
On Target Archery, led by Harry Brochinsky, chose “Big Foot” as their theme and went all out with creating a menu Big Foot himself would have loved! Some of their dishes included a foot-shaped meatloaf, Big Foot chicken fingers and Big Foot toes, along with zoodles which symbolized a hairy dish and for dessert, Big Foot droppings which were jumbo chocolate chip and butterscotch cookies. They also created hilarious place mats complete with drawings and jokes about Big Foot.
Overall, this event not only provides a chance for 4-H youth to share their talents, use their imagination and socialize with other 4-Hers, but also learn about social etiquette, party planning, and basic nutrition guidelines.
Thank you to Jill Brochinsky and Kristine Manganelli for judging this event.
