Farmers market food navigator Colleen Horne talks to shoppers at the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market on Thursday about the pea pesto she makes with fresh basil from a vendor. (Photo by Sue Knickerbocker Field)
The smell of basil wafted through the south side shelter Thursday as shoppers milled about at the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market in Island Park.
As Colleen Horne scooped pea pesto out of the blender container, the smell became strong.
Horn, a farmers market food navigator for the Gratiot-Isabella Regional Educational Services District, set up shop at the site where Mount Pleasant Parks and Recreation and McLaren Healthcare hold food demonstrations, and made a pesto sauce with peas, walnuts, olive oil, Parmesan and fresh basil that she got from a vendor.
A bit like Food Network’s “Guy’s Grocery Games,” each week’s cooking demonstration features ingredients sourced from market vendors and grocery store staples like frozen peas, spinach and pita bread.
Horn is at the market every Thursday to educate shoppers about nutrition, provide healthy food samples, guide those looking for nutritious foods and introduce them to vendors, but she only gives cooking demonstrations once a month, and on Thursday she tried making pea pesto for the first time.
Horn handed out recipes to people who stopped by for samples and said she got a lot of positive feedback on the samples, noting that a sandwich board in front of the table had information about peas and their nutritional value.
Peas are rich in vitamins A and C and also contain dietary fiber and potassium.
During the school year, Horn teaches nutrition to students from kindergarten through middle school, but until September, she will be dedicating one day each week to helping other students adopt nutritious eating habits.
As a food navigator for the farmers market, which receives funding from the Michigan Fitness Foundation, Horn spends her time promoting healthy foods while giving shoppers a taste of locally grown foods.
She plans to sample the berry parfait at next Thursday’s farmers market and is very hopeful that the locally grown strawberries, which have been selling quickly since they first went on sale, will still be available.
