City of Asbury Park Mayor's Wellness Committee Partners with Interfaith Neighbors for
Stigma-Free Asbury Park “You Feel What You Eat: Exploring the Connection Between Behavioral Health and Nutrition” Events May 13 through May 20, 2023
5/4/23, Asbury Park, NJ – The City of Asbury Park Mayor’s Wellness Committee, in partnership with Interfaith Neighbors, announces a week of Stigma-Free Asbury Park events in May, an effort to raise awareness and overcome the stigma often associated with behavioral health challenges. The events coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month. This weeklong series of daily events – You feel what you eat, exploring the connection between behavioral health and nutrition – aims to help improve our community’s mental health by sharing resources on accessing a consistent supply of free or affordable, culturally-appropriate, nutritious food and knowledge on how to prepare it. Included in the week’s events is the Asbury Park Plant-Powered Challenge, where anyone can join in to learn about the power of fresh food for your mind, body, and spirit in the days leading up to the event. Sign up for the Challenge by visiting www.tinyurl.com/plantpoweredchallenge.
The events include:
- Day 1, Saturday May 13th, 3-5 PM, Kula Farm 115 Atkins Avenue. Opening Ceremony. Come and share your food story, tour the farm and greenhouse, learn how to assemble a plant-powered plate, exchange recipes for the week ahead and make delicious oil-free salad dressing. Hosted by the Asbury Park Plant-Powered People’s Collective.
- Day 2, Sunday, May 14th, 11 AM-Noon, Asbury Fresh Farmers’ Market, Library Square Park, between Heck and Grand, Asbury and 1st Avenues. Join us for a special Mother's Day cooking demo at Asbury Fresh Farmers Market with Soul + Spice Plant-Based Kitchen! Our local community chef, Krista Salomon, will showcase delicious and easy-to-make recipes using organic, seasonal ingredients with a Caribbean-Fusion twist. You'll learn how to create nourishing, flavorful dishes that will leave your taste buds and your body deeply satisfied. Don't miss this opportunity to celebrate the moms in your life while learning new kitchen skills and enjoying some delicious food.
- Day 3, Monday, May 15th, 6-8 PM, Asbury Park Library, 500 1st Avenue. Food and Mood Panel. Come explore—with your community members—the effects of a healthy diet on your ability to focus, learn and thrive. Take out cookbooks to help you on your journey. Featuring Crystal Monsanto, B&G Club, Rodney Salomon, KYDs, and Marianne McCormick, Jersey Shore Medical Center.
- Day 4, Tuesday, May 16th. 4-6 PM, Boys and Girls Club of Asbury Park, 1201 Monroe Avenue. Cooking demo with Chef Afi, Culinary Coach/Vegan Chef with DIY Kitchen Diaries Cooking Classes of Newark. Includes food-related activities for the entire family. For B&G Club students and their families exclusively.
- Day 5, Wednesday, May 15th, 6-7:30 PM, Virtual Zoom Panel discussion; Food is Medicine. Learn what our country’s experts say about the connection between behavioral health and nutrition. With special guests Dr. Joe D’Ambrosio from University of Louisville School of Medicine, Jacqueline Salomon, President, Founder, Visionary, Seeds to Inspire Foundation, Phoenix, AZ and others. Zoom registration link: https://tinyurl.com/MedicineFood
- Day 6, Thursday, May 18th, Come explore Asbury Park restaurants that feature plant-powered food, including Mogo, Cookman Creamery, Macrobites, and more. Map and recommended dishes with pricing can be accessed here: https://tinyurl.com/APVegan
- Day 7, Friday, May 19th, 5:30-6:30 PM, Interfaith Neighbor’s Farm without Borders, 1200 Springwood Avenue. Walking meditation in nature with Rodney Salomon from KYDs. Visit the farm and learn about what is growing this summer, pick produce and take home for free, as well as an introduction to the Asbury Park Community Food Connection’s Farm to Food Pantry Initiative.
- Day 8, Saturday, May 20th, 5 PM, Encounter Christ Global Fellowship, New Bethel Church Chapel, 101 W. Sylvania Avenue, Neptune City, 07753. Closing ceremony: Faith, Food and Spirit, featuring Stigma Free May organizer Karyn Moskowitz, Rabbi Ari Blech, and Alaethia Doctor-Blech, with a 6 PM service with Pastors Semaj Vanzant and Kerwin Webb. Bring your week’s thoughts and reflections on the plant-powered challenge.
“We look forward to our community coming out to learn and share their experiences so that we can have a healthier Asbury Park area,” stated Karyn Moskowitz, the event’s organizer. She continued to explain the severity, stating, “the number one cause of death in NJ is heart disease. We know that food is medicine, and a consistent supply of fresh produce will help save lives, as well as the knowledge on how to incorporate it into our daily lives. We hope you enjoy hearing from our community’s experts.”
“Helping Asbury Park become a stigma free community is a challenging yet worthy effort,” said author, community activist and Asbury Park Mayor’s Wellness Committee Member Pamela Major. Major stressed the connection of mental health to food, explaining “Our understanding of mental health is evolving, and we are coming to grips with attacking this issue from every angle; we must make nutrition part of this effort. We don’t blame or shame, we claim our power and fight to be stigma free.”
“This year, the City of Asbury Park Mayor’s Wellness Committee is partnering with local non-profit organizations to create monthly events that raise awareness and create discussion in support of a Stigma-Free Asbury Park,” said Mayor John Moor. He continued, stating “we’d like to thank Karyn Moskowitz for the tremendous efforts she has put into organizing these events and Interfaith Neighbors for their support of this important program. The Stigma-Free Asbury Park program aims to create a culture where residents feel supported by their neighbors and feel free to seek treatment without fear of stigma.”
@NJCommunityFoodConnection (Instagram) and https://www.facebook.com/CommunityFoodConnectionNJ (Facebook) and follow us and share. Signup here for https://tinyurl.com/StigmaFreeAP volunteering for the Stigma-Free Asbury Park May events. For more information, please call Karyn Moskowitz, Interfaith Neighbors, at 502-475-8979 or write karynm@interfaithneighbors.org.
For questions, or to help support the City’s Stigma-Free Asbury Park program, contact Lilibeth Corrales at 732-502-4528 or email Lilibeth.Corrales@cityofasburypark.com. For more information, visit www.cityofasburypark.com/wellness.
