The health benefits of Farm-To-Table Eating will be explored in a PACE presentation of the same name Nov. 20, featuring local farmer Paul Burnham.
Those who have driven the stretch of County Road 2 between Port Hope and Cobourg need no introduction, as they have probably noticed the Burnham Family Farm on the north side, a bustling concern between May and late December each year. With a focus on locally-grown and -produced food, it carries the seasonal bounty of both the Burnham farm and other Ontario growers. Shoppers can also browse the fresh baked goods and a broad range of unique local products, ranging from ice cream and cheese to a selection of local honey and preserves.
Together with his wife Anne, Burnham purchased this parcel of land in 1994, meaning the family is in its 25th year of producing fruits and vegetables. Three of their four children continue to be heavily involved in the business – Mark on the farming side, and Kate and Amy with running the market.
During this informative PACE conversation – taking place at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Health Centres of Northumberland (99 Toronto Rd, Port Hope) – Burnham will be drawing on a quarter-century of experience and knowledge to explore the benefits of buying and eating locally as it pertains to food quality, personal physical and mental health, and global environmental sustainability.
He will also address some common food myths, highlight nutritional elements and share tips for anyone looking to incorporate more local farm-to-table foods in their lives. During this informative PACE conversation, Burnham will be drawing on his experience and knowledge to explore the benefits of buying and eating locally as it pertains to food quality, personal physical and mental health, and global environmental sustainability. He’ll address some common food myths, highlight nutritional elements, and share tips for attendees looking to incorporate more local farm-to-table foods in their lives. Bring your questions, your suggestions and your experience, and join in what is expected to be another lively discussion.
The monthly PACE talks are free public-education sessions based on a wide range of health and wellness topics, and consistently draw large groups of community members with a range of questions and perspectives.
PACE stands for Personalized Assessment and Change Education, and the sessions were begun by Northumberland Hills Hospital chief of staff Dr. Mukesh Bhargava to address those topics that most often inspired questions from his patients.
The project has grown into a TED Talks-style speakers' series whose monthly sessions alternate between NHH (1000 DePalma Dr., Cobourg) and the Community Health Centres of Northumberland in Port Hope.
Partners in the PACE talks include NHH, the Northumberland Family Health Team, the Community Health Centres of Northumberland, internal-medicine specialists IMCare, and local patients and caregivers as well as the Interactive Media Development – Film and Television Production program at Loyalist College, which has partnered with the team to support audio and visual recording and distribution. The most recent addition to the team is the NHH Foundation.
Taking place the third Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m., these sessions last an hour – a 30-minute talk, a 20-minute question-and-answer period with the guest speaker and a 10-minute moderator summary. Though they are free and open to all, pre-registration is required to manage room capacity.
You can register for the Nov. 20 session at www.pacetalks.com, where you will also find a listing of the upcoming speaker-and-topic line-up along with video highlights from last season’s talks and – a new feature - video and audio recordings from recent sessions on memory loss and music therapy.
Next up will be the Dec. 18 talk at NHH by Dr. Daniel Ricciuto, Don't Be A Vector: How to Prevent Spreading Infections – And Getting Them. Registration for this session will begin the week of Nov. 18.
