Village of Ridgewood, NJ Green-Acres Funded Park Grows Organic Food & Healthy Families

The Village of Ridgewood’s Parks and Recreation Department and HealthBarn USA, an educational company, dedicated to empowering families to lead strong energetic lives, announced a public/private partnership that will offer a unique healthy lifestyle experience to their residents, schools and the community at large.  Founder Stacey Antine, MS, RDN and the HealthBarn USA team will be growing, harvesting and cooking organic herbs and vegetables and educating children and families why and what foods are best for good health.   This dynamic, hands-on educational programming will be held at the Gate House and in the new organic teaching garden within the Village’s NJ Green Acres funded 10-acre horse farm converted to the Irene Habernickel Family Park, 1057 Hillcrest Road, Ridgewood, NJ.

Ridgewood Parks and Recreations Department serves hundreds of children through a variety of sports, cultural, and environmental programming.  “We recognized the need for this expansive healthy-lifestyle educational offering within our portfolio and felt that Stacey Antine and HealthBarn USA will deliver the professional programming we are known for,” said Tim Cronin, Director of Parks and Recreation, Village of Ridgewood.

HealthBarn USA has educated over 50,000 children and families seeking nutritional resources in today’s fast paced, fast food culture. “It takes a Village to turn the tide in favor of healthy choices for children,” stated Antine, who is also the author, Appetite for Life, HarperOne.  “This new partnership is a major boost of support from Ridgewood and NJ Green Acres to continue to make a difference for the health and well-being of children and their families,” added Antine.

The Village of Ridgewood launched Good Life Ridgewood, the Mayors Wellness Festival in 2015 and hosts the successful annual Ridgewood-Fair Lawn Weight Loss Challenge. “I’m excited to welcome HealthBarn USA to Ridgewood, because it seems like a perfect fit for our community and our overall commitment to health and wellness,” stated Paul Aronsohn, mayor, Village of Ridgewood.

NJ Green Acres, a local and nonprofit assistance program, has funded over 2,200 projects Statewide and has assisted in the acquisition of 147,255 acres for recreational programs.  “The education and recreational programming offered by HealthBarn USA is exactly what we want to engage the public and give them more reasons, in addition to sports, to visit parks,” said Nancy Lawrence, Compliance Officer, NJ Green Acres. 

The Village Parks and Recreation Department and HealthBarn USA partnership kicks-off during March 2016 in celebration of National Nutrition Month.  For more information visit healthbarnusa.com. 

HealthBarn USA®, Inc.

HealthBarn USA, founded by Appetite for Life author, Stacey Antine, MS, RDN, is a leader in proven healthy-lifestyle education for children and their families.  The goal of HealthBarn USA is to empower children and families to confidently take ownership of their health, and to become enthusiastic about leading strong, energetic lives.  For more information please visit www.healthbarnusa.com.