“Taste of the Market” connects nutrition and dietetics students with the Pleasantville community to promote seasonal eating and healthy habits
Graduate students from Pace University’s Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics program, part of the College of Health Professions, will partner with the Pleasantville Farmers Market starting this Saturday, September 20, for a featured event in the annual Taste of the Market series.
As part of this Saturday’s event, students and faculty will host an apple tasting experience where shoppers can sample up to six different varieties of locally harvested apples while learning about their nutritional benefits and ideal culinary uses. Nutrition Professor Andrea Polvere, MS, RDN, CDN, and graduate student Emily Bruzzese will guide the tasting and educational engagement.
“All of our Taste of the Market events present dynamic opportunities for students to hone their patient-facing skills while simultaneously learning the importance of creating meaningful relationships within the community,” said Polvere.
The students engage directly with shoppers who bring a range of concerns, from common food buyer questions—such as what “organic” really means—to everyday culinary nutrition topics like how heat affects a nutrient's ability to be absorbed.
Each Taste of the Market event highlights a seasonal produce item, selected through early-year planning with Market Director Harris Kaye. Activities are designed to educate and engage shoppers through hands-on interaction, simple recipes, and facts about healthful components like fiber, antioxidants, and the advantages of eating in-season.
Polvere works alongside Kaye early each year to pinpoint which produce is best highlight at each event by utilizing general seasonality windows. Every Taste of the Market event provides either very simple recipes or tasting varieties of the highlighted produce, while focusing on sharing nutritional facts with shoppers, typically fiber, antioxidants, and the benefits of eating in-season.
“It’s an opportunity to engage meaningfully with the public, learn from their perspectives, and see firsthand how nutrition education can foster healthier habits within a community,” said Bruzzese, the graduate student. “This event is more than just sharing food—it’s a valuable learning opportunity. We’re able to practice translating what we learn in the classroom into real-world conversations, building the communication and counseling skills that will be critical in our future careers as nutrition professionals.”
Students from the program will return to the Market on Saturday, October 4, to support the Annual Apple Pie Contest and continue sharing seasonal nutrition tips and tastings with shoppers.
About Pace University
Since 1906, Pace University has been transforming the lives of its diverse students—academically, professionally, and socioeconomically. With campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, Pace offers bachelor, master, and doctoral degree programs to 13,600 students in its College of Health Professions, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Elisabeth Haub School of Law, Lubin School of Business, School of Education, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.
About the College of Health Professions at Pace University
Established in 2010, the College of Health Professions (CHP) at Pace University offers a broad range of programs at the bachelor, master's, and doctoral levels. It is the College's goal to create innovative and complex programs that reflect the changing landscape of the health care system. These programs are designed to prepare graduates for impactful careers in health care practice, health-related research, or as educators, and equip graduates to work in health policy and global health fields. Students in clinical programs receive hands-on training in the College's interprofessional Center of Excellence in Healthcare Simulation and have the opportunity to apply their developing skills in real-world settings at many of the regions' leading clinical facilities. In addition to Nutrition and Dietetics, the College currently comprises several growing and important areas of study, which include nursing, physician assistant, communication sciences and disorders, health science, nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, health informatics, and public health.
About Pleasantville Farmers Market: The Pleasantville Farmers Market
The largest year-round farmers market in Westchester and has been voted Best of Westchester by readers of Westchester Magazine eleven years in a row (2014–2024). Located off Bedford Road in the heart of a beautiful historic walking village, the Market boasts over 60 vendors—and hosts a diverse variety of fresh greens, meats, dairy items, root crops, apples, prepared foods, and more. The Market is run by Foodchester, Inc., a volunteer-based not-for-profit organized by Pleasantville residents in 2012.
