Farm to Fork event raises awareness for healthy eating habits
Representatives from Taylor Fish Farm including Valee Taylor (center) and Everybody Eats owner Austin Baker (right) educate students about healthy eating. Photo By: Devon Wilkinson
By Devon Wilkinson// News Editor
Everybody Eats Company and Taylor Fish Farm believe that college students don’t always make the best decisions when it comes to healthy food options. To combat this issue, the two companies decided to team up to bring awareness to this issue and educate students.
On Tuesday, Jan. 21, Everybody Eats Company and Taylor Fish Farm hosted a “Farm to Fork” event at the Farmer’s Market.
“This is the critical time in which students become adults and begin purchasing groceries and food for themselves,” said Austin Baker, High Point University junior and Everybody Eats Company owner.
Everybody Eats Company is a entrepreneurship group that focusses on ending hunger and encouraging healthy eating habits in the community.
Baker suggests that it is not just the obvious unhealthy foods that are detrimental to a person’s health, but also the foods we perceive as good for us.
“It is the processed, genetically modified food that people, especially students are purchasing,” Baker said. “[They do this because] it is cheap and easy to find. But, just as people invest in stocks, their clothing wardrobe, or even in their job,the greatest results do not come from the cheap and easy option. Investing in one’s health is just as or even more important, and requires effort and knowledge. If you eat healthy, you don’t need a pill. Your body is set up for nutrition. What you put in, is what you get out.”
“When you’re eating healthy you have less call out days and less sick days,” said Valee Taylor of Taylor Fish Farm. “Eating healthy promotes better minds which is so important for young people of this age.”
Taylor Fish Farm does extensive research and testing to ensure that the fish they are selling to the community is the safest and the healthiest it can possibly be.
“We want to give our consumers a sense of food security,” Taylor said. “They deserve this.”
Currently, Taylor Fish Farm is the only fish company in America that has a gap certification that guarantees the quality of the product they are selling.
“We want to raise awareness that 90 percent of the fish that is sold in America is farm-raised and coming from forging countries,” Taylor said.
Both Taylor Fish Farm and Everybody Eats Company are companies that pride themselves on having a business plan that is based on morals.
Taylor Fish Farm has donated five acres of land to the United Methodist Church. The company is also proud of the fact that they are able to feed 185 families for 32 weeks out of the year.
“Nobody leaves hungry,” Taylor said. “I got in this business to feed people in the first place.”
Everybody Eats Company also has a high regard for giving back to the community.
“We value supporting local farmers and the small businesses in our area,” Baker said. “We stand for giving back to our community through donating any excess fish or produce we may have left over after markets or events.”
When it comes to eating healthier and being more aware of the foods that go into our bodies, Baker believes that it’s time for change.
“It’s time for a positive change,” Baker said.