Educational food truck making Findlay debut

FINDLAY — The Hancock County Farmers' Market and the West Ohio Food Bank recently announced a new partnership introducing a new educational food truck to the markets. In a release about the partnership, Scott Grenerth, a volunteer organizer, said, "The West Ohio Food Bank Food Truck allows local chefs and food educators to showcase how easy, rewarding and affordable it can be to cook with seasonal produce." According to Bobbie Sue Grenerth, volunteer interpretive planner for the Hancock County Farmers' Market, farmers markets give customers the best bang for their buck. At corporate supermarkets, produce is usually transported long distances before it is sold in stores, which raises the cost of that produce, she said. At farmers' markets, items are produced locally, making the cost to transport them virtually nil. "The farmers' market is different from a grocery store," Bobbie Sue said. "We offer things that are grown locally and in-season … It can be kind of confusing for those who have never been to the market before." For example, garlic scapes are in season, but most varieties of apples won't be available until at least August. But not everyone may know how to eat garlic scapes. That's where the new food truck comes in, says Bobbie Sue. Starting this week, the West Ohio Food Bank's Educational Food Truck will be utilized as a space for guest educators to show visitors how to prepare seasonal produce. It will make its first appearance from 4-6 p.m. Thursday at 200 W. Main Cross Rd. in Findlay. After Tommie Harner, chief executive officer of the West Ohio Food Bank, mentioned to Bobbie Sue that the food bank had received a food truck as a donation and were looking for a way to utilize it at food distribution sites, Bobbie Sue suggested the idea of an educational space to teach busy families how to cook affordable and nutritious meals. "It took three years, but we got there," she said. For its debut venture, the food truck will be run by Jonah Agner, owner of the Greenhorn restaurant in Bluffton. "Not only are his recipes flavorful and nutritious, but they also make meal preparation straightforward for busy families," the release reads. When asked about future plans for the truck, Bobbie Sue said the truck would probably not be making weekly appearances until market organizers and the West Ohio Food Bank could gauge public interest in the continuation of the cooking lessons. "There's logistics that need to be worked out and there's cost so we need to find out how that's all going to work out," Bobbie Sue said. "Adjust, adopt and improve as we move forward." Following the lesson, guests will get the opportunity to taste the prepared produce as well as receive a copy of the recipe used in the lesson so they can make it again at home. Also available for purchase at Thursday's market will be a professional knife sharpener, fresh produce, baked goods, goat milk soap and lotion and bison meat, all locally produced in Hancock County or Ohio.