New Teaching Kitchen Part of Hospital's Healthy Harvest Program

The Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortland Manor, NY, has opened its new Chef Peter X. Kelly Teaching Kitchen at Dempsey House, a converted farmhouse on hospital property, reports the Westchester County Business Journal. The teaching kitchen and the nearby organic garden are both part of Healthy Harvest, a two-year-old initiative designed to teach patients and members of the community to better manage their health and thereby reduce health care costs with changes in diet and lifestyle.

The teaching kitchen is slated to offer a Signature Chefs Series featuring a number of prominent local culinarians. Each will host a seasonal dinner that will be auctioned and privately prepared for the highest bidder, with the money used to sustain the facility and help fund the Healthy Harvest program.