Press Releases and News
Storrs Farmers Market Invites Residents to Have a Homegrown Holiday
Storrs Farmers Market invites area residents to celebrate Thanksgiving with locally grown and produced foods. Open in the Buchanan Auditorium at the Mansfield Public Library from 3:00 – 5:00 pm this Saturday, November 21, Storrs Farmers Market offers a wide array of items perfect for a fall harvest feast.
Visitors to Storrs Farmers Market will find a large selection from which to plan their meal. Locally grown apples, pears, greens, potatoes, onions, and herbs are just some of the currently available produce. Local honey and maple syrup, goats milk cheeses, all-natural beef, and free range eggs are available year-round.
If you are travelling for the holidays, Storrs Farmers Market has plenty of great Connecticut-made gifts to share with friends and family: handmade beeswax candles, goats milk soaps, and handspun wool yarn, to name a few.
Storrs Farmers Market offers premium local foods year-round! In 2008, Storrs Farmers Market opened the first winter market in northeastern Connecticut. It proved to be so popular with customers and vendors alike that it will expand to twice a month this year. The Winter Market will be open on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month from December* through April (*in December, the Market will be open on the third Saturday due to the Christmas holiday). The Winter Market will be open from 3:00 – 5:00 pm in the Buchanan Auditorium of the Mansfield Public Library.
Everything at Storrs Farmers Market is Connecticut grown and produced, so the offerings change with the seasons. To sign up for weekly newsletters and find out what’s fresh, please email StorrsFarmersMarket@gmail.com. For a complete listing of the Winter Market dates, please visit www.storrsfarmers.org.Curves of Storrs/Mansfield Shares the Giving Spirit this Thanksgiving
November 16, 2009
Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Traditionally, this is a time to collectively give thanks. And most celebrate this holiday by gathering for a meal with family and friends. The traditional meals vary from turkey and wild rice dressing in northern U.S. and Canada to turkey and cornbread dressing in the south. Very different traditions, with one commonality -- turkey.
But not everyone will have a turkey. And Curves of Storrs/Mansfield wants to help by hosting a Give a Gobble event November 18th and November 19th. During this event, the Storrs/Mansfield Curves will waive the initial service fee for any new member who brings in a $15 dollar gift card from Big Y, which will be donated to Mansfield Food Pantry. Big Y, in turn, will donate gift cards to the Mansfield Food Pantry as well. These gift cards will be used by the Mansfield Food Pantry and the Town of Mansfield's Human Services Department to purchase turkeys and other holiday supplies for needy families in the area. The hope is to feed about forty (40) local families this holiday season.
Curves owner Carin Buckman says, "We chose this organization because it serves local Mansfield families plus it shares resources with other local pantries in need. Our goal is to donate at least 25 turkeys and other related holiday supplies and, with the Curves Community and spirit behind us, I KNOW we can do it!"
The Give a Gobble event will be a time for long-term members and new members alike to have fun, get to know each other and help the community simultaneously. Buckman also says, "Give a Gobble is just a great way for us to get into the giving spirit and to also help those in need at the same time."
To participate in the Storrs/Mansfield Curves Give a Gobble, contact Carin Buckman at 860-429-2838 or curvesmansfield@snet.net. For more information about programs and services offered through the Town of Mansfield please contact the Department of Human Services at 429-3315.
Cosimo's Restaurant Group Signs Letter Of Intent At Storrs Center
November 9, 2009
Plans call for popular Italian menu featuring wood-fired brick oven pizza.
Storrs Center announces that a new letter of intent agreement has been signed with the Cosimo's Restaurant Group for space in the first phase of the project. The Cosimo's Restaurant Group is located in New York State's Hudson Valley and operates five restaurants in the region. With menus based on the concept of "creating traditional yet imaginative New World Italian Cuisine," Cosimo's restaurants offer a "variety of dishes inspired by the winning combination of old world recipes updated with the best fresh new world ingredients." Besides a broad range of appetizers, entrees, and desserts, the restaurants have become a destination for imaginative brick-oven pizzas. Cosimo's joins Campus Cuts and Body Language as the most recent in a series of early commitments to Storrs Center. There are now a total of eight letters of intent for the project.
Nick Citera, partner with Cosimo's Restaurant Group, states, "We believe Storrs Center will provide the right mix of college students, UConn faculty and staff, retirees, and other Mansfield residents to make our restaurant successful. We also like the projected combination of commercial and residential tenants which should result in a dynamic neighborhood."
Speaking for the Mansfield Downtown Partnership, Executive Director Cynthia van Zelm states, "We welcome the early commitment of Cosimo's restaurant to be a part of the Storrs Center community. The growing list of restaurants expressing interest in the project indicates that Storrs Center is shaping up to be a dining destination for residents and visitors alike."
Macon Toledano, Vice President of Planning and Development for master developer LeylandAlliance, adds, "We have been aware of The Cosimo's Restaurant Group through their fine dining establishments in the Hudson Valley. They enjoy a special reputation for serving great Italian food in attractive settings.
Storrs Center will be a mixed-use town center and main street corridor at the crossroads of the Town of Mansfield, Connecticut and the University of Connecticut. Located along Storrs Road adjacent to the University, the Town Hall, the regional high school, and the community center. Storrs Center will include a new town square across from the University's improved fine arts center. The new town center will occupy approximately 17 acres of the overall 47.7 acre site and will include a new Town Square and a smaller Market Square across from Town Hall. The remainder of the site will be preserved primarily for open space and conservation. The town plan will knit architecture, pedestrian-oriented streets, small lanes, and public spaces into a series of small neighborhoods that will make up the new fabric of the town center. Ground floor retail and commercial uses opening onto landscaped sidewalks and intimate streets will reinforce traditional street front activity and shared community spaces and will be supported by residences above and throughout the neighborhood. Storrs Center will combine retail, restaurant, and office uses with a variety of residence types including studios, town homes, condominium apartments, and rental apartments. Structured and surface parking will be provided.
School Readiness Funding Available in Mansfield
July 7, 2009
The Town of Mansfield continues to accept applications for participation in the State of Connecticut's School Readiness Grant. This grant has made funding available for childcare to residents of the Town of Mansfield at one of four licensed and nationally accredited early care and education centers since 1997. The funding is available to Mansfield families for children ages 3 and 4. The Centers participating in this grant are: Community Children's Center, Mansfield Discovery Depot, University of Connecticut Child Labs, and Willow House Early Learning Center. Eligibility and a family contribution are based on income and family size. Income verification is required.
The School Readiness Grant Program helps support the cost of early childhood education for 3 and 4 year olds. The care is available for full or part time enrollment (Monday thru Friday). This funding is available starting July 1, 2009 until June 30, 2010.
High quality childcare programs help children learn how to be inquisitive and self confident. Our programs improve children?s development in socialization, sharing and working together. This adds up to a good start in school and life.
For more information, please contact: Sandy Baxter, Mansfield School Readiness Coordinator, at 860-429-3338 or Baxtersp@mansfieldct.org
Space is limited, so please act now!