(WEST NEW YORK) – New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher and New York Jets offensive tackle Dâ€Brickashaw Ferguson announced today that schools in Bogota, Englewood, Hamilton, Linden and West Orange are this yearâ€s winners of the Eat Right, Move More contest.

 Fisher and Ferguson visited the grand prize winner, West New York Public School #4 in West New York, for a special program and to present the school with a check for a $5,000 kitchen makeover, made possible by the Jets and the American Dairy Association & Dairy Councilâ€s Fuel Up to Play 60 campaign.  School officials plan to use the money to update and repair the schoolâ€s salad bar serving system, increase access to daily fruits and vegetables with interesting containers and educate students with sign boards with nutrition facts and impacts of their choices.

“We have seen improvements in school nutrition, including more whole grains, lower fat milk and an abundance of fruits and vegetables and the Eat Right, Move More program has been a natural complement to these efforts,” said Secretary Fisher.  “We are very proud of PS #4 and this yearâ€s other winning schools for their achievements and commitment to making breakfast available to more students on a daily basis.”

The Eat Right, Move More program, a partnership between the Jets, the Department of Agriculture and the American Dairy Association & Dairy Councilâ€s Fuel Up to Play 60 campaign, encourages New Jersey school children to take advantage of healthy foods in their school cafeterias and become more active.

This year, the emphasis was on schools that offer breakfast in the classroom.  Additionally, school meal menus were reviewed and the schools had to show strong support and demonstrate efforts to improve nutrition and physical activity among their students.

Earlier this year, Secretary Fisher and New Jersey Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf urged schools around the state to offer the federally-funded school breakfast after the start of the school day, ensuring them it could be considered instructional time.  Since then, many more schools have adopted the program.

 This is the seventh year of the Eat Right, Move More Program, with Dâ€Brickashaw Ferguson as spokesman.  The campaign features posters of Ferguson in every school telling students, “Your school cafeteria offers a variety of healthy foods and low-fat milk to keep you going all day long.  Fuel your mind and body with nutritious foods like Jersey Fresh fruits and vegetables.  So, letâ€s get up and Eat Right, Move More!”

 “Over the past seven years Eat Right, Move Move has been helping to improve the health and wellness of countless New Jersey students,” said Ferguson. “Giving my support and congratulations to this great program is an honor each and every year.”

PS #4 has  300 3^rd through 6^th grade students who are all provided with a complete and balanced breakfast each day in the classroom during the morning announcements.  It also hosts a Farm to School program, using local produce as much as possible in school meals, and a school garden funded by private grants.

 The school has been recognized before for its healthy initiatives.  They were presented with an award from the Alliance for a Healthier Generations by former President Bill Clinton and were visited by television show host Rachel Ray last year.

 PS #4 is currently participating in the Departmentâ€s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program, which provides fresh produce to students during the school day, along with nutrition education.  The goal of the program is to expose children to healthy foods so their fruit and vegetable consumption increases, ultimately leading to improved lifelong dietary habits.

 The school also emphasizes increased physical activity by having the Wake Up and Work Out Program one-hour exercise program twice a week and participating in Walk Across America and Jump Rope for Heart Program.

 “The pride this award gives to our students and staff is tremendous,” said John Fauta, West New York Superintendent of Schools.  “I believe, wholeheartedly, that a well-fed child and a sound body make for a better student academically. We are proud of our breakfast before the bell program where each child is given the opportunity to have a healthy breakfast before school starts. Our Wellness program has been embraced throughout the district. Our staff provides the nutrition and physical education and activities that help our students to perform to the best of their abilities during the school day. Our entire School Staff go above and beyond their scope to make sure these programs are affective.”

 The other winning schools will receive visits from Jets players in the spring.  The schools are:  Midstreams Elementary School in Brick Township; George L. Hess Educational Complex in Hamilton; William B. Cruse #11 School in Passaic; and Paterson Public School #2 in Paterson.

 The New York Jets take great pride in a long-standing, year-round commitment to our community. Programs funded by the New York Jets Foundation touch the lives of countless young men and women in the tri-state area by promoting fitness, health, and education, particularly in disadvantaged communities. Over the past twelve years, the Jets and their charitable foundation have contributed more than $12 million to a wide range of community-based causes.

From fighting childhood obesity through the Eat Right, Move More initiative, to launching a football team at an urban high school, to urging students to be active for at least 60 minutes every day the New York Jets invest in programs that make a difference in the lives of others. In addition to our focus on youth development, the Jets support the efforts of the Alliance for Lupus Research, numerous established charitable organizations and causes sponsored by the NFL.

The Department of Agricultureâ€s comprehensive school nutrition policy covers pre-kindergarten through 12^th grade students.  The policy limits fat and sugar content in foods offered in a la carte lines, snack bars and vending machines, school stores and as part of on-campus fund-raisers.  More than 687,000 students in both public and private schools participate in the National School Lunch Program, administered by the Department of Agriculture.

For more information about the Departmentâ€s school nutrition programs, visit www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/fn/childadult/school.html.

The post CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES WEST NEW YORK PS #4 EARNS TOP HONORS IN STATE FOR NUTRITION PROGRAMS first appeared on River View Observer.

Home-style Cooking, Family Fun and 30 TVs Tuned to Sports!

By Sally Deering

 Whether you want to take the family out for some delicious home-style Italian cooking or you’re a sports fan itching to see your favorite team on a large screen TV while munching mouth-watering Buffalo wings, The Big Apple Sports Palace in Bayonne has it all – 30 Large Screen TVs, shuffleboard, pool, a Sopranos pinball machine and fabulous food at affordable prices.

Vinny Bottino and his wife, Elaine opened The Big Apple in 1976 and in 1989, their son Vinny and his wife Toni took over, expanded the space and put in a kitchen, much to the delight of their regulars. Now known as the Big Apple Sports Palace, families can enjoy home-style Italian cooking and sports fans can watch their favorite games broadcast from 30 TVs including a digital projection screen.
 
“It was a neighborhood place, one room, and my father-in-law Vinny had rock and roll bands on the weekends, local people playing music,” Toni says. “We never changed the bar, but we changed the walls and floors and put a kitchen in the back. Now it’s a neighborhood place for people to have a great meal and a good time.”
 
In 2000, the Bottinos expanded next door and made it into a dining room with an outdoor Tiki bar that features a pool table and TV broadcasts of every Yankees, Devils and Giants game, even championship boxing. 
 
“Once the Yankees and Mets are out of baseball, the season’s pretty much over,” Toni says. “But there’s always next year.”
 
Regardless of what team’s playing, it’s the food at The Big Apple that attracts customers and turns them into regulars, like the Specialty Pizzas – Taco Pizza, Shrimp Scampi Pizza and Philly Cheese Steak Pizza ($15 each,) and the Wraps: Veggie, Chili ($5 each,) Chicken Fajita, Steak Murphy ($6 each.) The dinner menu features Chicken in a Basket ($8,) Shrimp in a Basket ($9,) Chicken Marsala ($11.95) and Shrimp Francaise ($14.95.) And then there are the taste-bud popping appetizers like Fried Mushrooms ($5,) Fried Calamari ($9,) and for all you wing-lovers, the big and juicy Buffalo kind (10 for $5; 25 for $10.) Everything tastes great especially with The Big Apple’s extensive list of draft and bottled beers, frosty cold and ready to quench every beer-lover’s thirst.  

 “I have a big menu,” Toni says.

 And those prices can’t be beat especially in today’s economy where everybody’s stretching their dollars and taking the family out for a meal and a good time can take a big bite out of your wallet.

 “You can take your family to our restaurant, feed them, have drinks and not pay a hundred bucks,” Toni says. “And when you buy ten pizza pies, you get one free. We’ve been doing that since we opened. It’s a thank-you to our loyal regulars.”

The Big Apple also has a loyal staff.

“I have people who have worked for me for ten to eighteen years,” Toni says. “That’s a pretty good record. My best friend Debbie Mattiello, she’s been here 18 years, My brother- in-law Mark works here and, of course, my husband Vinny. It’s a family business.”

The Big Apple offers off-site catering for wedding receptions, corporate events, bridal and baby showers and caters on-site parties, too. Toni and the crew revamped the menu last year to include a selection of wraps and salads for those who like to eat light and every day The Big Apple’s menu includes lunch specials.

“You have to constantly change and bring new ideas in and that’s what we try to do,” Toni says.

 

The Big Apple Sports Palace

412-414 Broadway

Bayonne

201-858-1075

Kitchen is open 11 am to midnight; bar opens at 11 am and closes 2 am on weekdays; 3 am on weekends

For more information, visit their website at www.Bigapplesportspalace.com

The post The Big Apple Sports Palace, Bayonne, New Jersey first appeared on River View Observer.

The following exclusive photo’s were taken by Steve Mack for the River View Observer.

All photos by Steveamack.com

If  you ever attended Giant Stadium for a Giants game, a concert with your favorite artists, a marching band competition you will appreciate these photos of New Jersey’s beloved stadium being torn down.

 

The post Pictorial of Giants Stadium Being Torn Down first appeared on River View Observer.