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LIJVS Hospital raises the bar on patient fare ing up with Crossroads Farm at Grossmann’s — its latest farmto-hospital partnership. Each The underwhelming caliber week, the Malverne-based farm of much of the nation’s hospital will deliver anywhere between food is, for Russell Ficke, a 100 to 300 pounds of fresh, seatough pill to swallow. The exec- sonal produce to the hospital for patients’ meals. utive chef at Long So far, Ficke has Island Jewish Valdesigned his menu ley Stream Hospital around whatever has sought to produce the farm reverse this trend. has in surplus. For more than five “We’ve been getyears, he and his ting a lot of tomas t a f f h ave b e e n toes, so I’ve been striving to ensure making tomato t h a t eve r y t h i n g sauce. Tailoring that leaves the hosmyself to them,” he pital kitchen is ressaid. “Next season, taurant-quality it will look more fare. like a 50-50 partnerHis meals not ship where I will only strictly use re q u e s t s p e c i f i c fresh, organic items for them to ingredients but are RUSSELL FickE grow for the menu.” tailored to meet Executive chef, M i c h a e l each patient’s cliniLIJVS D’Angelo, operacal dietary needs. tions manager at “Hospital food has a bad reputation,” said Crossroads Farm, is eager for Ficke. “We’ve been trying to the future of this joint venture. “We’re going to be sitting work on the quality of the food by doing local, fresh, and organ- down with them in the next ic wherever possible because month or so, to really talk about we believe that food is medi- what they would really like and see more of,” said D’Angelo. cine.” The hospital is furthering its “We’re going to be growing for commitment by recently teamCONTiNuEd ON pagE 16
By JUAN LASSO
jlasso@liherald.com
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Courtesy Kimberly Hock
Kevin Hock is on track to earn his private pilot’s license, but the cost of training is a challenge. The Nassau BOCES program, with support from his school district, has made it possible.
How this V.S. Central alum is earning his pilot’s wings By JUAN LASSO jlasso@liherald.com
Kevin Hock’s world revolved around metal birds soaring tens of thousands of feet over the Earth for as long as he could remember. During his childhood in Valley Stream, he’d peer up searchingly at the flight path of airliners flying to and from neighboring John F. Kennedy Airport. He also looked on in delight at the rumbling awe of the aerial feats put on display by the Blue Angels, U.S. Navy jets, at the annual Bethpage Airshow in Long Beach. That’s no longer as close to the joys of aviation as he can get. The 18-year-old now
spends his days regularly piloting light aircrafts with the aspiration to carry passengers through the skies. It’s a career track he’s been able to pursue during his time at Valley Stream Central High School in partnership with the Nassau BOCES aviation program. Starting his junior year, while other students worried about their geometry homework or lab reports, Kevin was learning the ins and outs of aircraft systems, navigations, and flight operations with a few dozen other selected students through the Aviation Operations program at Barry Tech in Westbury. CONTiNuEd ON pagE 14
he advantage of locally sourced fruits and vegetables is that you get them at the peak of their freshness and flavor.
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