Food for Thought

Join our team in the NEDA Walk

Join the Upstate New York Eating Disorder Service team at the second annual Syracuse National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Walk on Saturday, Aug. 24, at Longbranch Park, off Interstate 90 at the north end of Onondaga Lake in Liverpool.

The fundraising goal of the walk is $45,000 and 60 percent of the proceeds will benefit Ophelia's Place in Liverpool, a nonprofit organization that provides outreach, advocacy and educational services to those impacted by eating disorders, disordered eating and body dissatisfaction. Upstate New York Eating Disorder Service has a Nutrition Clinic office offering outpatient services at Ophelia's Place.

NEDA receives the other 40 percent of the donations.

You can join our team – as a walker, donor or both – by clicking here. Our team’s goal is $1,000.

You can learn more about the walk here.

Ophelia’s Place is raising funds this summer so it can expand and upgrade its Café at 407, which has outgrown its small space. The café opened on a shoestring budget in 2009. Ophelia’s Place and the café are at 407 Tulip St. in Liverpool.

Check-in time for the walk is 9 a.m. on Aug. 24 at the park at 3813 Longbranch Road. The walk is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Jenni Schaefer

The walk will feature guest speaker Jenni Schaefer, the author of the best-sellers "Life Without Ed" and "Goodbye Ed, Hello Me," about her struggles with her eating disorder. She recently released a new book, with co-author Jennifer J. Thomas, “Almost Anorexic: Is My (Or My Loved One’s) Relationship with Food a Problem?” Thomas is an assistant professor of psychology at the Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Jenni, also a singer-songwriter, will have copies of her CDs and books available for purchase and will perform several songs. All proceeds from the sale of the books and CDs will be donated to NEDA.