Stacey Antine, MS, RDN
Stacey Antine is a registered dietitian who holds a Master’s of Science in Food, Nutrition and Dietetics from New York University. Alarmed by the long list of lifestyle diseases (obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc.) faced by children today, she founded HealthBarn USA to connect children to natural foods and where they come from. Expanding her commitment to help families eat healthier, she started HealthBarn Foundation and its first project Healing Meals, a nutritious food gifting program for ill children with cancer and serious blood disorders and their families and seniors in need.
HealthBarn USA opened in April 2005 on a family farm. Over fifteen years and 75,000 families later, the Barn continues to offer year-round hands-on educational programs for children, ages 3-15 in addition to summer camp in Ridgewood, NJ. And, she has expanded her reach to adults and seniors through culinary + nutrition gatherings and Chef Tables. Stacey also teaches a wildly popular “Try it, you’ll like it” school assembly program nationwide. Due to the success of the program, Life in Sync, an established nonprofit 501c3 organization has approved HealthBarn USA to be its first recipient to receive funding to help combat the obesity epidemic and diseases associated with weight gain. The positive impact of HealthBarn’s programs is proven effective by research conducted by Pamela Koch at Columbia University’s Teachers College, a leading nutrition education research institute. Peer-reviewed journal Explore’s Health and the Environment reveals core componentsof HealthBarn’s proprietary healthy lifestyle curricula for families. With over 25 years of experience in the field of food and nutrition, and a successful track record of helping thousands of families change their eating habits from fast food to natural food, Stacey Antine, MS, RDN is an expert who parents and kids can agree on. She has been featured on The Rachael Ray Show, named women entrepreneur to watch by Business Week, featured as “Our Hero” by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for her dedication to children’s health where she is also a member and honored as Today’s Honoree by the #1 Blog for Recognizing the Works of Others. She has been featured by the Associated Press, PBS-TV, CBS-TV and hundreds of media outlets for her nutrition approach to healthier eating. She was appointed to the Academy’s RDN Communications Council for its National Kids Eat Right campaign and received a Certificate of Training in Childhood and Adolescent Weight Management by the Commission on Dietetic Registration.
Stacey Antine aims to help more parents and children get healthy by having fun and raising their nutritional literacy with her first book, Appetite for Life: The Thumbs-Up, No-Yucks Guide to Getting Your Kid to be a Great Eater – including over 100 Kid-Approved Recipes, published in September 2012 by HarperOne, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, in hardcover and as an eBook.
Alejandra “Allie” Uribe
Alejandra joined the team in fall 2021 as an intern and never left! She shares her passion for health and wellness with all students and encourages them to make positive changes that create strong bodies and healthy minds. Children affectionately call her “Allie” and she teaches a variety of seasonal and special needs programs at HealthBarn. Many students meet her at their schools during Culinary Creations after-school enrichment programs and Try It assembies. Her positive energy and words of encouragement influence the pickiest of eaters and inspire many parents, too. As a graduate from Montclair State University’s nutrition and applied sciences program, Alejandra is determined to use her nutrition education and love for children to continue making a difference.
Alison Bloomfield
Alison Bloomfield joined the team in the Spring of 2014. She graduated from The University of Maryland and holds a master’s degree in Teaching English. She was teaching reading and writing college courses when HealthBarn USA came to her son’s school. At that time she’d been gardening for years with her own children. She is an advocate for health and its impact on the environment demonstrated by creating an edible gardening program at her local library, working as a counselor at Stone Barns Agricultural Farm Camp, running health fairs focused on food and nutrition at her sons’ elementary school, and helping to build two school gardens. Yet, she still struggled to empower her sons to eat their vegetables! While at the HealthBarn USA Super Salad Bar assembly at the local elementary school, she was amazed to hear her son and his friends beg for second helpings of salad. She saw how effective the HealthBarn USA curricula was and was thrilled to become a part of the team. At the Barn, you will find Alison teaching the Seedlings classes and school programs. She loves helping turn “ew” and “yuck” eaters into knowledgeable “yum” gardener foodies. With HealthBarn’s support, those foodies include her three hungry boys and puppy who are always happy to yum up HealthBarn USA recipes!
Hannah Engelhart
Hannah joined the team in summer of 2022 and discovered she loves working with teens (and the feeling is mutual!). You’ll meet Hannah cooking with the Master Chefs and getting everyone in the party spirit during birthday parties and culinary gatherings. Her calm and inviting personality makes all students feel welcomed and excited to learn and participate in the garden-to-table experience. Outside of HealthBarn, Hannah has begun her dietetic internship with Sodexo and we are supporting her all the way! She graduated Montclair State University with a master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics and has learned hands-on at HealthBarn what it takes to implement healthy-lifestyle habits for life.
Melissa Caballe
Melissa joined the team in spring 2021 and is the amazing creative talent who captures exciting moments to post on social media as reels and stories. Living a healthy lifestyle is very important to Melissa and her enthusiasm is evident during seasonal programs, field trips and birthday parties. She is pursuing her master’s in nutrition and dietetics at Montclair State University to reach her goal of becoming a Registered Dietitian. Her hard work and dedication to the profession earns her high marks with everyone she meets.