Changing Lives and Feeding Families – About Our Cover Model
By Annette Pinder
A creative entrepreneur and holistic lifestyle coach, Patti Green is dedicated to sharing her love of food, cooking, and eating in season. She recently appeared on Your Hometown Health Connection and produced and hosted a farm-to-fork educational series on WGRZ. At the start of her entrepreneurial endeavors, she created and designed consumer products sold at Macy’s, Barney’s New York, Neiman Marcus, Starbucks, Wegmans, and others. Her products were well-received on a national scale, and garnered the attention of Bon Appetit, New York Post, Buffalo News, Chicago Tribune, The Television Food Network, the Today Show, and other media outlets.
Although she was born in Pittsburgh, Patti and her sisters grew up in Snyder with their mom, a regulatory affairs director for Bristol Meyers Scribb, and their dad, an orthodontist and professor. “We had a great upbringing and childhood, playing tennis, riding bikes, and traveling. We had a loving home, open to anybody and everybody.” Patti’s interest in cooking began at a young age while observing her mother and her mom’s friend Lydia create gourmet dishes found in magazines. “Mom and Lydia were in cooking clubs with doctors’ wives. I had the best of both worlds — our housekeeper Louise’s fried chicken and soul food, and my mom’s baklava, beef wellington, and bananas foster.”
Patti studied international marketing at Northeastern University in Boston. She spent a year in Italy working for a company that imported gold, and then for a travel company organizing incentive trips for Silicon Valley and Los Angeles corporations. “I traveled first and business class checking out luxury hotels and resorts,” said Patti. “It was fun and exciting, but didn’t provide much opportunity to meet people and sustain friendships. So, when my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at age 65, I quit and moved back to Buffalo.”
Upon her return to Buffalo, Patti developed cooking products for children, and her baking and gingerbread house kits were sold at Macy’s, Starbucks, and Neiman Marcus. “My first order with Macy’s was for $50,000. I hired graphic designers, attended trade shows, and appeared on a gourmet food show.” Soon, the kits were selling in London and Japan, and she started a cooking school in Williamsville. Patti met her husband Greg George, a pediatric dentist, through a kindergarten friend. “Initially, we were just business partners, and collaborated with Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Kodak, and Proctor & Gamble to develop oral healthcare kits for kids.”
The most difficult experience in Patti’s life was watching her dad’s health deteriorate due to Parkinson’s Disease. “He was mentally aware, but couldn’t talk or function.” When her mom died unexpectedly, it compounded the problem. “The experience taught me that health is wealth, and that family is everything. Looking back, I wish I had reached out to friends for help. I was running myself ragged trying to do everything. It was hard to manage it all. I had to deal with one of Dad’s aides stealing, and another who wasn’t feeding him. Being a caretaker is a huge responsibility and it is important to ask for help when you need it.”
These days, Patti is immersed in her Passport to the World Club℠, a fun and exciting global cooking experience that teaches children about food, geography, culture and more. She is also focused on her Farm to Fork program, which consists of providing community cooking classes with a focus that includes seasonally curated meal kits, recipes, and educational materials.
Patti is on the board of the Police Athletic League, and at the onset of the pandemic Mayor Brown asked the board to help find virtual programming to help serve the thousands of children earmarked for in-person programming. Patti volunteered to create a virtual cooking program that has now grown to include in-person activities for children and their families throughout the community. She says, “Passport to Health has been a tremendous success, and has made it possible for kids to make meals that they take home with them to share with their families, while the virtual programming gets the whole family engaged! Parents and grandparents love learning too!”
Patti believes that what she is teaching children and families is life-changing, saying, “If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. But if you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.”
Patti is seeking funding to support her growing venture, as well as culinary enthusiasts to help her educate more children. Visit www.passporttotheworldclub.com to sign up, and learn more at www.patti-green.com.
