The Kitchen at the Boston Public Market to Partner with REI on Fitness Programs

The Kitchen at the Boston Public Market. Photos by Jamie Ducharme

UPDATED August 12, 2015:

The Kitchen’s initial schedule—with 200 classes in August and September alone—has been released, and features events such as cooking classes from America’s Test Kitchen, an exploration of coffee with George Howell Coffee, in-season produce tastings, the 31st annual Massachusetts Tomato Contest, kids cooking classes, and more. Yoga classes and the run club will both begin Aug. 20.

The demonstration kitchen.

The Kitchen at the Boston Public Market, a demonstration kitchen and multi-purpose space run by the Trustees of Reservations, has announced that it will partner with REI to host a free run club and $5 yoga classes on Thursday mornings.

REI will be joining fellow partners Blue Cross Blue Shield and Community Servings in offering health and wellness events, from fitness programs to healthy cooking classes. Programming Director Mimi Hall says working with REI ties into The Kitchen’s goal of combining access to healthy food with physical fitness.

“What we’re really hoping for is for people to be able to start their day in the Kitchen doing the exercise class, and then segue into the market for a healthy meal,” Hall says. “It’ll be really nice for the runners to come back and be like, ‘Oh look, there’s a bunch of different apples that we can taste and eat.'”

The Kitchen’s summer programming will begin Aug. 19, shortly after the market opens, and its full schedule will roll out in September. Hall says more health and wellness offerings are on their way, including cooking and exercise classes, Feel Good Fridays (a combination of yoga and dance), mommy and me yoga classes, and workshops on topics like healthy school lunches and diabetes prevention. Roughly a third of programming will be free, a third will cost between $5 and $20 per session, and the remaining third will be $25 or more, Hall says. Most fitness classes will be $20 or less.

“When you’re living a healthy lifestyle, you want to fuel that with healthy food,” says Hall, regarding the connection between the Boston Public Market and its fitness programs. “To that effect, too, we are having classes that focus on health and well-being in the culinary arts. It’s not just about body movement.”

Registration for The Kitchen’s summer programming is now open. The REI yoga classes will be held Thursday mornings at 7 a.m., with the run club to follow at 8 a.m. The Boston Public Market, 100 Hanover St., Boston.