Edible Schoolyard New York

TO SUPPORT EDIBLE EDUCATION FOR EVERY CHILD IN NYC THROUGH HANDS-ON COOKING AND GARDENING EDUCATION

PUBLIC SCHOOL 216 - THE ARTURO TOSCANINI SCHOOL IN GRAVESEND BROOKLYN, WAS THE ORGANIZATION'S INAUGURAL DEMONSTRATION SCHOOL AND SITE FOR THEIR MODEL GARDEN AND KITCHEN CLASSROOM PROGRAMS AND A CUSTOM DESIGNED KITCHEN CLASSROOM AND HALF-ACRE GARDEN.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT - THROUGH THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, THE ORGANIZATION INVITES EDUCATORS FROM ALL OVER THE CITY AND BEYOND (SINCE THE ADOPTION OF VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS) TO LEARN THE TOOLS AND CURRICULUM TO INCORPORATE EDIBLE EDUCATION INTO THEIR OWN CLASSROOMS. THE PROGRAM ALSO INCLUDES SUPPORTING SELECTED SCHOOLS AND PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH SITE VISITS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR PARTNER GROUPS.PROGRAM EVALUATION - THE ORGANIZATION IS FOCUSED EXTENSIVELY ON EVALUATING IMPACT, STARTING WITH DEFINING OUTCOMES AND USING EXISTING RESEARCH AND THE ORGANIZATION'S EXPERIENCE TO INFORM THE WORK. THE EVALUATION STRATEGY AND OUTCOMES FRAMEWORK WERE FIRST IMPLEMENTED IN SPRING 2014. THE CURRENT SYSTEM INCLUDES DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF BOTH QUANTITATIVE OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES AS WELL AS QUALITATIVE DATA. THE ORGANIZATION'S KEY OUTCOMES ASSESS STUDENTS' HEALTHY EATING ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS, SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND FOOD AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMITMENT; SCHOOLS' FOOD ENVIRONMENT AND INTEGRATION OF GARDEN AND COOKING LESSONS; AND EDUCATORS' CAPACITY AND DESIRE TO LEAD COOKING AND GARDENING PROGRAMMING. MEASUREMENT TOOLS INCLUDE STUDENT, TEACHER, AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT SURVEYS, QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS, QUOTES, AND ANECDOTES FROM STUDENTS, FAMILIES, AND SCHOOL STAFF, AND WEEKLY OUTPUTS TRACKING. IN 2017, THE ORGANIZATION COMPLETED A 4-YEAR RESEARCH STUDY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TEACHER'S COLLEGE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. PARTNER SCHOOLS - IN SEPTEMBER 2018, THE ORGANIZATION MERGED WITH THE BUBBLE FOUNDATION. THE ORGANIZATION NOW IMPLEMENTS BUBBLE'S EDIBLE EDUCATION PROGRAMMING IN BUBBLE'S 14 SCHOOLS CITYWIDE. THESE SCHOOLS WERE CALLED PARTNER SCHOOLS. THE MERGER, WHICH WAS ALIGNED WITH THE GOALS OF THE ORGANIZATION'S NEW STRATEGIC PLAN, SERVED AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONSOLIDATE THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS' EFFORTS, INCREASE THEIR FOOTPRINT, AND BECOME A MODEL FOR COLLABORATION, NOT ONLY IN THE NUTRITION EDUCATION SPACE, BUT IN THE NONPROFIT SECTOR AS A WHOLE. BY COMBINING BUBBLE'S PROVEN CURRICULUM AND NETWORK OF SCHOOLS WITH THE ORGANIZATION'S IN-DEPTH SERVICE MODEL, DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH, AND RESOURCES, MORE STUDENTS RECEIVED MEANINGFUL NUTRITION AND WELLNESS EDUCATION. THE ORGANIZATION SUPPORTED PARTNER SCHOOLS WITH CURRICULUM INTEGRATION, CAPACITY BUILDING, AND DEVELOPING A SCHOOLWIDE CULTURE OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS.IN SEPTEMBER 2019, ONE OF THE PARTNER SCHOOLS, BRIGHTER CHOICE COMMUNITY SCHOOL IN BROOKLYN, BECAME A NETWORK SCHOOL.FOR THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR, STARTING IN JULY 2020, THE ORGANIZATION DECIDED TO PAUSE THE PARTNER SCHOOLS PROGRAM DUE TO THE CHALLENGES POSED BY COVID-19. COVID-19 PROGRAMMING CHANGES WHILE NEW YORK CITY SCHOOLS WENT FULLY REMOTE IN MARCH 2020, THE ORGANIZATION CONTINUED TO SUPPORT SCHOOLS IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS THROUGH REMOTE PROGRAMMING, GARDEN SUPPORT, AND RENEWED FOCUS ON FOOD ACCESS. THE ORGANIZATION REACHED NEARLY 3,000 STUDENTS BY: 1) PRODUCING VIRTUAL LESSONS AND ACTIVITIES INCLUDING TRADITIONAL COOKING AND GARDENING LESSONS AS WELL AS MOVEMENT AND MINDFULNESS ACTIVITIES 2) DISTRIBUTING TAKE-HOME LESSON MATERIALS, SUCH AS 568 COOKING AND GARDENING KITS FOR KIDS TO LEARN AT HOMECOVID-19 HAS MADE FOOD INSECURITY MORE WIDESPREAD THAN EVER ACROSS NEW YORK CITY. IN RESPONSE, DURING THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR, THE ORGANIZATION1) NURTURED OVER 33,000 SQUARE FEET OF SCHOOL GARDEN SPACE TO GROW AND HARVEST FRESH PRODUCE 2) PROVIDED OVER 6,000 FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS IN THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEARIN ADDITION, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS WENT FULLY VIRTUAL IN MARCH 2020. DURING THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR, THE ORGANIZATION'S PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS TRAINED 251 EDUCATORS WHO REACHED OVER 14,000 STUDENTS.

PUBLIC SCHOOL 7 - IN APRIL 2013 A SECOND DEMONSTRATION SCHOOL WAS ADDED AT P.S./M.S. 7 & GLOBAL TECH IN EAST HARLEM. THIS SECOND SITE SERVES AS A PARADIGM FOR A DIFFERENT TYPE OF TEACHING GARDEN IN NEW YORK, WITH A 4,000 SQUARE FOOT RAISED BED COURTYARD GARDEN AND KITCHEN CLASSROOM, AND A ROOF-TOP GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE.

NETWORK SCHOOLS - IN FALL 2015, THE NETWORK SCHOOLS PROGRAM WAS LAUNCHED AS A WAY OF EXPANDING EDIBLE EDUCATION PROGRAMMING TO MORE SCHOOLS. THE NETWORK SCHOOLS PROGRAM BRINGS SEED-TO-TABLE EDUCATION TO SCHOOLS IN THE BRONX AND BROOKLYN. NETWORK SCHOOLS EXPAND ON THE DEMONSTRATION SCHOOL MODEL TO MAKE FOOD EDUCATION ACCESSIBLE TO EVEN MORE NYC KIDS. THEY ARE IN NEIGHBORHOODS IDENTIFIED BY THE NYC DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AS HAVING HIGH RATES OF DIET-RELATED DISEASES AND LARGE NUMBERS OF CHILDREN FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES. THE ORGANIZATION WORKS CLOSELY WITH NETWORK SCHOOL STAFF AND COMMUNITIES TO EXPAND GARDENS, ADD KITCHEN CLASSES, AND PROMOTE A VIBRANT CULTURE AROUND HEALTHY FOOD. NETWORK SCHOOL COMMUNITIES LEARN TO GROW AND MANAGE THEIR OWN EDIBLE EDUCATION PROGRAMS. EACH SCHOOL'S PROGRAM IS UNIQUE, BASED ON THE COMMUNITY'S NEEDS, GOALS, AND RESOURCES, AND IS LED BY ONE ORGANIZATION TEACHER OR FOODCORPS SERVICE MEMBER AND OVERSEEN BY AN ORGANIZATION PROGRAM MANAGER.IN SEPTEMBER 2018, THE ORGANIZATION ADDED A NEW NETWORK SCHOOL, P.S. 218 IN THE SOUTH BRONX. BRIGHTER CHOICE COMMUNITY SCHOOL WAS ADDED IN SEPTEMBER 2019. IN THE 2019-20 SCHOOL YEAR, THE ORGANIZATION HAD SIX NETWORK SCHOOLS, BUT DECIDED TO LEAVE P.S. 218 DUE TO CHANGES IN PROGRAMMING DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC ("COVID-19"), AND THEREFORE WORKED WITH FIVE NETWORK SCHOOLS IN THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR.