We partner with school communities to:
- Lead hands-on programs where children and families can explore cooking and gardening
- Support schools and educators to incorporate food education into their classrooms
- Advocate for policies that create long-term, sustainable changes in New York City
Our edible education programming includes:
- Hands-on cooking and gardening classes that all students attend as part of their regular school day
- Extracurricular activities and clubs, cafeteria tastings, family engagements and community events
- Produce distributions, like pay-what-you-wish community farm stands and recipe kits
- Professional development workshops for teachers and school staff
- Nurturing school gardens to provide inclusive outdoor learning and welcoming community building spaces
- Promoting partnerships and policies within and beyond school communities that support student, family, and community wellness, and sustainability
Our curriculum is culturally responsive to students’ backgrounds, reinforces core academic content like math, science, and reading, supports social-emotional learning, and builds students’ commitment to environmental justice. At the heart of our school programs are our gardens, which serve as food production spaces for cooking classes, as well as inclusive and engaging outdoor green spaces and living classrooms for the entire community.
“The kids get so excited by cooking and gardening class. They make so many great connections with the classes to our activities.”
-Teacher, Core School Partner
Models
Core School partners public schools where our educators are in residence year-round and students participate in our kitchen and gardening classes on a regular enrichment schedule during the school day (just as they attend a rotation of physical education, music, and art classes), with after-school and summer programming as well.
Seed School partners are public schools that participate in our new Mobile Education program where we work with the school community to implement a more scalable and accessible program model with more customizable scheduling, curricula, and materials to fit each school’s unique culture and needs.
Mobile Education Seed School partners participate in our Mobile Education model, which adapts some of the best qualities of our site-based model to a more accessible, scalable and customizable model. This model includes classroom instruction, curriculum, community engagement, and supplies.
Professional Development
In order to share our curriculum and know-how with schools citywide, ESYNYC offers a variety of teacher training workshops and customized school training throughout the year.
Would you like to learn more about our range of custom training workshops for educators of all levels? Get in touch with Liza Engelberg, Director of Education and Learning at le@esynyc.org today to learn more about how we can adapt our training for your educators and their classrooms!
Need some guidance planning or maintaining your school garden? Reach out to our Director of Horticulture and Operations, Jason Duverney-Gaspar, at jdg@esynyc.org to discuss how ESYNYC’s skilled gardeners can provide you with technical assistance.
Need some help with cooking or gardening activities, scoping, or sequencing for your classroom or educational programming? Get in touch with Liza Engelberg, Director of Education and Learning at le@esynyc.org to learn how we can provide technical assistance throughout your edible education journey!
Interested in integrating edible education into your classroom or school community? We can’t wait to meet you! Click Here for a sample menu of services, or get in touch with Liza Engelberg, Director of Education and Learning at le@esynyc.org today to learn more!