Serving a community in need
In 2013, we began construction on our second Demonstration School, P.S./M.S. 7 in East Harlem, an elementary and middle school co-located with a Grade 6 – 8 public middle school, Global Technology Preparatory. Located at 120th Street and Lexington Avenue — a neighborhood with limited access to fresh produce and some of NYC’s highest levels of poverty and obesity — the Title 1-funded schools serve over five hundred Pre-K through 8th grade students. The student body reflects both the diversity and the economic challenges of the community of East Harlem:
- 57% of the students come from a Latino or Hispanic background
- 37% of the students are black or African American
- 45% of the neighborhood population receives income support
- 64% of households receive SNAP benefits
Kids are now learning in our 2,000-square-foot container garden and a former classroom we converted into kitchen space. In fall 2016, we opened a 2,300-square-foot rooftop teaching garden, complete with a greenhouse.
“You know it’s fresh because you grew it and you picked it.”
— Fifth grader at P.S. 7
