Last month, the Tisch Food Center visited a couple of food and nutrition education providers in NYC Schools.
Dr. Jen Cadenhead, the Tisch Food Center’s Executive Director, also visited FoodStream Network at two District 75 schools, P12X Main and P12X @562X. The Tisch Food Center team had a great time at both!
FoodStream Network has several enterprises going. Food and nutrition education is just one of the things they do to help students and the community engage with and improve food and nutrition security. Dr. Cadenhead observed the children prepare and plant seedlings and plants in raised beds at the two schools. “They really seemed to be enjoying themselves,” she said. “Being able to move, feel the dirt and experience first hand how plants grow outside made the children so happy. It was such a joy to be with them.”
Dr. Kuvava Jones, the principal of the school, has been on a mission to provide her students—across five buildings, all of whom are neurodiverse —with experiences that improve their health outcomes through hands-on activities, increase their access to healthy foods, and even enhance their ability to be gainfully employed after graduation. “FoodStream has certainly been instrumental in helping Dr. Kuvava Jones realize her mission,” said Dr. Cadenhead. “They provide food and nutrition education through gardening, in-class activities such as cooking, hydroponics, and virtual reality experiences - turning every classroom into a kitchen. They have also been crucial in helping the school find reliable sources of healthy foods to stock their weekly food pantry with fresh produce, as well as offering job development training opportunities and connecting local green thumb enthusiasts to care for the newly built gardens. It’s truly impressive.”
For more information, please connect with FoodStream at www.fsn.education and on Instagram at @foodstream_network.