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sprouting local solutions<\/h2>\n
since the introduction of tower gardens, the green bronx machine has flourished into an educational and community-based organization that teaches students how to garden and consume healthier foods. under its model, students still learn core subjects like science and math, but gardening is put at the center of teaching so that students have a more engaging and hands-on learning experience. while unconventional, the green bronx machine education model has proven to be effective in training and empowering students.<\/p>\n
\u201cwe\u2019ve taken a formerly failing, slated-to-be-closed school that now outperforms city and statewide benchmarks in all areas,\u201d ritz said.<\/p>\n
notably, the green bronx machine has not only closed education gaps in the bronx but has also expanded to address local food insecurity as well. today, the organization runs classroom and community gardens all throughout the bronx, serving as a production hub for healthy greens around the bronx community. cory gamble, a former student of ritz\u2019s and the green bronx machine\u2019s farm technician, has witnessed how the green bronx machine fills an incredibly important food access gap in his community.<\/p>\n \u201cthat\u2019s the main thing in the bronx: lack of food,” gamble said. “the bronx doesn\u2019t really have food like that. it\u2019s mostly junk food around here than anything else.”<\/p>\n ritz\u2019s vision for the green bronx machine is rooted in community empowerment and self-sufficiency. instead of waiting for outsiders to fix the bronx\u2019s food deserts, ritz is eager to make change from within, empowering the bronx\u2019s youth to be farmers who change the trajectory of local food insecurity.<\/p>\n \u201cwe at green bronx machine are determined to be the light inside of our tunnel, instead of seeking light at the end of the tunnel,\u201d ritz said.<\/p>\n when the covid-19 pandemic took the world by surprise, the green bronx machine was already prepared to address the exacerbated food crisis in the bronx.<\/p>\n \u201conce the covid-19 crisis started, it was amazing that nothing fell off, and green bronx machine didn\u2019t have to readjust,\u201d said michaela, ritz\u2019s daughter who had been helping the organization deliver meals to families during the pandemic.<\/p>\n according to michaela, the green bronx machine worked hard to \u201cfill in the cracks that became even more glaringly apparent in society.\u201d with schools shutting down and healthy meals becoming more difficult to access, the green bronx machine went above and beyond to ensure that their students were still learning and families were still eating. ritz and his team hosted frequent cooking classes, even delivering ingredients to students to make sure they could participate. they also transformed their national health and wellness center into a food pick-up station, in addition to hand-delivering more than 100,000 pounds of food to locals in their community.<\/p>\n \u201cwithout green bronx machine, i don\u2019t know if half of these kids would be eating due to covid,\u201d gamble said.<\/p>\n when schools started opening back up again in the bronx, the green bronx machine also resumed their classroom gardening projects in a socially distant manner. in this way, the green bronx machine improved students\u2019 lives during the pandemic through three main avenues: an academic need for learning, a material need for nutritious food, and a social need for human connection.<\/p>\n the systemic issues of food insecurity and school dropout rates are not unique to the bronx, and so the green bronx machine strives to replicate these positive impacts in other communities that struggle with their same issues. with expansive success in the bronx education system, the green bronx machine has developed a curriculum model now implemented in over 500 classrooms around the u.s. and world. <\/p>\n what makes the green bronx machine model so powerful, though, is that it isn\u2019t just an education success story. it\u2019s a societal success story. the green bronx machine\u2019s journey to make the bronx a greener and healthier community shows that societal transformation is most effective and sustainable when it starts from within. instead of employing outside food delivery to feed the bronx, the green bronx machine placed the seeds in the hands of those with the most power to change the bronx for the better: the local youth. <\/p>\n ultimately, food is the key ingredient that powers the green bronx machine model, bringing together students, educators, and community members alike because nutritious food is a universal necessity of life. food is what we all have in common, and so what the green bronx machine brings to the bronx can be brought to any community in need of healthy food.<\/p>\n according to ritz, \u201cfood is the language in which society reveals itself.\u201d and in the bronx, the success of the green bronx machine reveals that youth and education are two of the most powerful channels to bring healthy food access to some of the country\u2019s poorest communities.<\/p>\n a seed of an idea planted in the bronx, the green bronx machine model now has the potential to be harvested around the world. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" the bronx is home to many things \u2014 yankee stadium, the bronx zoo, the birth of hip-hop \u2014 and most recently, an idea powerful enough to change the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9792,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4919,4896,4900,5196,4930,4914],"tags":[3430,206,114,161,129,4418,591,2245],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-11312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agriculture","category-food","category-green-living","category-past-storyfest","category-science-communication","category-sustainability","tag-classroom-sustainability","tag-education","tag-food","tag-food-access","tag-food-waste","tag-pandemic","tag-storyfest","tag-youth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mbycj3cckrlzz5h2ziguot4h4kiycjpbl6fjxgt_atjw60dfy51yaqpg2dxknt1dblgodmojgrsqiq0wftepcqa6zltl17aiaemjedkpqntzb-snrhav_9m6ymh4r5sx7igc69j0.png\")
rooted in resilience<\/h2>\n
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harvesting a movement<\/h2>\n
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