Help create the next generation of foodies by educating kids about the culinary arts, food, and nutrition. Let's help public school kids live healthful lives. How? By getting teachers the resources they need to launch school gardens, to promote nutrition and fitness, and even to teach math through cooking.
One word that I can think of to describe my students was WOW!!! When my students came into my classroom and saw the parts of the greenhouse that other students assembled, they were awestruck! So far, our students have started seedlings in a grow light and planted them in cups. The plan is to move them into the greenhouse when they are a little bit larger. The project definitely boosted student interest in gardening when we go on a "field trip" to the courtyard where we placed it. It has been tough having to move to other activities as gardening has really captivated their attention.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Costanza
This classroom project was brought to life by Disney and 9 other donors.
Thank you very much for your generous contributions that funded our school's aquaponics system for our garden. The addition of this fantastic eco-friendly system to our garden is a wonderful way to add depth to our environmental science curriculum. Our students are learning all about ecosystems in a real world application that makes it interesting and meaningful.
Together, a village of people who care deeply about children's education, turned an innovative vision into a reality. Thank you for being a part of it!”
Thank you so much for helping our class with this gardening project! All the students love the new plant books and activity centers. We use our new supplies in class with our peer partners. Then we go out to our school garden where broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, pansies, and snapdragons are currently growing. The students love seeing the plants in the books and then growing live in our garden. We frequently hear the expression "look, it's the same!".
With spring right around the corner, we have tomato, eggplant, lettuce, lavender, and Gerber daisy seedlings to plant soon. Your generous donation has helped my students make the book to real life connection. Thank you for helping us expand our knowledge and healthy eating habits!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thompson
This classroom project was brought to life by NEA Foundation and 17 other donors.
Since this Donor's Choose project was started, we have had two farmers' market events at our school. The first market raised over $160 and our last one raised over $540! It has been an amazing experience for our students who are running the show. All the money raised goes directly into the maintenance of the garden. We hire local farmer's who come out each week to help us with our crops. They also teach classrooms all about the garden.
The cash box and calculators are used by the 5th graders who were in charge the bank. They did great at adding up the produce and making change. They even added up the grand totals after each market closed! These were real life math experiences for these kids. The third and fourth graders were in charge of bagging up and assisting the customers. They also helped with the set up of our tent and tables. The blackboard listed all of the harvested vegetables and the students were more than happy to point out how much we harvested. The name badges are also a big hit! The students are clearly identified as 'market employees' and they are proud to wear them.
When we received all the items in our project, the students were really excited because the idea that the market was coming became more real. They practiced with the calculators and making change as well as working on customer service skills. By the time the second market came around they were more confident and prepared for the larger crowds. We will have one more market before the end of the year and we expect it to be the biggest one to date! All the materials are being well used and we are very appreciative of having them for our market. They truly make our business run smoothly.
Thank you all again for your donations towards out farmers' market project!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Coveney
This classroom project was brought to life by Disney and 9 other donors.
Thank you for your generous donation to our school. Our students greatly appreciate your support. We were able to expand our garden and add an accessible raised garden bed.
We often talk about diversity, but actions are always more powerful. Adding an accessible aspect to our garden speaks very clearly to our students that no one should ever be left out and that all people are valued and important. These types of lessons can't be taught in a text book.
Thank you for helping us teach the most important lessons to our students.”
Thank you so much for your generous donations and participation in our garden project. This project has affected these students for the rest of their lives. The students were so excited when we started to open up all of the equipment. They wanted to explore the tools and start right away. They were excited and talked about what they wanted to plant and how they were going to eat what we grow. We took a vote on the types of food that we were going to plant. One student said "I love tomatoes, I can eat all the tomatoes". Another student said "I plant food". Even one of my almost non-verbal students said "Eat, eat". They were all so excited about growing food to eat.
My students used the resources by exploring and utilizing the tools. They also enjoyed the gardening tools and learned what each of them is used for. They loved to get down and dirty in the dirt, and the excitement was so contagious. The other teachers and general education classrooms came over to ask my students about what they were doing. They were so proud and confident when they "taught" the older students about the tools and the garden boxes. These experiences gave them the confidence and opportunities to teach others. These opportunities are something that a lot of students with special needs do not always receive. Thank you for that once in a lifetime opportunity for all involved.
This project really helped me to expand the teaching of not only science and math concepts; but self help skills, language skills, and life skills to outside of the classroom. These hands on experiences really help give my students concrete opportunities to connect concepts to real life. This is especially important for students with special needs. The abundance of enrichment opportunities that I was able to derive from this project is still extending into the new school year. Thank you again for your support and giving me the opportunity to provide my Super Kids with these types of out of classroom, real world, hands on, LIFE CHANGING experiences. You have changed a child's world.”
I would like to say "Thank You" to all of the wonderful people whose donations have made it possible for my students to watch and experience daily the wonder of planting a seed, caring for the young seedling, and watching it grow and flourish. With any luck, we'll have a bountiful harvest of organically grown vegetables and fruits throughout the school year that the students can eat and enjoy.
Our garden will provide an ongoing source of inquiry and study. We currently have two classes conducting an experiment comparing which conditions will produce faster seed sprouting and growth. We have also utilized the garden to teach many academic skills such as; area, perimeter, measurement, timelines, and research skills.
I will be able to teach the students about healthy fruits and vegetables by standing right in the middle of our garden! I truly believe that if students can get their hands dirty and grow vegetables and fruits organically, they will be more likely to eat what they have planted and cared for. Our goal is to have the students see a direct connection from THEIR garden to the food that is served in our cafeteria. How great would it be for the students to tell the other kids; "Hey, we grew that. Eat it!"?
Last week, we planted several varieties of green leafy vegetables and are looking forward to having a "Salad" party in a few months!
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to impact so many young minds and hearts (and stomachs!).”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Legaspi
This classroom project was brought to life by JPMorgan Chase and 7 other donors.
I can't begin to thank you enough for the donations that you made to our Culinary Arts Classroom. These supplies make each day a little easier to teach. In the past year, our program has become increasingly popular. Our classes, all 15 of them, are maxed out and most are overloaded. We often run into the problem of not having enough tools and utensils to go around for each student/group, so we resort to sharing. Now, let me assure you, I'm a pro-sharing kind of person! However, when classes last for only 50 minutes, it's hard to have one group wait for 5 to 10 minutes for another group to get finished using the tool that they need. Your donation has helped minimize the amount of time wasted and the need for sharing...and the students really noticed!
My students LOVED opening the boxes of new "toys" when they arrived. I live in an area when over 80% of students are on free or reduced lunches (down from last year, thankfully!), so they don't often open "presents." The joy on their faces...I nearly burst into tears. One of my students who is taking my advanced class was so excited. She said "now I can be prepared when I get to baking school", referring to the dough hooks. This has opened up an entirely new part of the curriculum for us...baking and pastry!
With this gift, we are getting the foundations laid to open new course offerings for these students. We are moving forward from our basic nutrition, restaurant management, and introduction to culinary arts classes to more advanced classes like baking and pastry, advanced culinary arts, and practicum in culinary arts. As a rocket needs a catalyst for propulsion, you are our fuel as we soar to new heights in the Livingston Independent School District. Our Lion Country Culinarians are on their way! Thank you for your support!”
Thank you again for the seeds, Earth Boxes, and germinated seed visual display. The students loved investigating the seeds then looking at the germinated display. We cannot plant yet but in the next couple months I will ask the students to help me plan how we will plant the seeds. They are so excited about it.
Using the seeds, we discussed new vocabulary. My students need continuous review of new vocabulary because they are in Kindergarten and because many of them are English Language Learners. By the time we plant, they will be content experts in planting.
Smiles.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Soucy
This classroom project was brought to life by Produce For Kids & Publix and 11 other donors.
The impact of your donation has not only benefited our classroom but also shown my kids the act of selfless giving. My students have grow so much this semester and one way they've grown is to appreciate fresh ingredients. This past week we use your generous donations and put on a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater. Collaborating with the forensic Science class the Culinary Art student spent the entire week making fresh pasta for the event. In our tiny rural town of 200 we do not get a lot of entertainment. The town Mayor and his wife and his daughter (an alumni in my program) attended, as well as 33 other town members! We are still getting compliments on the food and the play. The culinary student took much pride in delivering a fine dining experience and it was because of you and your gifts that made this possible! In fact for their finals this coming week three of the students are excited to use the pasta machines for their final student live demo. Thank you all so much, you have no idea how much joy you've given me and my students because people care about education and understand the plight some art programs endure due to low funding.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Jordan
Share this page
A chain reaction of support starts with one share.
{"challengeId":292873,"stats":{"active":0,"funded":7,"donors":19},"shouldSaveChallengeIdCookie":true,"challenge":{"id":292873,"type":"Challenge","donorId":108316,"name":"Foodies for Education ","URL":"https://www.donorschoose.org/donors/viewChallenge.html?id=292873","shuffleProjects":false,"landingTab":"HISTORICAL","isPartnerPage":false},"challengeName":"Foodies for Education ","vanityType":"challenge","isGivingPage":true}