We grow vegetables…
and our vegetables grow students, schools, and communities!
Green Bronx Machine is an impact driven, for-purpose organization with 501(c)(3) status rooted in the belief that we are all Amer-I-Cans! Green Bronx Machine was born via collaboration between life-long educator Stephen Ritz and his students who observed that as waistlines expanded, engagement and opportunities in school decreased, school performance suffered, and hope and ambition became minimized. Originally an after-school, alternative program for high school students, Green Bronx Machine has evolved into K-12+ model fully integrated into core curriculum. Our students grow, eat and love their vegetables en route to spectacular academic performance.
We run on your philanthropic support.
Make an impact today and donate!
Green Bronx Machine is on PBS!
Join Mister Ritz as he explores the world with a whole cast of characters. Green Bronx Machine appears in segments of “Let’s Learn NYC” with new episodes on WNET-13 and WLIW-21. For Full Episodes SUBSCRIBE to the Green Bronx Machine KIDS’s YouTube Channel.
Feature Length Documentary!
Health and educational outcomes in low-income areas across America are staggeringly low. Bronx educator, Stephen Ritz, is on a mission to change all that. He developed an incredibly successful indoor gardening curriculum that allows children to grow vegetables in the classroom, helping them eat better, be more engaged with school and give them pathways for jobs.
News
The Green Bronx Machine® Classroom Curriculum
turns any school or community gardening program into an academic and standards-based learning experience. With technology-enabled lesson plans which use food and plant life cycles to teach multiple subjects, students also learn critical thinking and problem solving as they explore, discover and create their own ecosystem.
Each purchase comes with a lifetime site license, online professional development, access to dedicated website and communities, and direct communication with Stephen Ritz.
Impact
150,000+
pounds of healthy food
donated to students
and families
8,800+
pounds of produce
grown locally in
the Bronx
675
GBM sites
around the
world
1,722
teachers received
direct training
252,368
students received
GBM instruction
received Classy’s
Social Innovation
Award, AGAIN!
Used in 500+ Classrooms Worldwide
National Health, Wellness and Learning Center
Green Bronx Machine maintains The National Health, Wellness & Learning Center at CS 55, an innovative and engaging wonderland where students and teachers grow their way towards a brighter future. This classroom laboratory functions as a testbed for agricultural technology and as scalable model, currently being replicated in over 6,000 schools across North America.