I am thrilled to report that co-author Suzie Boss and I have completed the manuscript for our book: The Power Of A Plant, to be released by Rodale this May, which highlights my personal odyssey as a teacher as well as the amazing Green Bronx Machine story. I’m honored to be donating proceeds to support Green Bronx Machine and grow more healthy children and thriving schools around the world. You can pre-order now.

And if that’s not enough, we are putting the finishing touches on our Green Bronx Machine Classroom Curriculum as we speak. This curriculum will be Common Core, Next Generation Science Standards, P21 and International Baccalaureate aligned across every single subject and content area – putting the art and science of growing healthy children and healthy, high performing schools at everyone’s finger-tips for educators around the world.

Part of Effort to Improve Access to Fresh Food and Nutrition Education
in Underserved Communities

SOUTH BRONX, NEW YORK – Green Bronx Machine has been awarded a $25,000 grant from Newman’s Own Foundation, the independent foundation created by the late actor and philanthropist, Paul Newman.

Newman’s Own Foundation made the award to Green Bronx Machine as part of a broader commitment to support programs that increase access to fresh food and nutrition education in underserved communities. This funding will help Green Bronx Machine build healthy, equitable, and resilient communities through inspired education, local food systems, and 21st Century workforce development.

“We believe that healthy students help drive healthy schools, and that healthy schools are at the heart of healthy communities. We envision growing healthy communities where those who are ‘apart from’ will become ‘part of’ new solutions that benefit 100% of society; a world where people do not have to leave their community to live, learn and earn in a better one. Together, we can grow something greater!”

Green Bronx Machine is dedicated to cultivating minds and harvesting hope, our school-based model using urban agriculture aligned to key school performance indicators grows healthy students and healthy schools to transform communities that are fragmented and marginalized into neighborhoods that are inclusive and thriving.

“We are proud to fund Green Bronx Machine as they work to make a difference in our communities,” said Bob Forrester, President and CEO, Newman’s Own Foundation. “They are one of the many organizations helping to identify needs and fill the gaps for children and families who lack access to healthy foods.”

Newman’s Own Foundation has been supporting food and nutrition programs for more than 30 years and has given more than $11.5 million to nutrition-focused organizations since 2014. The Foundation continues Paul Newman’s commitment to give all net profits and royalties from the sale of Newman’s Own food and beverage products to charity. Since 1982, more than $475 million has been donated to thousands of charities around the world.

We are back to school and hit the ground running! We’re so proud to debut our Back to School Video highlighting the completed National Health Wellness and Learning Center classroom and our May 10th Celebration with NYS Education Chancellor Dr. Betty Rosa and our Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Watch the Video

Our back to school fair was the best ever, and we distributed over 250 pounds of vegetables straight from our school garden. Check out the size of those eggplants!

The entire team is flattered that our first TED Talk now has over 1,000,000 Views, and our program and classroom technology have come a long way since. At GBM we are dedicated to always moving forward fueled by the energy, innovation and spirit of our children.

In August we were presented with the Martin L. Mathews Award for Nonprofit Leadership by Mr. Martin Mathews himself at the Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club which has served over 2 Million Children over six decades. These are the kinds of partnerships we are so proud of.

We were proud to be featured on the speaker panel and that the National Health, Wellness & Learning Center hosted some of the brightest minds in our classroom to kick off NYC AgTech Week with Agritecture leading the industry in innovation.

Make sure to follow his latest adventures on Stephen’s Facebook Page.

Stephen Ritz, founder of the Green Bronx Machine and Global Teacher Prize Finalist, will be awarded the Martin L. Mathews Award for Nonprofit Leadership on August 27th from the Mathews-Dickey Boys & Girls Club in St. Louis, Missouri. GBM shares the MDBGC values of involving “youth in fun and engaging activities that promote healthy lifestyles, cultivate creative expression, support academic enrichment, foster leadership skills and prepare students for successful transitions to college and career.” After the awards program, guests will be treated to an evening of unforgettable entertainment featuring two GRAMMY-recognized artists, Chaka Khan & El DeBarge.

On May 10th, we officially cut the green ribbon for the National Health, Wellness and Learning Center at CS 55. We were honored to have NYS Education Chancellor Dr. Betty Rosa host and cut the ribbon. In attendance were Superintendent Dr. Leticia Rodriguez-Rosario and Deputy Chancellor Chris Caruso along with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., NYC Council Member Vanessa Gibson, NYS Assemblyman Michael Blake and a host of VIP’s, community members, and national & local media including Edible Bronx.

Cooking with us were partner Chefs Bill Yosses and Roberto Welch who helped prepare meals direct from our commercial Tower Garden Farm right on our Green Bronx Machine Mobile Classroom Kitchen. Students demonstrated every aspect of the center – from our solar and people powered energy stations, to the first Grove Ecosystem in NYS, to our Tower Garden Farm, indoor kitchen and NYS workforce development training center and were treated to gourmet produce goodie bags courtesy of our partners at Gotham Greens.

Nothing thrills us more than to report that our test results on the NYS 4th Grade Science Exam showed a school-wide 45% increase in passing rates – including special needs and English language learners. Thanks to our amazing new science teachers and the hard work of our students, we continue to grow healthy students and healthy school outcomes simultaneously. Test scores like this are the talk of the town!

Thanks to an anonymous donor and our friends at Sodexo, we were able to offer our first ever Garden, Culinary & Career Camp. Together, we prepared 504 meals, consumed 8 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily, spent 7,560 minutes in the garden, logged 3,276,000 steps, learned 84 new grade appropriate vocabulary words and successfully lobbied to remove chocolate milk from the school! We were also able to take ten day trips specifically focussing upon careers in urban agriculture, food service and hospitality as well as culinary careers.

We visited farms – indoor / outdoor / commercial, supermarkets, restaurants, colleges, hospitals, Bloomberg LLP and even rode horses. Our 18 summer campers will be turn-keying their learning to lower grades this fall and we have an emergent team of traveling chefs and two students who want to run for President of Student Council. Further, through our partnership with GrowNYC and Fresh Food Box – we were able to sponsor 18 families to receive locally grown produce – along with recipes – to inspire and teach healthy living to their families at home.