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Food Justice Begins in the Classroom with Stephen Ritz
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In this episode of Educating to Be Human, Lisa speaks with Stephen Ritz, founder of the Green Bronx Machine, about how we can transform education by returning to the most essential teacher of all: food.
What if learning began not with a textbook, but with a seed? Stephen's journey - from a South Bronx classroom to a global network of edible education- reveals how growing food in schools can ignite curiosity, connect students to nature, and make learning deeply tangible. His work in communities facing food deserts underscores the urgency of teaching nutrition, science, and wellness through hands-on experience - especially for students in underserved areas.
This episode digs into the connection between food and learning, showing how the act of growing kale, tomatoes, or basil in a classroom can cultivate more than crops—it can grow confidence, purpose, and joy. For Stephen, learning shouldn’t happen only from the neck up. It should be embodied, sensory, and rooted in community.
Tune in to hear how gardens are reshaping education from the ground up.
Stephen Ritz is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning educator, author of best-selling book, The Power Of A Plant and Founder of Green Bronx Machine. Known as America’s favorite teacher and 2015 Top Ten Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize, Stephen is responsible for creating the first edible classroom in the world. He and his students have grown more than 165,000 pounds of vegetables in the South Bronx and are the subject of a new, full-feature documentary, Generation Growth. A replica of his classroom was installed in the US Botanic Gardens in Washington, DC and his curriculum is being used in hundreds of schools across the United States, and internationally from Colombia to Dubai, from Canada to Cairo, Doha, and beyond.
Resources:
https://greenbronxmachine.org/generation-growth/
https://greenbronxmachine.org/
https://greenbronxmachine.org/product/autographed-copy-of-the-power-of-a-plant-book/
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