20 Teachers and Educators Building a Stronger Food System
Publication year
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UNCCD Library
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Web resource
School gardens can be great ways for kids to learn where food comes, and according to a recent study in Australia, gardens can also improve students’ academic performance, social skills, and health. The researchers find that hands-on programs not only encourage young people to increase their consumption of fruit and vegetables, but they also improve science and math grades.
“The biggest opportunity to fix the food system comes via education,” Stephen Ritz, founder of the Green Bronx Machine, tells Food Tank. “When children grow food in school, they learn all of this and become actively empowered and engaged in their lives and the lives of living things around them.”
But the benefits of garden-based learning are not confined to schools. Cooking and farming instructors help people of all ages lead healthier lives. According to a study by the University of San Diego, garden-based cooking classes for older adults increased participants’ overall health by 48 percent.
August marks the beginning of a new academic calendar for many. And despite disruptions, educators around the world are continuing to address food security, sustainability, and nutrition. This month Food Tank is highlighting 20 educators and teachers around the world that use hands-on lessons and the environment to create a more resilient food system, inside and outside the classroom.
1. Peter Becker, Germany
Peter Becker is a chef and nutritionist who uses edible wild plants to preserve biodiversity and develop a sustainable alternative to the food system. Becker educates children and adults how to harvest and cook wild plants through his program, Wildkräuter Werkstatt. He has created herb beds at four different schools in Wiesbaden-Klarenthal, Germany, where he also hosts workshops.
2. Alexis Daniels, United States
Alexis Daniels is known as a Parachute teacher—a substitute teacher who is an expert in a certain field. Working in a school for kindergarten through eighth grade in East Boston, Daniels integrates cooking and food into all of her lessons. She helps students understand how health, society, and the environment intersect with food. She is also the director of a teaching kitchen at a local YMCA in Massachusetts.
Read further about the 20 cases following the link above
“The biggest opportunity to fix the food system comes via education,” Stephen Ritz, founder of the Green Bronx Machine, tells Food Tank. “When children grow food in school, they learn all of this and become actively empowered and engaged in their lives and the lives of living things around them.”
But the benefits of garden-based learning are not confined to schools. Cooking and farming instructors help people of all ages lead healthier lives. According to a study by the University of San Diego, garden-based cooking classes for older adults increased participants’ overall health by 48 percent.
August marks the beginning of a new academic calendar for many. And despite disruptions, educators around the world are continuing to address food security, sustainability, and nutrition. This month Food Tank is highlighting 20 educators and teachers around the world that use hands-on lessons and the environment to create a more resilient food system, inside and outside the classroom.
1. Peter Becker, Germany
Peter Becker is a chef and nutritionist who uses edible wild plants to preserve biodiversity and develop a sustainable alternative to the food system. Becker educates children and adults how to harvest and cook wild plants through his program, Wildkräuter Werkstatt. He has created herb beds at four different schools in Wiesbaden-Klarenthal, Germany, where he also hosts workshops.
2. Alexis Daniels, United States
Alexis Daniels is known as a Parachute teacher—a substitute teacher who is an expert in a certain field. Working in a school for kindergarten through eighth grade in East Boston, Daniels integrates cooking and food into all of her lessons. She helps students understand how health, society, and the environment intersect with food. She is also the director of a teaching kitchen at a local YMCA in Massachusetts.
Read further about the 20 cases following the link above
Keywords
environmental education
food systems
nutrition
food security
innovations
children