CitySprouts

CONTACT:

100 Putnam Ave
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-349-6562 x208
www.citysprouts.org

Jane Smillie, Director

DESCRIPTION:

CitySprouts is a local expression of a spontaneous and informal national movement to incorporate food education, including environmental and nutritional education, into school curricula. Perhaps the most prominent example is what Alice Waters has achieved in Berkeley and then California public and private schools, centering on the values of organically and locally grown produce, demonstrated and learned in hands-on school gardens, but incorporated throughout the entire curriculum. The idea is that children will experience the food process from seed to stomach, thus learning first-hand where food comes from and how. The hope is to change their minds about junk food and vending machines. Based in Cambridge, and founded in 2000, CitySprouts has programs at six elementary and middle schools — 50% of the system — and built gardens at five; they have a waiting list for more. Last year 1,404 children and adults were involved in the gardens, and the district has inserted its support as a line item in the 2007-08 budget. It takes from $10,000 to $30,000 to create a schoolyard garden. The Cambridge Public Schools System supplies 30% of the CitySprouts budget; the rest is raised philanthropically — which means folks like you. Bon appetit?

(2006: CULTURE: Education: Formal: Schools)