Bring a Kitchen Classroom to CPE II
Central Park East II School is raising money to fund a kitchen classroom conversion, garden education, and garden supplies.
Leader
Anat Grosfeld
Location
19 East 103rd Street New York, NY 10028
About the project
WIth the success of a schoolyard garden under its belt, Central Park East II Elementary School is expanding its garden education program and raising money to create a kitchen classroom! This IOBY project will fund the renovation of an existing space into a multi-use classroom to accommodate these programs. In the renovated space, we will be able to:
- Provide cooking classes for CPE II students (using seasonal produce fresh from our school garden)
- Host Parent Association Health & Wellness workshops for CPE II families to inspire and educate about at-home cooking
- Host food preparation demonstrations by partner organizations, such as the Corbin Hill CSA.
Our parent architect volunteers have already drawn up plans to outfit the room with a dedicated sink, refrigerator, dishwasher, convection ovens and electric skillets and storage space for cooking items and tools. These funds will also cover the kitchen classroom teaching staff.
Individual donations of up to $200 raised for this Healthy Neighborhoods Project will be matched 1:1 up until we raise $10,000! It's a tremendous opportunity to gather community support for this project and double our fundraising ability. (Donations greater than $200 will only be matched for the first $200. To illustrate, while a $40 donation made by a community member will be matched 1:1 for a total gift of $80, a donation of $250 will translate into a total gift of $450. Please contact us if you have questions about this aspect.)
The Steps
October-November 2016: Purchase kitchen classroom appliances and equipment
November-December 2016: Installation of kitchen classroom appliances, planning of kitchen classes
January 2017: Kitchen classes begin at Central Park East II
Why we‘re doing it
Last April, on an unexpectedly cold Sunday morning, an amazing and dedicated group of CPE II parents and students, supported by additional volunteers from the CPE II community, came together to build a few raised garden beds and plant our first few vegetables in the big yard. Since that day, we have been energetically growing and expanding our child-centered garden space.
Guided by Sprout Farms, students envisioned and planned the garden layout. They planted, watered and ultimately harvested a wide variety of vegetables, including sugar snap peas, beets and beet greens, lettuces, herbs, and edible flowers. The success of our garden has both thrilled and overwhelmed us. We have all been touched by seeing the transformation of an empty barren space into a lush, green oasis that changes dramatically with the seasons.
Adding the kitchen classroom is the next step forward! By providing our students with the opportunity to experience cooking using the produce we grow, as well as produce from our partner CSA, we will empower them to develop cooking skills and encourage them to consider the connections between the food we eat, our food sources and our health.