The Middle School launched our study of global hunger and food justice on October 11, 2017 with a special morning program that began with a prayer service on the theme of bread. The girls watched and discussed the Documentary "A Place at the Table" and wrote prayers about hunger. The students and several middle school teachers also prepared a meal for the HOPE Soup Kitchen, and they created cards and place mats for Meals on Wheels.
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Our Global Seminar elective class helped kick-off and educate the high school grade levels about this issue. Mrs. Barton, Global Education Coordinator, provided the content outline. Then the class broke into groups, researched and framed the whole issue. An Animoto video was created with Social Studies teacher Chris Bratt as technical advisor. The students then led a robust Question & Answer by grade level.
Throughout the year, classroom teachers incorporated our symposium topic into various aspects of the curriculum.
Mrs. Khalil's Spanish AP students studied the 10 Principles of Fair Trade, and they read in Spanish two autobiographies: "Cuento del Cafecito,” the story of an organic coffee farm in the Dominican Republic, and "Cajas de Carton" about the childhood of a migrant worker in California who is now a university professor. Ms. Perry’s Spanish 3H students Skyped with Peace Corps volunteer Lesia Danyluk ’13 to hear how a rural Peru community faces poverty and malnutrition. Ms. Saraceni’s Italian classes shared articles in Italian and English about world hunger. Spanish 1 students in Ms. Slade's class enjoyed creating informative posters about global hunger.
Sr. Brenda’s Spanish 5H seniors created informational materials about the Venezuelan food crisis to raise awareness throughout the United States and assist the Ursuline efforts to feed Venezuelan school children. In Ms. DiIorio’s art classes, each middle school student created her own beautiful clay bowl and we hosted a "Breakfast for Lunch" event. Students could eat cereal out of their masterpieces and do some interactive reflection about hunger.
We held several school wide food drives and delivered to two food pantries that Ursuline partners with - St. Peter's Catholic Church in Yonkers, and Mercy Center in Bronx, NY.
On March 14, 2018, we were delighted to host two Forbes "30 Under 30" social entrepreneurs who lead innovative organizations that tackle hunger.
Rachel Sumekh, co-founder and CEO of Swipe Out Hunger, described how the organization partners with college campuses nationwide to end student hunger. Across the country, 1 in 5 college students regularly skips meals, having to prioritize the other costs associated with college. Today, Swipe Out volunteers on 36 college campuses invite students to donate their excess meals/dollars via a swipe machine that directly withdraws the funds from students' accounts. Donated meal swipes are converted into meal vouchers for students in need.
Robert Lee, co-founder and CEO of Rescuing Leftover Cuisine asked students to imagine finishing a delicious meal at a lovely restaurant and then learning that 40% of food is thrown out. Yet, at a homeless shelter 15 minutes away, people are hungry. In fact, 1 in 7 people rely on food assistance. Rescuing Leftover Cuisine has partnered with more than 30 local restaurants and markets to secure food donations and built a volunteer network of more than 1,400 people to hand-deliver donations to homeless shelters across New York City. They, like other such organizations, make volunteering simple and painless. It takes a minute to sign up on the app and get access to a calendar of food rescue tasks, pick convenient ones and download complete instructions. The organization now operates in 16 cities.
Our symposium keynote speaker on March 23, 2018 was Stephen Ritz, founder of the Green Bronx Machine.
Mr. Ritz enthusiastically recounted how he and his students have dramatically improved academic performance and transformed their South Bronx community from the poorest Congressional district in America to reclaimed neighborhoods with garden rooftops. It all started by growing plants in his classroom. Then, it evolved to providing food for the school cafeteria, donating produce to school families and making financial donations to homeless shelters, tsunami victims, and medical groups. Growing plants created environmental and social justice solutions in this unlikely place in the South Bronx!
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Since greening his curriculum, Mr. Ritz has seen near-perfect attendance and graduation rates, and behavioral incidents slashed in half. Other communities, states and countries have looked to Stephen Ritz and the Green Bronx Machine for advice and inspiration. Mr. Ritz's TEDx Manhattan Talk boasts over 1 million views. Mr. Ritz has spoken at the United Nations and he consulted for Fortune 500 companies. He wrote The Power of a Plant: A Teacher's Odyssey to Grow Healthy Minds and Schools which tells how one idea germinated into a movement and changed students' lives.
Ursuline students were inspired by this presentation and eager to get involved, to help alleviate hunger locally and to raise awareness about food insecurity.
Service is an important component of our global education program. We began a service project with Stephen Ritz in early May 2018. Our 7th graders planted 4,000 vegetable plants
in partnership with Mr. Ritz at the Food for Others Garden which is the Bronx's largest organic soil garden; it is under the subway, on a decommissioned city street. Several Ursuline faculty and administrators joined in the effort.
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In late May 2018, our Advanced Placement Environmental Science students returned to tend to the garden. They also planted 500 sunflowers which were initially grown in science classes at Ursuline and transported to the Farm. There are five varieties of sunflowers to yield plants of various heights and create a beautiful floral tapestry around the vegetable garden. The sunflower plants also attract pollinators and help with phytoremediation to remove toxins from the soil.
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This service project culminated with the harvest on July 10, 2018. Fifteen Ursuline students devoted a summer day to harvest collard greens, bell peppers, basil, and jalapenos. Students were joined by Principal Rosemary Beirne, Global Education Coordinator Maria Barton, and Director of Philanthropy Cathy McCarthy.
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They partnered with members of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center team. The produce was donated to cancer patients living in public housing and to the food pantry at POTS (Part of the Solution) in the Bronx. As Stephen Ritz, says, Si Se Puede! Yes, you can!
This very worthwhile project was publicized on the front page of July 5, 2018 issue of Catholic New York.
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