CNN’s Anderson Cooper reports on a rooftop school garden in Newark, New Jersey

CNN Video. May 6, 2010
St. Phillips Academy. A school in Newark, New Jersey, is teaching sustainability, healthy living and respect for the environment.

St. Philip’s Students Cook What They Grow

From The Trumpet
St. Philip’s Academy
Fall 2009

St. Philip’s Academy students are trading in their uniforms for aprons to cook in Newark’s first teaching kitchen. Our EcoSPACES program (“St. Philip’s Academy Cultivates Environment Sustainability”) continues to grow in ways that promise to inspire and engage students. The teaching kitchen, our newest addition, encourages students to explore the origins of the food they consume and understand the role of locally grown produce on environmental sustainability. Each month, students prepare ingredients from their rooftop garden plots, transform them into meals and, finally, eat what they started from seed.

EcoSPACES coordinator and seventh-grade science teacher, Jen Kotkin, remains excited about the teaching and learning opportunities the kitchen presents. “Finally, we have an environment where the history teacher can teach and demonstrate Colonial cooking. We have a math teacher whose students are able to convert ounces into pounds with the use of measuring cups and scales. We have a science teacher who after dissecting a squid, will be cooking calamari! I don’t know of another school that gives students the opportunity to learn the skills needed to become agents of change.” Our students have been able test different methods of making mashed potatoes, have created a “St. Philip’s salsa,” and our own versions of seasonal soups and applesauce.

Not only are we reading about Native Americans in history, but we are able to sample their culinary world by cooking as Native Americans would,” said Kotkin. “The opportunities are endless and we are looking forward to the ideas sparked by the teaching kitchen.” The students will also have the opportunity to learn from guest chefs throughout the year, and we plan to host commu- nity cooking classes for parents and other constituents. We have already been able to incorporate an after-school cooking club.

St. Philip’s celebrated the opening of the teaching kitchen on October 8, 2009, with co-hosts Garden State Urban Farms, edibleJersey, and Scholastic Culinary Services, and featured student sous chefs who made hors d’oeuvres and showcased their culinary skills for invited guests. One of our SPAzine (online student magazine) reporters, Trevon, remarked: “When I attended the Teach Teaching Kitchen Opening, it was fun and very exciting and was surprised how good the food tasted.” He also went on to write “there were wonderful compliments from many people especially from Ms. Irene Jones, Trustee of the Orange Orphan Society.”

“Anyone expecting to lead a healthy and productive life in this country needs to understand the food they put into their bodies,” remarks Miguel Brito, Head of School. “The teaching kitchen allows every St. Philip’s student to understand the chemistry of food, while developing lifelong skills for preparing food in wholesome and nourishing ways. EcoSPACES continues to develop new programs that change the way children live and eat.”