Edible Schoolyard NYC

Did you know that in addition to our in-school programming, ESYNYC also hosts a variety of extracurricular activities across our schools each year? 🌱 Today we are spotlighting our 3rd grade afterschool garden club at P.S. 216 in Gravesend, Brooklyn!

The afterschool garden club provides an opportunity for students to gain deeper garden knowledge and connect more with the school garden space. Students enjoy taking part in hands-on activities that are revisited each week, such as planting seeds in pots and then monitoring the seeds’ growth in their journals and planting them into garden beds. They also complete fun activities like painting garden signs and making bee baths. 🐝 ESYNYC loves being able to share the joy of gardening and edible education with students through extracurricular activities like these. Until next year, P.S. 216 Garden Club!

Our Spring Reception earlier this month was nothing short of extraordinary! ✨ We are still dreaming about the amazing views, wonderful conversations, and delicious food prepared by Chef and his incredible team. ESYNYC had a great time celebrating with our community of friends and supporters, and we are so grateful to all who supported us as we raised over $900,000 to continue making edible education accessible for EVERY child in NYC. 🌱

Thank you again to our hardworking Host Committee, Board of Directors, generous live auction and silent auction donors, auctioneer , , , , , , and for your support, as well as and for joining us!

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A huge thank you to the volunteers from Neuberger who joined us for a work day at Brighter Choice Community School in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn last week! Volunteers did an incredible job painting garden beds, cleaning and reorganizing the shed, sealing the pergola and garden signs, and preparing compost bins for use. Thank you, Neuberger, for your support and work in keeping our garden ready for students to enjoy during these last few months of school! 🌷🌱

Thank you Apollo Global Management for joining us during Earth Month for a productive work day at our P.S./M.S. 7 school garden! ☀️ Volunteers did a great job chopping and sifting compost, cleaning around the garden, and helping with weeding. ESYNYC is grateful for Apollo’s support and work as we continue to keep our P.S./M.S. 7 garden in top shape for students to enjoy and learn in. 🌱

Happy Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! 🎉 ESYNYC is proud to celebrate our students’ cultures and our team loves sharing recipes from across the world, including Rainbow Sushi from Japan.

This month at , the ESYNYC team helped students craft delicious, colorful sushi made with an assortment of vegetables and herbs. 🥕🥒 BCCS Program Managers Mimi and Salena shared: “There were so many students who tried sushi for the first time and even more sushi fans who encouraged their classmates.” 🍣 What’s your favorite recipe?

We are still smiling after last night’s incredible Spring Reception! 🎉 Edible Schoolyard NYC is so grateful for our supportive community who came together to celebrate our work and raise funds so that we can continue to bring edible education to NYC public school students. It was a beautiful night at Tribeca Rooftop, with over 280 guests in attendance who helped raise $900,000 (and counting!) for our mission.

A special thank you to Chef of and and his team, who prepared a delicious dinner that we’ll be dreaming about for months to come. From the poached white asparagus to the lamb sausages to the apricot kernel semifreddo - all of our guests savored the amazing meal, which was accompanied by beautiful wine pairings from our friends at .

We were also proud to celebrate Principal Donna Neglia, whose leadership and commitment to our programming has been instrumental to ESYNYC’s ability to bring edible education to the students of P.S. 216 Arturo Toscanini in Brooklyn.

Thank you to our Host Committee, who worked hard to make the night a success: Mary Bernard, Mary & Colbert Cannon, Brittany McVicker Jacobs & Michael Jacobs, John Lyons, Christine Muhlke, and Rose & Oliver Patten. ✨ Thank you to our incredible Board of Directors: Anne Valentine Andrews, Mary Bernard, Gustavo Brillembourg, Colbert Cannon, Harrison DiGia, Chloe Drew, Jayme Goldstein, Jim Head, Dan Kwon, Brett Lawrence, Samantha Leff, John Lyons, Brittany McVicker Jacobs, Raph Osnoss, Chris Pomeroy, Anne Wellde Smits, Kirstie Walsh, Brett Williams, Natasha Wolff, and Cynthia Wood.

Thank you to our generous live auction and silent auction donors, and auctioneer , who helped us raise over $900,000 and counting toward ESYNYC’s mission. Special thanks to , , , , , and for their support in making the night nothing short of extraordinary.

ESYNYC is grateful to all of our supporters, partners, and friends whose support to our mission help us continue our work each and every day across 30 NYC public schools. 🌱

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As we close out Earth Month, we are grateful for our supportive community who helped raise nearly $7,000 and counting to fund Edible Schoolyard NYC’s programming. 🌎 Because of your support, ESYNYC can continue to bring edible education to over 4,000 students each year. We are so grateful to our generous supporters, especially our Associate Board who donated and helped raise funds in honor of .

If you didn’t get the chance to donate, it’s not too late! Every dollar helps students build healthy, sustainable futures:
🌱 $500 supports produce for one of our farm stands
🌱 $125 buys bulbs for one of our school gardens
🌱 $50 covers the cost of ingredients for a healthy recipe tasting for one class
🌱 $25 helps us buy kitchen classroom supplies for cooking lessons

Visit https://onecau.se/earthmonth2026 or the link in our bio to donate!

As comes to an end, ESYNYC celebrates the incredible work our students, volunteers, and team members do in building a sustainable food system and maintaining our school gardens across NYC. This month and every month, we embrace the 2026 theme, “Our Power, Our Planet”, as we empower our students with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to create more sustainable futures for themselves and their communities. 🌎🌱🎉

Our students contribute to a healthy and greener neighborhood by taking care of the school garden and learning to grow their own fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs, and more. Through ESYNYC’s programs, students have access to the knowledge and resources they need to make healthy choices and build a sustainable food system for us all. This and every month, we celebrate the hard work our students, staff, and volunteers put into our flourishing gardens! 🌿🍋

Edible Schoolyard NYC is thrilled to welcome Natasha Wolff to our Board of Directors!

Natasha Wolff is the Editor of DuJour magazine. Prior to joining the magazine for its launch in July 2012, she held staff positions at Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, and Us Weekly. For the last two decades, she’s worked for print and online publications like T, The New York Times Style Magazine, Forbes, Architectural Digest, Town & Country, and Elle Decor, both writing and editing.

We are grateful to for her support of our mission to build healthy, sustainable futures for every child in NYC and we look forward to working together to grow our impact. 🌱