"The secret to success is the art and science of growing vegetables online to high-performing academic standards. So we are transforming both the lens of public education and personal eating outcomes." —Stephen Ritz
Imagine a classroom where students don't just read about science but experience it firsthand by growing their own food. This isn't some futuristic fantasy— it's the reality created by the Green Bronx Machine, a pioneering program that is transforming public education one school at a time.
Stephen Ritz is the visionary behind this game-changing initiative. As an educator, social entrepreneur, and passionate advocate for community empowerment, he has dedicated his life to unlocking the potential of underserved students through the power of hands-on, food-based learning.
Listen in as we revisit this classic episode and discover how Stephen's innovative approach is yielding remarkable results, from improved academic performance to greater environmental stewardship and a renewed sense of purpose.
Connect with Stephen:
Stephen Ritz is a South Bronx educator who believes that students should not have to leave their community to live, learn, and earn in a better one. An internationally acclaimed award-winning educator, Stephen is the author of the best-selling book, The Power Of A Plant, and founder of Green Bronx Machine.
Known as “America’s Favorite Teacher,” Stephen is responsible for creating the first edible classroom in the world, which he has evolved into the National Health, Wellness, and Learning Center. He and his students have grown more than 100,000 pounds of vegetables in the South Bronx. He was a Top Ten Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize, named Global Humanitarian, Food Tank Hero, TEDx Prize Winner, and a Global Food Educator, and has presented at the Obama White House three times. Stephen believes that together, via collaboration, and coalition and get to yes solutions, we can all prosper!
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Episode Highlights:
02:15 Steve’s Documentary
04:52 Steve’s Impact on Schools
06:29 Green Bronx Machine Curriculum and Accessibility
09:49 The Impact of Green Bronx Machine Programs
10:07 How to Donate to Green Bronx Machine
12:24 Student Success Despite Economic Challenges
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From the charge time and range in the IONIQ 5 and 6 to the adventurous spirit of the Kona electric to the 601 horsepower IONIQ 5 and Hyundai EVs make the extraordinary electrifying. There's joy in every journey. EPA estimated 303 mile driving range for 2024 IONIQ 5 SE, SEL limited real-wheel drive and 361 mile driving range for 2024 IONIQ 6 SE long-range rear-wheel drive with fully charged battery. Actual range may vary. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Happy holidays! So this time of year we have taken a few weeks off both myself and the team to spend with our friends and family but don't worry. We wouldn't leave you with an empty podcast feed. This week we're re-airing some of our older more favorite interviews. This one specifically features Steve Ritz. He's the founder of The Green Bronx Machine. It's a great program that teaches students to grow and eat their own food while nourishing both their body and their minds. Steven has been busy since we last spoke so please enjoy the quick update from Steven followed by an essential ingredients classic episode. Happy holidays everyone and we'll see you back here in the new year with some new episodes. Hey Justine, so they can pop in. What's going on? Well let me tell you. First and foremost, you've got students across the nation and around the world taking generation growth healthy plague. That's right. It's a student-led designed to teach kids to be healthier, more active, more socially aware and basically to build off our film. It invites children to be tied to themselves, be tied to each other and be kind to the planet. Believe it or not, this week alone I've signed on more than 50,000 children to take the pledge with me. But we've got so much more going on. First and foremost, you have the middle of winter or right here in our classroom. We've got hours on growing. We've got so much of food growing. Believe it or not, we even had our overall your own friends giving these for the kids. There are a hundred people right out of this classroom. So I couldn't be more excited. And then of course, we've got brand new technology, courtesy of Babylon bifocar. That's right. Check out this amazing bad boy. It's Istanbul. Look at that beautiful food. This is the same technology that Vice President Kamala Harris went to visit in Richmond, Virginia. And it aligns so well with our brand new documentary, Generation Growth. So we've been filming. It's screening the film all around the world. Literally, I was in the UAE two weeks ago. We showed the film just back from St. Louis. The film will be going to sound by Southwest. And next month, it'll be in Sundance. Interesting. I want you to come with me. And you can check out the film. It's generationgrowthfilm.com. There's the QR code. I can't wait to talk to you about the film. And look, we're getting hundreds of pledges each and every day from kids around the world who want to live healthier, happier, brighter lives. So I can't wait to see you. Can't wait to check in. You can always catch up with me on LinkedIn. And I can't wait to do the interview. So a lot going on, but no one is proud of the film, Generation Growth. Check out the website generationgrowthfilm.com. And I'll see you soon, Justine. Hi, and welcome to essential ingredients. Today, I'm so pleased to have with you Steve Brits. And I'm justine Reichmann. So welcome, welcome. So today's a good morning. It's so good to see you. You look fabulous. Oh, thank you, Steve. It's great to see you too. You're on my side of the coast here in Arizona. So it's great to catch up with you. And it's always good to hear what you're up to. You're always doing such great stuff. So it's good to catch up. And this is so special because this we thought of you in particular. Well, I will get at you. And, you know, I remember when, you know, this God, you know, it's coming up on just over 10 years since we started this work. And from when I first met you and, you know, recently we just realized that we went from 17 children to over 270,000. So it would have known who would have known. So it's so great to see you. And and like, I'm looking at you and remembering those days. That is amazing. And that's a huge, that's a huge about that's what an amazing feet. Like you've got the world. That's what I always said. It really is. I remember, you know, we met at TEDx Manhattan back in the day at the New York Times building. Right. And now you've grown so much. And now you're traveling all over the world and creating these farms in different places and creating education. And that's what I really want to talk to you about because we are coming up on this week of education around children. And next-gen purpose and essential ingredients really wants to support this. And we want to support you and your efforts. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You know, you hit the key word. It is still from the education. And that's, you know, I'm still not a farmer per se. The kids are growing way more vegetables than I ever am. But we now have 675 high performing schools all around the nation and some of the most marginalized communities. And the secret for our success is the art and science of growing vegetables align to high performing academic standards. So we are transforming both the lens of public education and personal eating outcomes. Just this month we learned about some of our students getting into some of the best private high schools in America, which is awesome. Some great college acceptance news and some amazing data regarding our green bronze machine classroom curriculum. So timing for this is perfect. We have requests. We're still small and humble. So, you know, we have a big footprint, but we're still small. So this fundraising lift really, really helps us. We get requests now from hundreds of schools across the country that need support, that want training. And we would love this opportunity to raise some money, to support them, to give them the tools they need, the support they need, the gardens they need, the technology, and to cover the cost of doing all that. So perfect timing. Listeners, as we go into a new year, we all have a lot on our plates. They're backpacking trips across Europe to plan, personal best to crush in the gym, and capsule wardrobes to create. Good thing our sponsor Nerd Wallet is here to take one thing off your plate, finding the best financial products. Introducing Nerd Wallet's 2025 Best of Awards list, your shortcut to the best credit cards, savings accounts, and more. The nerds have done the work for you, researching and reviewing over 1,100 financial products to bring you only the best of the best. Looking for a balanced transfer credit card with 0% APR? They've got a winner for that, or a bank account with a top rate to hit your savings goals. They've got a winner for that too. Know you're getting the best products for you, without doing all the research yourself. So let Nerd Wallet do the heavy lifting for your finances this year, and head over to their 2025 Best of Awards at nerdwallet.com/awards to find the best financial products today. Well, I'm glad that we could be here to support those efforts and support this week in particular and in particular use. So for those that are not familiar with what you do and the impact you're having, can you share a little bit about some of the initiatives you have, maybe one or two, and the impact that they're having for your children that are going through this? Stoopers. So the most important thing we do is we grow vegetables, our vegetables grow students, and our students grow schools. And at the heart of our work is the Green Bronze Machine Classroom Curriculum. Now, I always said school is really important. So imagine having a curriculum that takes the art and science of growing vegetables indoors using 90% less water, 90% less space, classroom based. So it is an indoor academic learning garden, aligned with whole school curriculum. We do it with no annual fees, no charity subscriptions, $1,349 for a site license and sponsors a school into perpetuity. All of the training, you have access to me, tons of online training that you can download. The reality of COVID, sadly, is that it made us as an organization crisis resilient. We figured out on a dime how to make training accessible, how to make professional development accessible, and really took the monetization out of curriculum and education and really democratized it so that anybody anywhere can afford it along with the purchase of a tower barn for a classroom. So our Green Bronze Machine Classroom curriculum has transformed academic outcomes in ways and teacher training, in ways we never imagined. So much so that the state University of New York is now using it to train teachers in all content and subject areas. We then came up with another program which you are going to love and it's called Green Bronze Machine in a box and it was the brainchild of Lizette and literally we send the barn the curriculum and an entire box fully sourced with blenders, aprons, cutting boards, knives, salad spinner, measuring cups, everything you need for a fully immersive classroom, tower, to table, to tummy experience and literally even comes with reusable silverware, dishwashing soap and towel. So the teachers never have to go to a 99 cent store and literally with the curriculum and the program they are reading, writing, doing math and science daily while growing themselves a meal and it culminates in a harvest party. And the most amazing thing is 100 percent of the teachers across America love the program and 94 percent of the students want to do it again, which is awesome sauce because what are they doing? Eating more vegetables, growing more food, sharing more recipes, eating more healthy. So it's really been a blessing and that's called Green Bronze Machine in a box and it's unbelievable because literally that box lives in a classroom into perpetuity. We've aligned it with a new TV show called Let's Learn with Mr. Ritz and Tower to Table to Tummy which is a whole immersive cooking series that teachers get how to grow food, cook it in the classroom and share it in the classroom and just launched it on a new YouTube channel called Green Bronze Machine Kids. So if you're watching, check it out and please subscribe. Wow, Steve. Can I say that again? No, no, I love it. First, first, let's just talk about how accessible all of this is that you made it. I mean, it really is accessible. It's accessible so that everyone can take advantage of this. You made it so that the students, the colleges, the states, everybody can take advantage of this. So when we go to raise money for this now, talk to me again, reiterate this for me because you were saying just how accessible this is, how affordable these programs are. And when somebody is donating money, I want them to understand what they're actually getting for this and the impact it's having. So when they're spending searching or $14, what that's buying for somebody and the impact it's having on somebody. Great. So you can sponsor a school curriculum, imagine an entire school, all the teachers in a whole school in a marginalized community being trained for $1,349. Into perpetuity, teachers come, teachers go, we don't care. We're going to sign you up and stay with you for life. And that had been one of the most transformational tools in America. Realize our number one client or school principals and school superintendents interested in transforming pedagogical outcome. For another $1,500, you can put an indoor academic learning garden in a classroom into perpetuity. Imagine inside a community where you go from a box to a garden in 45 minutes, if you're a man and 15 minutes, if you're a woman, because you'll read the directions and follow the instructions where you can grow vegetables all year long in a classroom with little ones and enough so that that whole class can have a copious party and tons of salad to eat and take home. Listeners, as we go into a new year, we all have a lot on our plates. They're backpacking trips across Europe to plan, personal best to crush in the gym and capsule wardrobes to create. Good thing our sponsor Nerd Wallet is here to take one thing off your plate, finding the best financial products. Introducing Nerd Wallet's 2025 Best of Awards list, your shortcut to the best credit cards, savings accounts, and more. The nerds have done the work for you, researching and reviewing over 1,100 financial products to bring you only the best of the best. Looking for a balanced transfer credit card with 0% APR? They've got a winner for that, or a bank account with a top rate to hit your savings goals. They've got a winner for that too. Know you're getting the best products for you without doing all the research yourself. So let Nerd Wallet do the heavy lifting for your finances this year and head over to their 2025 Best of Awards at nerdwallet.com/awards to find the best financial products today. Wow, Steve, it's amazing what you've created and the access you've given schools to healthy your food. I've put it in a different number. Literally, when you break it down, it costs about $43 a student. So if your listeners are willing to donate $43, that's changing a student's life over a nine-week cycle with daily instruction, access to a garden, and full curriculum development for $43 per student. So donate one for your student and donate one for his or her best friend. Well, for everyone that is willing to donate, we are matching donations. So I hope that you will donate to the Green Bronze Machine. We will have a link here so that it is easy for you to access. We'll make sure it's in the show notes and so that it's accessible because this is a great initiative that esteem is put together. The education, the information, it just makes such a huge difference. As you've heard here, the kids are going to great schools. It is something that these kids can learn, take with them. It is both education. It allows them to eat healthy. It allows them to learn. It allows them to work together and take with them on this journey. So, Steve, did I hit all the high points? Good to have is public education and make no doubt about it. As I was sharing with you, I think before we hopped on formally, just this week, we learned that our students, many of whom were the average income for a family of four, is $12,000 in $930 a month in EBT benefits. We are sending kids to some of the most prestigious schools in New York City and across the nation. And that's the work that we do. I'm going to send you a link to our data. And you could probably use that data right on to show people where their money goes, the impact we make and the results that we've had to date. And, you know, Justine, you were there, you were an early adopter and one of our first supporters. I still remember looking at you on stage, not even knowing what I was doing at TED. Like, who is this guy, Ted? And here we are. So, it goes to show you that we are the ones we are waiting for. And that from the ground up in communities that need it most, where we are both under-resourced and over-extracted, together in community, with community, and with dedicated people, we can grow something greater. So, thank you so much for this amazing opportunity. And thank you all for tuning in today. Yes, thank you all. And I hope that we can support you to continue to do the work that you're doing in some small way. Yes. Well, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. God bless you. And check out the website. Come visit us on YouTube. And the YouTube channel so that they can work. Yes, Green Bronze. Subscribe. Yes, please. Green Bronze Machine Kids on YouTube. It's board of ed approved. They're great six minute educational capsules. I'm telling you, it's like Mr. Carter meets the hood, meets Mr. Riders in the hood with fresh fruits and vegetables. I love it. Thanks so much, Steve, for asking me to do that. Thank you. Thanks so much. [Music]
