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IncrEDIBLE Happenings at

Fall 2012WHAT'S GROWING ON?SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS

THIS FALL Iron Chef 2012 Winners!

In this issue...

LHA students help Mayor Landrieugreet Japanese delegationPen pal program fosters friendshipsand creativity"Spiced Pecans and Satsuma Salad"recipe

Chef Chris Shortall of Shortalls BBQ and (top, from left)Kennon McCain, Ronesha Adams, Dionisia Herrera,

Essence Strange, Tamia Davis, Marquitos Hill, and KeaunJones

In November six teams of 7th graders squared offbehind portable burners with their professional chefcoaches and mentors from ESY NOLA and localrestaurants such as Bacchanal, Besh Steak, DinnerLab/EMH, Fat Hen Grocery, Shortalls BBQ, TaceauxLoceaux, and Woody's Fish Tacos. On the day of theevent, the secret ingredient was revealed: Apples. Inthe end, judges from Samuel J. Green faculty selectedthe winning recipe: Vegetable Burger on a homemadeApple Parmesan Bun created by Chef Chris Shortalland his team of 7th grade sous chefs!

ESY Celebrates National FoodDay

Program Manager Rahn Broady gives teachersa whiff of aromatic compost created from foodwaste at his "Compost Breaks It Down" station

In celebration of National Food Day on October 24th,ESY held one-hour Family Food mini-fairs at fiveFirstLine Schools to teach about important foodsystem issues and promote personal healthy foodchoices. Students and their families participated innearly 40 interactive stations that ranged from foodproduction and procurement to waste management.

Botany buddies at Dillard University!Culinary Internship Opportunity atArthur Ashe

New Kitchen Classes at Arthur Ashe!

Students practice writing and learn about healthyfoods.

The Kindergarteners are developing theirliteracy skills in Food ABC's, eating their waythrough the alphabet with an array of healthyfoods. By the end of the year, they will havesampled over 75 different fruits and vegetableswhile increasing their reading and writingproficiency.

Third- through eighth-graders discuss MyPlate,drill down on the five food groups, and explorethe science of compost. Lower school studentsexamine climates and growing seasons aroundthe country, and investigate the benefits of eatingseasonal food. Upper school students examinethe environmental impacts of eating local vs.non-local food, and discuss how to minimize ourcarbon footprints by eating locally. All of ourstudents are delving deeper into nutrition, as weemphasize the benefits of eating whole grainsand lean proteins.

Our special education (SPED) self-containedclasses are exploring sensory engagementthrough food in the garden and kitchen. Theystudied herbs and spices and took a trip to thegrocery store to purchase items from each food

"He is always so excited about the garden," saidgrandmother Pamela Yost, whose 5th grader attendsLangston Hughes Academy. "He likes to tastevegetables; he tries bell peppers, and he says, 'Maw-maw, we are going to start growing a garden.' I try toget my grandkids to eat more fruits and vegetables, I'mtrying to eat more fruits and vegetables."

HARVEST LOGAmong many other crops, students at Green harvested

basil, beans, peanuts and an impressive 80 lbs ofhome grown sweet potatoes this fall!

64% OF GREEN 7TH GRADERSLIKE BROCCOLI

Thanks to Harvard Researcher J. Robin Moonfor helping us craft this survey, and our Greenteachers and ESY NOLA Delta Service Corpsteam for administering it. This survey is part ofour larger efforts to evaluate ESY NOLA'seffectiveness.

Langston Hughes AcademyScholars Meet Japanese

Delegation

group. They then prepared a meal focusing onthe benefits of eating a balanced diet.

H E Y! Who says kids don't eat broccoli...!?

Eating the alphabet in Food ABC's at Arthur Ashe

DONATE to ESY NOLA

UPCOMING OPEN GARDEN DAYS10:00am-1:00pm

All novice and professional gardeners alikeare welcome! Lunch served.

January 21- Arthur Ashe Charter School1456 Gardena Drive, Gentilly

March 2- Arthur Ashe Charter SchoolMarch 9- Langston Hughes Academy

3619 Trafalgar Street, GentillyMarch 16- Samuel J. Green Charter School

2319 Valence Street, Freret

Volunteer Coordinator Kelly Miranda and students

Mayor Mitch Landrieu greets LHA students beforewelcoming the Japanese delegation.

Langston Hughes Academy (LHA) studentambassadors joined Mayor Mitch Landrieu inwelcoming a Japanese delegation from NewOrleans' sister city, Matsue, Japan just outsideof the Dillard University greenhouse thisOctober. Students presented the delegation withokra seeds and sugar cane in exchange forJapanese fig trees. The trees will live in theDillard greenhouse, nurtured by Dillard ProfessorAmy Lesen and her botany students with helpfrom LHA's 4th grade garden-science class, ledby ESY Garden Educator Amy Zellweger.

1st and 2nd Grade Pen Pal Lettersfrom Green

1st and 2nd grade students continue correspondingwith pen pals. This year, Green 1st graders wrote tonew friends at schools in St. Paul, Minnesota and NewYork City, while 2nd graders wrote to students at arural school in Cove, Oregon and St. Paul. Thestudents also observed the garden through map-making and poetry, and created drawings of thegarden for their pen pals. By learning about otherschools, students gain a new perspective aboutthemselves, their garden, and their school.

help create a mini-wetlands at Arthur Ashe at the October 6th Open Garden Day.

Contact kelly@esynola.org for more information.

Health and Wellness

Catching On At FirstLine Schools

Heisman Trophy Winner and L..A .Raiders MVP MarcusAllen, Tennis champion Monica Seles, and multiple gold

medal-winner in track and field Edwin Moses with Samuel J.Green students at a Coach Across America press eventsponsored by Mercedes-Benz and the Laureus Sport For

Good Foundation.

ESY NOLA and FirstLine have taken on schoolwellness as means of improving student and teacherreadiness to perform in the classroom and in theirpersonal lives. New school wellness committees,afterschool movement opportunities and enhancedphysical education complement our highly successfulgardening and kitchen programming in promoting ahealthier community through the "Whole Child, WholeSchool, Whole Community" health and wellnessinitiative. Five site-based School Wellness Committeescomprised of teachers, students and parents, meetregularly to assess current conditions and makerecommendations for improvements in the health ofstudents at each of our five schools. Afterschool fitness opportunities for students and staffmembers, for example, provide access to a variety ofexercise and wellness activities, including Zumba,aerobics, hip-hop and yoga at Clark and Green. Ashehas Wellness Wednesdays, in addition to fitnessbreaks during morning staff meetings and daily

A first grader draws flowers to show her pen pal what

our garden looks like.

A second grader describes our garden and some of

the activities she enjoys.

Second graders created drawings of the garden using

colored paper, markers, and cotton.WHAT'S GROWIN' ONAT...?

Arthur Ashe: 1456 Gardena DriveThe Legacy Project at Ashe has been symbolic andexciting for the students and their teachers. So far,Megan McHugh, ESY School Gardener, has plantedfive citrus trees with five different homeroom teachers

morning walks around the school perimeter to getenergy flowing. Ashe has also devoted an entireafternoon to staff wellness with free chair massages, ahealthy luncheon, and a nutritionworkshop. Additionally, ESY is facilitating a NetworkWellness Council aimed at revising our currentWellness Policy and creating an Employee WellnessProgram for all FirstLine employees.

Family Food Nights have a new flair with the addition offitness activities, thanks to such community partnersas New Orleans Kids Partnership, Young Audiences,and RUBARB. These events continue tocombine information about healthy food choices,gardening information and cooking demonstrations thatinvolve the entire family. This Fall FLS hosted volunteer coaches throughUp2Us/Coach Across America, and enjoyed visits fromthe New Orleans Saints' mascot Sir Saint, Fuel Up toPlay 60, The American Pediatrics Association, andThe Southeast Dairy Association.

Composting at Ashe!

Ashe students compost their lunch scraps.

This year, Arthur Ashe began a new compostinginitiative, aiming to teach students how to grow theirown soil by separating their fruit and vegetable scrapsfor the compost heap. This soil will then help build theschool's 1-acre edible garden. Ashe kicked off theirnew initiative in fun and creative ways, like having the"Happy Compost Bucket" greet Ashe Kindergartners inthe lunch line. Ashe K-4th graders also attended theWorm Theater, an event coordinated by ESY staff,about the ingredients of a proper compost pile.

and their scholars in ESY's newly created culinarygarden. Each tree will have its own plaque thatacknowledges the class that planted it. Joseph S. Clark: 1301 N. Derbigny StreetDenise Richter, ESY NOLA's Head Network Gardener,linked with Clark's high school science class todiscuss the science, importance, social and healthimplications of soil. ESY Health and WellnessManager April Neujean has been holding WellnessCommittee meetings regularly, and the school as acommunity has been implementing weekly wellnessactivities for the staff. John Dibert: 4217 Orleans AvenueDibert's garden club has planted a wide variety ofdelicious crops, harvested loofahs, and started a wormbin to help process their compostables. Middle Schoolstudents have been reading Omnivore's Dilemma andChew on This in their literature classes, and the 5thgraders are using the garden space to participate in aUSDA-sponsored series of garden nutrition lessons.Wellness is the word at Dibert this Fall! Samuel J. Green: 2319 Valence StreetStudents in Kindergarten through 8th have learned howto observe with their five senses, recognize Louisianacrops, and experience the challenge of processingsugar from our first sugarcane harvest. First andsecond graders have been writing pen pal letters tonew friends in Minnesota and Oregon, and 3rd gradehas become the keeper of our fruit trees, takingresponsibility for keeping them healthy. In the kitchen,middle school students have learned to make theirown fresh bread, butter and jam, while youngerstudents have used the garden bounty to comparefresh green bean recipes, and to pickle everythingfrom okra to hot peppers.

Langston Hughes Academy: 3519 Trafalgar St.Our partnership with the Dillard University CommunityDevelopment Corporation has been the highlight of thissemester. The partnership has allowed our LHAscholars to partner with Dillard University's botanystudents, in a "From Seed to Table" mentorshipprogram. The LHA scholars have traveled weekly toDillard's state-of-the-art greenhouse, and have workedhand-in-hand with their college-aged "botany buddies."

There is also a composting contest held each week inthe cafeteria among the different grades to see whocomposted the most. Each day, the compost fromeach grade is weighed and tallied, and then a winner isannounced each Friday. At the end of the trimester,the grade with the heftiest tally wins a garden partywith their classmates! To help facilitate this project, several CompostCaptains and a Compost CEO have been appointedamong Ashe's 4-7th graders. To secure thesepositions, students had to undergo an interviewprocess, answering questions about theirresponsibilities at home and why they thinkcomposting is important. Duties include collectingcompost from other students, taking it to the compostpile, and managing the output for the numerouscompost piles. Compost Captains also remind theirpeers to compost, and aid them in deciding what theycan and cannot compost. Settling an argument amongthree students as to whether you can compost lettuce,one of the "employees" says, "Listen, I work here. Iknow."

Dillard Botany Buddies

LHA and Dillard students pose outside the Dillardgreenhouse.

This September marked the beginning of the "FromSeed to Table" partnership between the DillardUniversity Community Development Corporation andLangston Hughes Academy. LHA's Dreamkeeper Garden is designed to create astrong sense of community and give students theknowledge, skills, and character traits necessary tosucceed in high school, college, and the world beyond.

Contact Information

Claudia BarkerExecutive Directorclaudia@esynola.org

Rahn BroadyProgram Managerrahn@esynola.org Kelly MirandaVolunteer, Family, and Community PartnershipsCoordinatorkelly@esynola.org Alisha JohnsonDevelopment Manageralisha@esynola.org April NeujeanHealth and Wellness Managerapril@esynola.org

Let's continue to make food security andnutrition-based education possible for 2,500

children at FirstLine Schools!

DONATE to Edible Schoolyard

Ashe students work together to plant carrotsat their new location.

Culinary Intern Needed at

It also improves healthy food access for thecommunity, offering a portion of food grown in the LHADreamkeeper Garden to families for free. Studentsparticipating in the "From Seed to Table" program willhave the opportunity to sell the produce at localfarmers markets and gain volunteer community servicedays in the Dreamkeeper Garden. Dillard and LHA willuse this "From Seed to Table" collaboration to inspireyouth mentorship and leadership development throughintegrated lessons with Dillard's botany students andLHA's scholars.

Holiday Recipe from ESYoffered by Chef Katie Pedroza,

Lead Chef Educator

Spiced Pecans and SatsumaSalad

Salad:

1 head red leaf lettuce1 head romaine lettuce¼ cup spiced pecans

4 satsumas, peeled and segmented½ cup vinegar

2 Tablespoon mustard2 Tablespoon honey

¼ cup olive oil½ teaspoon Salt

¼ teaspoon Pepper

Directions: 1. Tear lettuce leaves into bite sizedpieces. 2. Peel and segment satsumas. 3. In a jar,add vinegar, mustard, agave and oil. Shake until

combined.4. Toss lettuce with dressing and place some in each

bowl. Top with satsumas and spiced pecans

Spiced Pecans:½ cup pecans1teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar½ teaspoon cinnamon¼ teaspoon cayenne1 Tablespoon butter

Directions: 1. Mix spices together. 2. In a skillet, meltbutter. 3. Add Pecans. 4. Add spices. 5. Cook for 7 - 8

Arthur Ashe20 hours/week

This unpaid position provides the

opportunity to learn all aspects of running &

operating a charter school-based teaching

kitchen and create experiential hands-

on cooking classes that promote health and

wellness.

Click HERE for the job description and qualifications.

Get your2013

ESY NOLACalendar

A great holiday gift that lasts the whole year!

Contact jess@esynola.org for more information.

min. on medium heat. 6. Allow to cool before eating.

Save the Date: An Edible Evening

ESY NOLA's Fourth AnnualGarden Party Under the Stars

Thursday, March 21, 20136:00 to 9:00 p.m.

in the Edible Garden Samuel J. Green Charter School

2319 Valence Street, New Orleans

You can be an

event sponsor or makea donation to help make thisevent our best celebration

yet!

The Mission of Edible Schoolyard New Orleansis to change the way children eat, learn and live at FirstLine Schools in New Orleans. Our goal is to improve the long-

term well-being of our students, families and school community.

Edible Schoolyard New Orleans is a signature program of FirstLine Schools. We serve FirstLine's five-school network: Arthur Ashe Charter School, John Dibert Community School,

Samuel J. Green Charter School, Langston Hughes Academy, and Joseph S. Clark Preparatory High School.

Edible Schoolyard NOLA | 2319 Valence Street | New Orleans, Louisiana 70115 |www.esynola.org info@esynola.org

504-267-9053Visit us on Facebook and Twitter!