Stephen Ritz is a teacher from the South Bronx who implemented greening and healthy food initiatives that have changed the lives of hundreds of teenagers, helping them believe in their own abilities and dreams. Today, Stephen, his students, and their projects are featured in publications like Forbes, Fast Company, USA Today, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, and are covered by news channels such as ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC, TNT, Disney, NPR, PBS, and Univision. Ritz’s YouTube videos have millions of views, and he’s been welcomed with honors at the White House. This article on i-bronx will tell you about this popular American educator and his legendary project.
Founder of the Green Bronx Machine: Stephen Ritz
Stephen Ritz was born on May 17, 1980, in Utah. After high school, he enrolled at Stanford University, earning a bachelor’s degree in information technology, though he later admitted he felt he made the wrong choice, as he had been passionate about agriculture, farming, and plants since childhood. But the field of innovative technology was more promising, so Ritz chose Stanford.
In 2005, Stephen founded his first startup, which later became a successful software development company.
However, his love for the agricultural sector won out, and Ritz earned a degree from an agricultural university. Afterward, he participated in various agricultural events and competitions.
The Program’s Goal
Stephen was always deeply concerned with the problems of big cities. He understood that urban farming was a key area to focus on. Cities have a large population but limited agricultural resources, which creates a deficit of fresh, organic produce. Another problem that troubled Ritz was the difficult lot of children growing up in disadvantaged, poor neighborhoods. After becoming a teacher at a South Bronx school, he felt this firsthand. Stephen decided to focus on creating a project that would solve both of these problems. This led to the Green Bronx Machine program, which is aimed at creating healthy, sustainable, and conscious communities. The educational model Ritz proposed is focused on developing the mind, promoting mindful consumption, and popularizing a healthy lifestyle.
The Bronx is a borough with high rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and unemployment, and it faces significant issues with food security. Furthermore, children growing up here are influenced by their environment, which is often unlawful. This environment determines their future, and most of them are at risk of ending up in prison. However, Stephen strongly disagrees with this and is trying to fight for these children’s futures. In his words, even the best plant varieties grown in bad soil will not yield a good harvest. So, using his own method, he is trying to guide the children on the right path. And for the most part, he succeeds.
Over the years, he has achieved significant results, including increasing daily attendance from 40% to 93%, ensuring a 100% pass rate on New York State exams, and creating partnerships for 2,200 youth job placements. The Green Bronx Machine program has transformed an old school library into a National Health, Wellness, and Learning Center, located in the largest residential area of the South Bronx.
“Healthy students create healthy schools, and healthy schools are the foundation of healthy communities,” Stephen Ritz believes.
Read the article about the largest library in the Bronx by following this link.
The Miracle Farm
In reality, the idea proposed by Ritz is quite simple. He simply transferred the agricultural system into a school classroom and adapted it to specific conditions.
The mobile mini-farm has a unique design that is implemented on a vertical plane. It is located in a regular school classroom and provides healthy food for 450 students. Most importantly, the children are directly involved in growing all the plants, from the moment of sowing to harvesting.
The produce grown in this setup is used in the school cafeteria, which allows for a constant supply of healthy food for the students.
After the first such farm was installed, a significant increase in class attendance was noted. No one wanted to miss a lesson with Stephen; the children were fascinated by watching the crops they had planted grow and mature.
Today, similar projects have been implemented throughout America. More than 100 mini-farms have been created in New York alone, with countless others across the country and the world.
From a Bronx School to the White House
Stephen’s presentation at Columbia University, where he showcased his “Urban Farming NYC” YouTube video, led to an invitation from the White House. There, the teacher and his fourth and fifth-grade students presented their program and discussed food literacy. Today, the school where Ritz teaches actively collaborates with the White House and the World’s Fair, and the plant-growing system located in the Bronx classroom has been replicated in a large botanical garden in the U.S.
Having become a well-known figure, Stephen Ritz transformed his Green Bronx project into a genuine brand that has spread across the country.
Stephen’s work has received recognition from authorities: he has won several awards, including Health Champion Awards, Greenius, the ABC Above and Beyond Award, the Chevrolet/General Motors National Green Educator Award, the USS Intrepid Hometown Hero Award, the NYC Chancellor’s Award, and the title of Teacher of the Year. He helped his school win its first Citywide Excellence Award in history, and the national association of school principals has highlighted his work and the Green Bronx Machine project as a model to follow.
Stephen also uses his popularity to support various charitable initiatives at local, national, and international levels.
Ritz wrote a book, “The Power of Vegetables,” which he actively promotes. He dreams of creating a public school where education would cover not only traditional subjects but also new technologies and living in harmony with nature. Stephen believes that society can only thrive through cooperation and shared growth. In addition to his pedagogical achievements, he has also received awards for improving landscapes in New York City. Stephen Ritz is considered one of America’s top 50 teachers. On an international level, he consults for the Thomas Jefferson Institute in Mexico, lectures at the Hebrew University, is a delegate at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), and speaks at the Congreso Nacional de Educacion forum in Medellín, Colombia.
Read about another woman from the Bronx who made a significant contribution to the botanical field by following this link.
Partnership with Southwest Foodservice Excellence
Southwest Foodservice Excellence (SFE) and Stephen Ritz have announced a new partnership aimed at improving access to fresh fruits and vegetables and integrating gardening into school curricula.
Thanks to the collaboration with Green Bronx Machine, the curriculum will be implemented in various regions across the U.S., providing students with opportunities to improve their culinary education.
SFE CEO, Chef Monty Staggs, expressed his delight in partnering with Stephen Ritz and the Green Bronx Machine, emphasizing the importance of fresh produce and garden-based learning for schools.
Ritz stated that this partnership will have a positive impact on many schools and children, while also supporting teachers and communities.
