As our school prepared for the opening of the now famous Greenhouse last year, Manhattan School for Children launched its Wellness and Green Team (see their cool logo, below) to support everything green and healthy that was about to come! Under the leadership of 2nd grade parent Melanie Sherman, they wrote a Wellness Policy that included food, fitness and sustainability plans for our community.

The team worked to improve our recycle efforts: helping children to navigate the recycling policies; bringing in Terracycle to help us to re-use products that cannot be recycled (and earn money for our school). The rid our cafeteria of styrofoam trays. They launched MSC’s Wellness Week, which, after kicking off with Family Fitness Night (see cover story), continued with green cleaning and air quality activities; a school-wide Move to Improve Day, and a healthy breakfast and Harvest Day.

Next year, the team will take wellness to a new level. The school has contracted Wellness in the Schools (WITS), a non-profit organization founded by an MSC parent, to inspire healthy eating, environmental awareness and fitness as a way of life for public school children. WITS currently works in 18 schools in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn and is very excited to begin work with MSC, especially since we now have the greenhouse. WITS will bring a chef to our school who will work alongside the SchoolFood workers to re-invent the traditional “fast food” menu – gone are the French fries, chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks - to be replaced by homemade vegetarian chili, homemade sauces for pastas and chicken, flatbread pizza with fresh sauce, and wraps and Panini on sandwich day.Our chef will visit the greenhouse regularly to determine which fresh produce will make it to the salad bar or into the recipes that week. So, as the entire country is in the midst of a food revolution of its own, here at MSC we will be providing one tangible example of how an urban farm to table experience works. Wellness in the Schools is working hand and hand with our administration to design a lunch experience that is in keeping with our goals – communal, healthy and a positive experience that sends children back to the classroom well nourished, and ready to focus and learn.