Brooklyn BP Pushes Healthy Eating School Program

By JOSEPH MODICA

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams Thursday morning vowed to wage a war against unhealthy food and other factors preventing kids from getting the most of their education by giving $55 million to schools to advocate for organic farms and new technology, including by having kids grow crops in a shared two-acre plot.

The 151 middle schools, high schools, and Kingsborough Community ollege slated to receive the money would use it to fund science, technology, engineering, arts and math resources and programs. Officials plan to open a $1 million “teaching farm” next to P.S. 312 in Bergen Beach to educate students on growing food and on nutritional needs. Other schools around Brooklyn will receive anywhere between $40,000 to over $2 million to fund new mobile science labs and equipment, computers, green spaces, and fast-track programs to get children into college straight out of high school, called “educational pipelines.”

The borough president made the announcement on the playground of Roy H. Mann Junior High School and handed out checks to principals and superintendents in attendance. Standing next to a large ceremonial check for $55 million with the memo filled as “expanding educational opportunities,” Adams said he “challenges anyone to come near what I put in to our education system.”

“We cannot continue to feed our children poison every morning.” added the borough president, who revealed that earlier this year he drastically changed his lifestyle to fight a diabetes diagnosis.“We’re going to initiate a lawsuit if we have to, to make sure our children receive the quality food they deserve to be competitive.”

A representative for Kingsborough outlined the pipeline plan set to fast-track students into the field of engineering. “At least 75 percent [of the pipelines] have at least one elementary school, one junior high school, one to three high school to, of course, coming into Kingsborough Community College’s engineering program,” said the representative. The project aims to get students degrees and into four-year degree programs at accredited  engineering schools.

The borough president also toured the location of the organic farm and was honored by the Boy Scouts of America and teachers at Roy H. Mann with a pinewood derby with 3-D printed cars made by students.

Photo by Joseph Modica