Greener Partners

Greener Partners’ mission is to strengthen community health through urban farming, equitable fresh food access, and discovery-based learning. We believe that nourishing food is not a privilege to be enjoyed by a select few, but a fundamental right and it should be equally accessible to all. Through our resources and expertise as urban farmers and food educators, we work with youth to build excitement around eating fruits and vegetables, and ensure that fresh food is accessible in their school communities. 

Since 2013, Greener Partners’ farm-to-school programs have addressed food security, nutrition, agriculture, and education in Delaware County. With our Healthy Schools Project we have worked very closely with Drexel Neuman Academy, Stetser Elementary, and Chester Charter Scholars Academy, providing hands-on food education that includes school garden programs and fresh food distributions. Our Farm Explorer - mobile farm truck - travels more broadly throughout Delaware County, bringing seed-to-plate education to schools and community organizations, sparking excitement in healthy eating as youth dig into living soil, smell herbs, pick berries, and taste freshly-harvested vegetables. 

At the heart of our mission is our commitment to strengthening community health through discovery-based learning. Experiential food education is the foundation of everything we do. Our holistic approach to addressing barriers to healthy eating includes hands-on gardening, cooking, and nutrition education programs, and no-cost fruit and vegetable distributions. Together with our partners, we transform underutilized spaces in school communities into thriving urban gardens, serving as both outdoor classrooms and sources of fresh produce for students and families experiencing food insecurity.

Our seed-to-plate lessons are grounded in research demonstrating that the combination of garden education and food education leads to increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. Moreover, studies affirm that combining fresh food access with food education enhances effectiveness. Our evaluations of community members engaged in our no-cost fruit and vegetable distributions reveal heightened motivation to seek out and greater confidence in preparing nutritious foods. We place experiential food education at the forefront of our efforts, as it plays a pivotal role in fostering health and well-being within the school communities where we work.

Testimonials from program participants and the administrators and teachers we work with also support the success of our programs. Barbara Brennan, the principal at Drexel Neumann Academy in Chester recently shared the following: "The hands-on education that Greener Partners brings to our school is magical. From the classroom experiences where students learn about taking care of our environment, to planting and growing fruits and vegetables, to the recipes and preparing of their own foods....our collaboration makes meaningful contributions in the lives of our students." We look forward to many more years of successful programs in Delaware County.