Foundation grant will help NYC-based nonprofit expand reach of its
innovative curriculum to 50 schools in Baltimore and Houston
Funding will also support film screening tour
of award-winning documentary to highlight importance of health
equity through STEM-based nutrition education
SECAUCUS, N.J. and BRONX, N.Y.,
April 25,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Quest Diagnostics
Foundation today announced an expanded collaboration with Green
Bronx Machine (GBM), a transformational educational nonprofit
helping students and teachers turn classrooms into agricultural
learning experiences. The Foundation grant will help extend the
reach of Green Bronx Machine's school-based model to additional
communities and raise awareness for the importance of nutrition
education and access in advancing health equity.
The program expansion with Green Bronx Machine was funded by a
grant from the Foundation as part of its Quest for Health Equity
(Q4HE) initiative, which provides resources, funding, donated
testing services, and education to address health disparities in
marginalized communities across the U.S. The expansion also
furthers the investments Q4HE has made in communities in
Baltimore and Houston.
Recently recognized as a 2024 Most Innovative Company by Fast
Company, Green Bronx Machine is inspiring a movement rooted in
the belief that by increasing access to nutrition education at the
school level, we can create better health outcomes and advance
health equity throughout communities. The program currently serves
275,000 students and 10,000 teachers in the US and across 20
countries.
Fifty under-resourced schools in Baltimore and Houston will be able to implement the
nonprofit's indoor gardening curriculum through a grant from the
Foundation. Additionally, the grant will help support a film
screening tour of Green Bronx Machine's award-winning documentary,
"Generation Growth," highlighting Green Bronx Machine's successful
school-based model and how it helps children eat better, become
more engaged in school, and provide pathways for jobs.
The Quest Diagnostics Foundation and Green Bronx Machine first
teamed up in 2022 to help the nonprofit expand the reach of its
"Cultivating Health Equity" school program to 30 schools in
Colorado, Ohio, and New
York.
"We have seen first-hand the true impact of Green Bronx
Machine's mission and are proud to extend additional support to
help spread their programming to additional schools and
communities," said Jim Davis,
Chairman, CEO, and President. "It's important to raise awareness
about this unique approach to addressing health equity in
under-resourced communities. Green Bronx Machine's focus on
creating healthier communities aligns perfectly with our Purpose of
working together to create a healthier world, one life at a
time."
The schools selected in Baltimore and Houston will be provided with resources to
implement Green Bronx Machine's immersive, project-based learning
curriculum centered around Green Bronx Machine's iconic Tower
Gardens® aeroponic growing system. The curriculum aligns the
art and science of growing vegetables with daily academic
instruction and access to nutritious food. Plant life is used as a
lens to teach multiple subjects including science, math, and
language arts and inspire students' curiosity.
"One student at a time, one classroom at a time, one school at a
time, we grow vegetables, our vegetables grow students, and our
students and teachers grow high-performing schools and happier,
healthier communities," said Stephen
Ritz, founder of Green Bronx Machine. "Together with the
continued support of the Quest Diagnostics Foundation, we're
creating a movement and growing something greater rooted in the
shared belief that by investing in our schools and our communities,
we can change the way children eat, learn, live, and access health
equity and opportunities. When you change a classroom, you change a
school, and when you change a school, you change a community, and
when you change a community, you change lives. I urge folks
everywhere to learn more, get involved, and join our movement."
The screening tour of Green Bronx Machine's "Generation Growth"
documentary will span across the U.S. to raise awareness of how
access to STEM-based nutrition education and healthy food can
advance health equity. The documentary aims to educate and inspire
young people to create healthier habits and better health outcomes
for their communities.
Individuals or groups interested in hosting a "Generation
Growth" in-person or virtual screening or learning about additional
ways to get involved in supporting Green Bronx Machine's mission
can visit generationgrowthfilm.com.
About the Quest Diagnostics
Foundation
The Quest Diagnostics
Foundation was formed in 2001 to promote the benefits of
healthcare and wellness, drive the prevention, early detection,
monitoring and treatment of disease, and educate the general public
and healthcare professionals on healthcare issues. Together with
Quest Diagnostics, the Foundation sponsors Quest for Health
Equity.
About Quest for Health Equity
Quest for Health
Equity (Q4HE) is a $100+ million initiative launched in
2020 focused on eliminating health disparities in underserved
communities across the U.S. Q4HE began with a comprehensive effort
to provide access to COVID-19 testing and other critical resources
in communities hit hardest by the pandemic. Today, Q4HE supports
programs focused on increasing health equity through education,
outreach, and greater access to healthcare. By joining forces
with like-minded community stakeholders, Q4HE addresses the
specific needs of the communities it serves while producing
outcomes at scale. Q4HE is an initiative supported by Quest
Diagnostics and the Quest Diagnostics Foundation.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics works across
the healthcare ecosystem to create a healthier world, one life at a
time. We provide diagnostic insights from the results of our
laboratory testing to empower people, physicians and organizations
to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from the world's
largest database of de-identifiable clinical lab results, Quest's
diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat
disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve healthcare
management. Quest Diagnostics annually serves one in three adult
Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our nearly 50,000
employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right
context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform
lives and create a healthier
world. www.QuestDiagnostics.com.
About Green Bronx Machine
Green Bronx
Machine builds healthy, equitable, and resilient communities
through inspired education, local food systems, and 21st Century
workforce development. Dedicated to cultivating minds and
harvesting hope, our school-based model uses urban agriculture
aligned to key school performance indicators to grow healthy
students and healthy schools and transform communities that are
fragmented and marginalized into neighborhoods that are inclusive
and thriving. Individuals or groups interested in hosting a
"Generation Growth" in-person or virtual screening or learning
about additional ways to partner with Green Bronx Machine's mission
can contact Stephen Ritz at
Stephen.Ritz@greenbronxmachine.org. All other information is
available on our website.
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SOURCE Quest Diagnostics