The New York Yankees unveiled the Yankee Stadium Tower Garden on Monday, May 23 at Yankee Stadium’s Gate 2. Participating in the event was New Settlement executive staff and other community leaders, Yankees executives, local students and Yankees pitchers Nestor Cortes and Michael King.
The structure, located inside Yankee Stadium’s Gate 2, uses the vertical, aeroponic garden system of Tower Farms, allowing for the growth of healthy, fresh produce that requires minimal resources. The garden will be used to provide a hands-on learning experience for students taking part in the “New York Yankees Healthy Home Plate Program,” which the team has been proudly conducting since 2011. Additionally beginning in June, items grown in the space will be served to fans in select menu items, most notably in salads found at Yankee Stadium “grab-and-go” locations.
The “New York Yankees Healthy Home Plate Program” — which teaches children how to prepare and incorporate healthy, sustainable and affordable meals into one’s lifestyle — will serve young people from New Settlement, a Bronx nonprofit organization that aims to break systemic barriers, advance justice, promote leadership and strengthen neighborhoods in the Bronx. To further reinforce the lessons provided in the Yankees Healthy Home Plate program at Yankee Stadium, New Settlement will be receiving Tower Garden equipment at their facility in the Bronx.
As part of the Yankees Healthy Home Plate program, which is supported by Yankee Stadium’s Legends Hospitality, kitchens in Yankee Stadium are utilized as classrooms with Legends Senior Executive Chef Matt Gibson engaging young people with hands-on cooking demonstrations. Each student participant receives a personalized chef’s jacket, a cookbook of healthy recipes, a bag filled with provisions to prepare healthy meals at home, a gift card from Peapod and tickets to attend a Yankees game.
The curriculum for the Yankees Healthy Home Plate program has been curated with the assistance of the Green Bronx Machine, a nonprofit organization founded by life-long educator Stephen Ritz who observed the effect of students’ food choices on scholastic performance, engagement and ambition. Originally an after-school, alternative program for high school students, Green Bronx Machine has evolved into a full K-12+ indoor gardening curriculum.