New Partnership Teams FreshDirect with Into the Outside to Educate Students in New York City
LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y., March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- FreshDirect, one of the nation's leading online gourmet food purveyors and delivery services, and Into the Outside, a not-for-profit that strives to give students in low-income areas of New York City increased access to enriching educational opportunities, announced today the first of several class presentations for the spring 2008 semester that will bring FreshDirect's food and nutritional resources to the classroom and beyond to benefit students in the Red Hook school district.
The new partnership between FreshDirect and Into the Outside represents a unique opportunity for the students of PS 27 Agnes Y. Humphrey School for Leadership to learn about food and nutrition with a hands-on approach and an expert team. The first session held today as part of the spring Seed-to-Salad curriculum will teach two second grade classrooms about plant lifecycles, healthy, local food choices, and environmental stewardship. FreshDirect's presentation will introduce students to seasonality growth charts and will familiarize them with local produce from New York State. The students will discover links between local produce and sustainable eating, and will deepen their understanding of how fruits and vegetables travel from the farm to the table. Afterwards, students will create their own seasonality charts for familiar, local foods.
Into the Outside's mission is to help bridge the "experience divide" prevalent in schools located in isolated and low-income areas throughout New York City. To this end, Into the Outside collaborates with teachers to develop curricula that integrate underused community and cultural resources into the standard classroom experience. A new food service partner in the Red Hook neighborhood, FreshDirect collaborated with both Into the Outside and PS 27 to find new ways to engage the students and teach them about the food they eat, its impact on the community, and the benefits of sustainable and local farming. The presentation today will be led by FreshDirect's team of environmental and produce experts. Future classes will include trips to local farms, presentations from some of FreshDirect's local vendors and a nutritional cooking class.
"I am extremely proud to support Into the Outside and offer the students of PS 27 a chance to go beyond their traditional curriculum and bring the farms of New York to their classroom," said Steve Michaelson, CEO of FreshDirect. "FreshDirect remains committed to being a responsible member of the communities that we serve and improved nutrition and food education are at the heart of the company. The whole team at FreshDirect has enjoyed collaborating on this project and we look forward to participating throughout the spring semester."
Into the Outside Executive Director Robyn Steinhause added, "We are thrilled about our partnership with FreshDirect and the collaborative spirit of their team has been wonderful. It is due to the generosity of companies such as FreshDirect that we are able to attain our goals of enriching students' educational experiences. The knowledge and resources that FreshDirect brings to this program will allow students unique learning opportunities that would otherwise not be possible."
Additional presentations are scheduled to take place in early May and early June featuring curricula that are still being finalized.
About Into the Outside
Into the Outside (ITO) is a New York City based not-for-profit organization that strives to give equal access to rigorous and enriching educational opportunities for New York City students. To help bridge the "experience divide" prevalent in schools located in isolated and low-income areas throughout New York City, ITO collaborates with teachers to develop curricula that integrate underused community and cultural resources into the standard classroom experience. These curricula offer all students diverse learning opportunities that improve academic achievement, increase motivation to learn, and ultimately help them define what they can and want to be in their communities and in their lives. For more information, visit http://www.intotheoutside.org/.
About FreshDirect
Founded in 1999, FreshDirect is one of the nation's leading online meals and fresh food manufacturing and delivery services. FreshDirect is setting a new standard for fresh food production and distribution by offering unparalleled quality, product customization, and value pricing from its state-of-the-art kitchen and facility in Long Island City. The company is expanding rapidly and currently serves most of Manhattan and locations in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx, as well as parts of New Jersey, Westchester, and Nassau County. The company's vision is to change consumers' lives by providing the ultimate shopping experience for impossibly fresh food and meal solutions. The company currently has over 250,000 customers and has fulfilled over six million orders since opening for business in September 2002. Additional information can be found at http://www.freshdirect.com/.
FreshDirect
