Mission
Garden School Foundation provides in-depth garden-based education to youth at Title I schools in Los Angeles, strengthening connections between food justice, environmental stewardship, and community health. By using the full transformative potential of school gardens as teaching sites, we nurture a healthy and mindful generation of children who care for their bodies, their communities, and the earth. We currently serve ten Title I elementary schools, reaching over 3,200 students and their families each year.
History
In 2005, when a large expanse of blacktop at 24th Street Elementary was about to be resurfaced, a coalition of educators, neighbors, community organizations, and concerned citizens seized on the opportunity to transform the paved lot into a 1.5-acre garden classroom. Their goal was to use the garden to address the links between poverty, lack of access to fresh food, and academic performance. The nonprofit Garden School Foundation was formed to support these efforts. Today, as one of the largest such gardens in LAUSD, 24th Street continues to thrive and have a profound effect on students. The garden has become a treasured resource, deeply embedded in the lives of students’ families, neighbors, and like-minded people from across the city. Our unique Seed to Table curriculum of gardening and nutritional cooking classes was developed at 24th Street, was expanded to four schools in 2013, and now currently serves ten Title I schools throughout L.A.
Staff
Board
Lydia Olivier
CHAIR
M.Arch, LEED BD+C
Founder, Wilshire Crest School Garden
Sarah Portnoy
SECRETARY
Associate Professor, USC Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Lizzy Porter
TREASURER
Sustainability Consultant
Maya Sharp
Founder, Jackson STEM Community Pride Garden
Sami Sciacqua
Senior Consultant, Deloitte
Justine Kruse
Sustainability Manager, Califia Farms
Lydia Fisher
Product Marketing, Microsoft
Colette Dill-Lerner
Management Consultant, Marketing
Marissa Quintero
Junior Analyst and Environmental Enthusiast
Nancy Alfaro
2023-2024 Board Fellow,
UCLA Anderson MBA Candidate
Grace Seekins
2024 Board Fellow,
UCLA Anderson MBA Candidate
Supporters
Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation
Clark and Kathryn Porter Family Foundation
LA Galaxy Foundation
Rothschild & Co
Angel City Football Club
Health-Ade
The Rose Hills Foundation
Califia Farms
United Neighborhoods of the Historic Arlington Heights, West Adams and Jefferson Park Communities Neighborhood Council (UNNC)
HMC Designing Futures Foundation
Crail-Johnson Foundation
James Irvine Foundation
Sweetgreen