John P. Parker School

John P. Parker is an urban school located on 13 acres in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Madisonville.  The Madisonville community is identified as an urban food desert with no walkable access to fresh produce. John P. Parker students eat the majority of their meals at school. All 358 students receive free breakfast and lunch through the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program.  Dinner is provided to all students enrolled in the afterschool program and students who are food insecure over weekends are given a bag of food, “Power Packs” every Friday. Additionally, summer school students and community members are invited for a free lunch.  Currently, John P. Parker’s cafeteria kitchen does not prepare or cook any food on site.  The students are served reheated and often processed foods.  

We currently use our school garden to enrich our students' educations through hands-on experiences. Our goal is to enahance the garden by using it as a tool for building relationships between the school and surrounding community to create a healthier neighborhood. Elements of this vision include cooking demonstrations for students and families at established school events, a garden-based entrepreneur club for grades 4-6, as well as a connection to the community via volunteer groups and sales to a soon-to-be-implemented Green Produce Market in Madisonville. All of these initiatives link our school to a wider community initiative for increased access to healthy foods and fresh produce.