KIPP Central City Academy

KIPP Central City Academy is located at the heart of Central City, a neighborhood of New Orleans that has been historically plagued by violence and poor health across a number of factors. Our garden program was devised as a means to enliven and unite the local community to take their health in to their own hands. The mission of the garden is twofold: Firstly, to provide a therapeutic outlet and recreation for Central City youth to channel after school time in to productive and character building ventures. Secondly, to empower our young people with a better understanding of food production and proper nutrition to establish healthy lifestyle habits that will carry through to adulthood.
The mandate of KIPP Central City Academy reaches beyond the imperative to provide an outstanding and rigorous academic education. The task that drives our work is to create an environment that develops our youth holistically, providing for an array of opportunities that will build character and promote the critical thinking and social awareness necessary to be productive and healthy ambassadors of New Orleans. The garden project is one means with which we hope to realize this vision. Cultivation of the space will be student led, empowering the youth involved to plant, harvest, and distribute produce that is most meaningful to students and their families. Students will research what to grow and how the food they prepare impacts their health. Physical engagement with food and nature will put students more in touch with their health and develop the traits of commitment, patience, and environmental stewardship. Through academic and extracurricular engagement in the garden, students will begin to fully embody the leadership qualities developed throughout the educational experience at KIPP Central City Academy.