Stephen Ritz is an educator and the founder of Green Bronx Machine, a non-profit that builds healthy, equitable, and resilient communities. Using a school-based model, the Green Bronx Machine is inspiring healthy students and healthy schools through inspired education, local food systems, and 21st Century workforce development. On this episode of Food Lab Talk, Michiel speaks with Stephen about the importance of listening, how passion and authenticity can inspire change, and the power of a supportive community to push you in the right direction. 

Stephen Ritz: “This work is hard and it requires a lot of courage, to be sure. But the opposite of courage isn't cowardice. The opposite of courage is conformity, because even a dead fish can go with the flow. And I am no dead fish. I'm gonna swim. You're gonna swim. We're gonna keep getting upstream until we spawn. And I find those amazing people and those amazing opportunities that just give me one more hop. That's what it's all about. For far too long, people have gotten fat off the dysfunction of communities like mine. Many people are well intended. But they are thriving while our community is barely surviving. And we need to flip that script and flip that ownership.”

0:43 Intro to Stephen 

1:33 What a cheese hat has to do with the fight for equity 

2:49 How onions inspired the start of Green Bronx Machine 

10:01 Green Bronx Machine’s mission: equity and access 

11:03 Food as the most important school supply 

12:31 Fighting for the underdog: the students 

14:01 Courage and swimming upstream 

14:47 Get started, show up, and be consistent 

16:03 Building courage by finding your community 

17:25 Inspiring long-term habits through early exposure 

19:35 Secret ingredients for win-win partnerships 

21:38 Sparking real change through policy and grassroots engagement 

23:25 Examples of purpose-driven companies 

25:02 Nail it before you scale it 

27:48 Creating the next generation of heroes 

28:48 Advice: don’t settle, don’t compromise 

30:46 Takeaways for changemakers 

Links

• Green Bronx Machine
• Newman’s Own
• Whole Kids Foundation
• Be Your Own Hero Campaign 

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*The views expressed by the guests in this podcast don't necessarily represent the host’s views, nor those of his employer.