Collaboration makes progress possible. The Sylvia Center is grateful for the creativity and support of all its partners, including:

The Mayor’s Fund and Rachael Ray’s Yum-O Foundation

On May 13^th, Mayor Bloomberg announced the partnership between the Mayor’s Fund and Rachael Ray’s Yum-O Foundation to support healthy cooking programs throughout New York City. Together with the Children’s Aid Society, the Sylvia Center will offer its programming to children enrolled in day camp at two NYCHA community centers, one in Williamsburg and the other on the Lower East Side. Nina Simmons will teach at Williamsburg, assisted by Chiara Issa; and Hollie Greene will teach at Rutgers, assisted once again by Courtney Coaxum.  The children will learn how to prepare several healthy vegetarian dishes that will instill in them the confidence they need to continue cooking at home and to make healthy food choices in the future.

University Settlement

The city’s oldest settlement house, University Settlement won the contract to operate the brand new, state of the art Ingersoll Community Center in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn. Thanks to a generous grant from the Palette Fund, The Sylvia Center will be in residence at the community center beginning this April, teaching the art of healthy eating to the eighty children enrolled in the after-school program there.

The Door
Located a few blocks away from the Sylvia Center learning kitchen in Hudson Square, the Door provides vital social services to at-risk youth in New York City. The Sylvia Center is proud to be collaborating with the Door on a career-training program for seven motivated young adults.

The Palette Fund

Bronx Green Middle School
A pioneering public school committed to teaching urban children about their natural environment, Bronx Green is an ideal pilot site for Sylvia Center in-school programs.  During the harvest season, Bronx Green students plan menus around the bounty of their own large school garden, which they plant and harvest themselves.  Read the latest about Sylvia Center at Bronx Green and see our video!

Healthy Schools/Healthy Families (Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital/Division of Community Pediatrics, Columbia University)
A school-based collaboration designed to partner health professionals with school staff and community organizations, HSHF serves some 5,000 children in seven elementary schools in Washington Heights, West Harlem and East Harlem. As the Sylvia Center’s first partner, HSHF has been an important influence. We host HSHF-funded school groups at Katchkie Farm every fall and spring.

Natural Gourmet Institute Chef Training Program
We count student interns from Natural Gourmet among our best instructors. The Institute’s high culinary standards and strong emphasis on seasonal, healthful, mostly plant-based cuisine make it an excellent match for The Sylvia Center, where “delicious health” is also central to everything we do.

NYC SchoolFood and New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (“Garden to Table Cafe”)
Garden to Table Cafe is a pilot program that brings student-grown food into the school lunch program through an annual harvest celebration. This effort is facilitated by teachers, parents, and a consortium of not-for-profit organizations, including The Sylvia Center.

The Sylvia Center partners with many organizations which offer services and information connected to Garden-To-Table programs, Greenmarkets, Community Gardens, and Nutrition Education. Check out their wonderful work:

Grow NYC

GrowNYC is a hands-on non-profit which improves New York City’s quality of life through environmental programs that transform communities block by block and empower all New Yorkers to secure a clean and healthy environment for future generations. Click Here to learn more about Grow NYC.

About GreenThumb

GreenThumb remains the nation’s largest urban gardening program, assisting over 600 gardens and nearly 20,000 garden members throughout New York City. Click Here to learn more about GreenThumb.