When Jesse Cool first met Gary Riekes at her restaurant, Flea Street, his response to her cooking came straight from the heart:

“I feel the love in this food.”

Over the years, their friendship blossomed as they realized they had a similar mission—discovering ways to keep people healthy, connected to the earth and connected to each other. At the start of the pandemic, they joined forces to help our students, staff, and local community safely come together outdoors through the Riekes-Cool garden program. Using Jesse’s backyard garden as a mini farm, students, staff, and community participants enjoyed composting, planting seeds, and harvesting, while benefiting from the time spent in nature with others during a period when opportunities to do so were extremely limited.

Today, our Community Garden projects continue, offering comprehensive food education opportunities with Jesse as well as satellite programs at local schools in East Palo Alto and new efforts toward mobile urban gardening tutorials—all with the shared goal of making nutritious food available to anyone, anywhere and nurturing that important connection to the world around us.

With your help, we can continue to provide this impactful programming that nourishes our hearts and minds.