Sara Continenza and Food Strong's Big Project, The Superior Farm

Join us as we wrap up 2024 with community leader and food sovereignty advocate Sara Continenza. Sara is the founder and executive director of Food Strong, a non-profit connecting kids with food since 2016. Sara and her staff work with the Cleveland Municipal School District and other inner-city schools to provide hands-on learning experiences in gardening, nutrition, and entrepreneurship. Recently, Food Strong's mission to educate, empower, and cultivate health through fresh foods just got a significant boost. Community Greenhouse Partners recently gifted them a three-acre farm site on Superior Avenue in Cleveland's east side. The property includes a historic house, church, food forest, farmland, and hoop houses that Food Strong is transforming into its Superior Farm. This neighborhood hub will support food sovereignty, climate resistance, and community connections. An estimated $5 million is needed to realize her vision for the property, along with the help of thousands of volunteers and neighbors. This extraordinary project is urban restoration at its best, feeding bodies, minds, and souls. Join us as we speak with Sara about this project, the wisdom of kids, Food Strong's work, and ways you can help. 

Our Guest:
Sara Continenza, Founder and Executive Director of Food Strong

Learn More:
About Food Strong
About The Superior Farm Fix-Up Project
Donate to Food Strong's Farm Project
Become a Supporter
Volunteer Evenings
Food Strong's Programs
Follow Food Strong on Facebook and Instagram

Transcript

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Diane Bickett 0:04

You're listening to Together, we speak with local sustainability leaders and invite you to connect, learn, and live with our community and planet in mind . EcoSpeak CLE , a podcast for the eco-curious in Northeast Ohio . My name is Diane Bickett and my producer is Greg Rotuno .

Episode and Guest Introduction - Sara Continenza

Diane Bickett 0:21

Thanks for joining us for our last podcast of 2024 . We are so grateful to you for listening , for learning and for all the ways you are caring for our planet , our community and each other . Let's carry that hope and commitment into 2025 with our guest today , Sara Continenza .

Diane Bickett 0:38

Sara is the founder and executive director of Food Strong . Food Strong was recently gifted a three-acre farm site on Superior Avenue at East 67th Street , and Sara , along with her community partners , are embarking on a five-year capital project to transform the property into a community hub that will feed bodies , minds and souls . Join us as we speak with Sara about the project and how she works to connect kids with food , to educate , empower and cultivate health throughout Northeast Ohio . Welcome , Sara . Thank you so much for having me . I'm glad we could finally get together . We have met a couple times over the last couple weeks . It has been a pleasure to get to know you better . As we did that , I picked up a few what I'm calling Sara , which I will just read here . Store-bought tomatoes taste like disappointment . That's one of my favorite ones . If you can't pronounce it , don't eat it . And food is everywhere . I really love all three of those . How do all those Sara

Food Sovereignty and Food Strong's School Programmingrograms

Diane Bickett 1:40

play into your mission ?

Sara Continenza 1:41

You know , with our various programs we are constantly talking about how food nourishes the body or can potentially poison the body , depending on what choices you're making . And unfortunately , in a lot of the communities we serve , you know the choices people make are the choices that they have available to them and so you know people can't help if they don't have a grocery store nearby . They can't help if they lack a lot of options and education around how to utilize healthy options . You know there's not a ton of that available right now and so we do very , we work very hard to engage our students in various schools with our school programming . It's a holistic school garden , culinary arts , nutrition and entrepreneurship program that we call our Food Sovereignty School program .

Sara Continenza 2:34

And if you don't know what food sovereignty means , it's really just all around the principle of engaging the food consumers in every element of the process , of , you know , farm to plate . You know there's a lot more than just going to the grocery store or the food pantry getting the food . Someone had to grow that food , someone had to , you know , produce that food , package the food . Someone had to sell the food , ship the food , take pictures of the food . There's so many different elements of that process and people are very passive right now . They're passive consumers and they don't really know what they're putting in their bodies , they don't know where it's coming from , they don't know what was done to the food , what was sprayed on the food , and so we're reconnecting our students and the communities we serve with all those processes . That's food sovereignty , right . It's teaching the man to fish instead of giving the man the fish , right . Both are important because you need to get through every day , and an empty belly won't help you get through a day . Very well . But once you've gotten through that day and your belly's full , what can we do to keep you nourished for life , so that you know you have the knowledge to be able to access foods in a variety of ways ?

Sara Continenza 3:48

As you said , food is everywhere and some people don't realize that literally in your own backyard or in the woods there are a ton of different native edible plants or even non-native , but foods that are growing and that are very nourishing . So we work with our scholars , we guide our scholars in the schools we're in about 13 schools right now , mostly in Cleveland Public Schools , okay and we work very closely with the district , specifically the science and nutrition departments . We're very ingrained with the nutrition department , to the point where we actually get a fresh fruit and veggie bar at every school , that we have our program , which is amazing , wow , um , shout out to bob gorman , uh , becky and everyone at the department doing wonderful work , um . And so we're a grateful department with them , and so we guide our students through the process of , you know , building these on-site school gardens .

Sara Continenza 4:38

We have food , native perennial plants , herbs , and then we also talk about the nutrition Everything we grow . Right , we're not going to say , hey , eat this tomato , but we'll talk about why that tomato is red . What is that ? That's lycopene . What is lycopene good for ? Let's talk about that . It's good for your immune system , your heart health , all those different things . And we dive deep so that our students can really understand the why . It's not just a lecture , but they're getting , you know , a full , well-rounded education around that .

Diane Bickett 5:14

So you're in 13 schools within the Cleveland Municipal School District , ten in the CMSD , and then we're in a couple other districts .

Sara Continenza 5:18

We have a school in East Cleveland , and then we have our learning garden in East Cleveland as well , at the Coit Road Farmers Market , and then we also have our school that we do in partnership with the Impact Program and Shaker Middle School .

Diane Bickett 5:35

Wow , that's amazing . So when did you start doing this ?

Sara Continenza 5:39

I started working with the district and community partners to build out a school garden toolkit back in 2016 .

Sara Continenza 5:45

And then , in 17 , I launched , piloted the program in a couple of CMSD schools Artemis Ward , and then Iowa Maple Elementary , which ended up closing a couple of weeks after the pandemic lockdowns . So those kids could only say goodbye to each other , waving in a little car train parade , and so I knew how traumatized they must have already been . So we hadn't finished our program yet and we were working on a CAC funded mural at the time . So I ended up getting some land Food Strong to to use at the Coit Road farmers market where we'd already been doing our caravan health and wellness community program , and so they gave us some land and we worked with our students from Iowa Maple and others to build that garden out , started with about four little garden beds , and it has expanded to a full-on urban farm that has a farm manager , jeff , now that takes care of it , and we've been growing ever since , and that was a really cool opportunity to , you know , respond to that situation and be able to convene our people in a safe environment . So that was really cool .

Diane Bickett 6:48

So the kids are coming to the farm , or , yeah , we host field trips there , workshops , learning experiences , events .

Sara Continenza 6:56

We also use the food that we grow to sell at the Coit Market and then we have a mobile farm stand that we'll take out to other markets and other community settings , specifically ones of low access , and we're looking to continue to expand our model to sell other types of foods and local products to support other local businesses and provide further access to people . And we accept all the different incentive programs like SNAP and produce perks , senior coupons , et cetera , etc . And we work with some of our students to help run that as well , to give them workforce development and entrepreneurship experience . So that's been wonderful , you know . So it's been

Food Scarcity is a Myth

Sara Continenza 7:36

a journey , right , you know the world will often shape and shift how you operate , and you know we shape and shift with the world .

Sara Continenza 7:43

Yeah , and we want to make sure , at the end of the day , that we're doing whatever we can to prepare our communities for whatever's next , because we're not sure , right , we don't know what could happen . But if you have a good relationship with the land , you know how to cultivate the land , you know how to identify edible plants and do just simple things like that that we've completely lost connection with over the last couple of generations . If we can do that , then we're going to be a lot better off . You know , scarcity is a myth if you know how to look at it , and so we're trying to perpetuate that knowledge and empower our youth , specifically to take that and become innovators , because they are extremely creative and innovative . You know we have had students start their own businesses , food-based businesses and others .

Sara Continenza 8:34

Jeffrey has been creating for several years now his baked goods that are free of the nine allergens and his company called Far From the ER . Jeffrey's one of your students . He had been , yeah , but we now just mentor him on the side and he's been , you know , blossoming , and we're really proud of him , and that's just one example . And so you know we love cultivating those kinds of things .

Diane Bickett 8:55

What age group do you typically like to work with in this program ?

Sara Continenza 9:00

We're K through 12 . Oh really , yeah . So our sweet spot has been upper elementary school , some middle , but we have a couple of high schools and lower elementary as well .

Diane Bickett 9:08

Okay , what's your impact ?

Sara Continenza 9:09

been so far ? Well , we do notice through our surveys that there is definitely a positive change in social emotional learning , specifically team building , self-confidence , and we also see improvements in people's knowledge and attitudes toward you know eating , healthy , gardening , cooking , and you know a lot of the concepts we talk about .

Sara Continenza 9:33

So we , you know that's just the quantitative , but you know qualitatively , we've seen a ton of different examples of people you know improving their lifestyles , improving their attendance at school , their grades getting better , and teachers have had a lot of great stories about how that's improved their classrooms overall too .

Diane Bickett 9:55

And they're taking that knowledge home to their families . I love that you're bringing the fresh food into the schools . It can't be easy working with the Cleveland Municipal School District . How did you ? How was your first entry with them ?

Sara Continenza 10:08

I started by working with Kirsten and Terry at the science department , and they're the ones that helped us build out the toolkit Wow , and they gave me a lot of guidance on how to pull suggestions on how to teach to the test through the lens of gardening , which I had not thought about so deeply , but that's how you're going to get a school to adopt this successfully because there's such an emphasis .

Diane Bickett 10:29

Yeah , you have to meet those learning standards , All that yeah , okay .

Sara Continenza 10:32

So that's kind of how we started , but it's actually been a real pleasure working with CMSD . Good Is it a challenge sometimes , of course you know any bigger institutional setting can be . There's the bureaucracy involved and things like that , but they have been an absolutely phenomenal partner and we've even gone in on some grants together , like the United Way a Greater Cleveland grant that we got that . They have supported our capacity building and our school programming . We've gotten Rite Aid Healthy Futures Foundation dollars to help support our work in the Cleveland schools . So it's been a really wonderful relationship . That has helped us as an organization too , and it helped us . We recently hired a second educator because of the support , even during a time of economic distress , which has been really great because there have been budget cuts in the district . It has put a lot of pressure on programs like ours , but we've been able to continue and expand due to that support , which is awesome . How many ?

Diane Bickett 11:27

staff do you have so far ?

Sara Continenza 11:30

Four full-time staff members , including myself , and then we have about five part-time folks , some you know , are you know ?

Diane Bickett 11:39

some of the educators and grant writers , and then Jeff Baylor , who is your farm manager , formerly with Ladistry Farms .

Sara Continenza 11:47

Yeah , and we have our marketing person , heather , and , yeah , we have an awesome crew . We have a great crew . We also partner with AmeriCorps , so we have a mod through AmeriCorps which has been very , very helpful over the years and tons of volunteers and community partners .

Diane Bickett 12:00

I'm assuming .

Sara Continenza 12:00

Over a thousand this year alone . Wow .

Diane Bickett 12:02

Volunte Wow , awesome

Sara's background

Diane Bickett 12:04

. So what is it in your background that helped you develop the skills necessary to run this incredible organization ?

Sara Continenza 12:14

Well , I think a lot of my grit comes from Peace Corps . You know , living in a mud hut in the middle of nowhere trying to implement programming . And I would say you know just my travels over the world . Um , you know , I lived in japan . I've lived in europe , in france , I've , you know , I've had a ton of experiences in a variety of cultures I've experienced what it's like to be the minority .

Sara Continenza 12:40

I've experienced hunger like I've been around , you know , raw hunger . I've seen , you know extreme high quality of life in a place like Japan and I've seen all of it and it really has given me a lot of perspective and I came back with all that knowledge . And then , you know , working at the Hunger Network really gave me a lot of experience in the nonprofit sector . I , when I start , went off on my own . I was writing grants and working with groups like Refresh Collective , which gave me a lot of wonderful experience . Getting my master's in public administration at CSU was a phenomenal tool for me to both network and gain important knowledge on this . So I think just all my experiences have played into it in a lot of ways .

Diane Bickett 13:24

Wow , I'm really impressed . You're also a member of the South Euclid City Council . You've been with , you've been on council since when 2018 . Wow , since 2018 . So government experience you've just nonprofit experience , leadership all that Plus . You're a forager .

Sara Continenza 13:42

Right leadership all that Plus you're a forager right , I love to taste what nature has to offer .

Diane Bickett 13:54

I love that . So let's talk about your big project and how our listeners can help you with that . Superior Farm is the name of the three acre farm that was gifted to you , and I was able to go visit you at the farm . It was a very cold day , but we got a quick tour . I noticed that there's a lot of opportunity there . Tell us the background of how you were gifted the farm . What's there now , what it looks like today and what , what your vision is for , what it will look like in , say , five years Awesome .

Sara Continenza 14:23

Well , thanks

The Superior Farm Project

Sara Continenza 14:24

for bringing that up . It's a massive endeavor right day . And what ? What your vision is for , what it will look like in , say , five years ? Awesome , well , thanks for bringing that up . It's a massive endeavor right now . Um , I went to that site several times the most you know over the years when it was community greenhouse partners under the leadership of tim smith , who I've known since the 90s really from you know hanging out on coventry and you know the whole cle Heights scene , and I went there back in 2017 , and I just remember getting a tour and being amazed at the possibilities , taking a picture of the inside of the sanctuary of the church , and it's still on my Instagram to this day that picture so background there is a church , a huge church , on the property that was formerly uh , the saint george's lithuanian catholic church .

Sara Continenza 15:05

Okay , a huge building , that's what it was built to be in the 20s . Um , yeah , and so we went there . I took a picture and I'm like imagine the possibilities . Yeah , and this was before food strong was even a concept .

Sara Continenza 15:15

So fast forward , um you know funny how life comes back around and I've been talking about wanting land and doing some place making in a community setting , in a good part of town , that we could have an impact and really build out our place and build out our headquarters and also work with the community to envision what the space could be in terms of food sovereignty and just holistic wraparound care .

Sara Continenza 15:40

And so it was , you know , brought to my attention by the board president , John , who was I had met at one of my community gatherings that they had a proposal out , a request for proposals to different organizations to see who would want to acquire that property , which includes that church , a farmhouse that has about 4,500 square feet , 10 bedrooms , and it's a beautiful old Italian architectural style farmhouse . And then that was the original structure on the property . It predates historical record keeping . There's no records of it . It's pretty cool . And then it's on virgin farmland and there's a food forest planted on the front yard on Superior there now , which Community Greenhouse Partners have done , and there's a five-car garage and a whole bunch of land . It's almost three acres . So we're gathering our community partners , stakeholders and everyone to start envisioning what this is going to look .

Sara Continenza 16:43

Greater Cleveland Construction has donated their time to help us kind of get started on this process and we're phasing it out . So we're starting with getting the house in order , at least the interior and the structural stuff , so that we can move our headquarters into the house and the upstairs will either be housing or office spaces . We're waiting to determine that based on a variety of factors , but then we'll be able to move in and then continue working off the space and clearing the land , beautifying landscaping , planning out our farm , working with the community , engaging with the neighbors and stakeholders to really come up with a cohesive , collaborative plan and eventually it's looking to maybe three years down the line is when we'll really get super into the remodeling and remediation of the church , which is definitely over 20,000 square feet . It has two massive gathering spaces , eight classrooms and requires definitely millions of dollars in work , but it would be definitely worth repairing and restoring because it is gorgeous in there and you know it's going to be a really awesome opportunity to have a beautiful space in the community for gathering , for learning , for , you know , convening . It's going to be wonderful and we're really excited about it , but it definitely is a huge project . So we love our volunteers .

Sara Continenza 18:06

Like I said , we've had a ton of volunteers , uh , so far we couldn't do what we do without them and we are so appreciative of the groups that have come out , corporate groups , student groups and , um , we are going to be , uh , continuing to gather these groups , different volunteer groups , at the farm year round , every other thursday , 5 to 7 pm after work hours so people can make it and , uh , it's even now , so , even though it's dark , people can . We're doing a lot of clearing out in the church and just getting things ready . Um , and then the other really important thing that we need right now is obviously some funds . So you know , we have our donate now button on foodstronorg , which has a whole landing page about the farm and everything we're up to and the , the strategic planning and process and everything . So you know we are accepting donations as well . And there will be , through the capital campaign that has been launched by bone and feather LLC , our you know different naming rights and sponsorship opportunities as we progress how big is your capital campaign ?

Diane Bickett 19:07

how are you trying to raise to achieve the vision over the five years Phase ?

Sara Continenza 19:13

one . We're aiming for another $400,000 . Okay , that'll get us in the house . It'll do all the improvements we need on the house , at least unless anything comes up , which we know things happen all the time . But being able to get the electric in order , the you know , all the major repairs , the cosmetic stuff , you know that would be about 400 . That's for phase one . We want to get in the house and then we will be phasing it out . The church will be more of a likely five million dollar campaign . From what we've gathered from the quotes we've gotten . That will be down the road . Our goal first is to get into the house so we can start operating out of it and continue our placemaking .

Sara Continenza 19:50

Okay , and we're really excited because we have a continued partnership with Cuyahoga County .

Sara Continenza 19:55

We have been implementing over the last several years of vacant lot restoration initiative in partnership with Riddle Green Partnership and the Cuyahoga County Land Bank , and so we are looking forward to the opportunity to continue to work with groups all around northeast ohio in acquiring and restoring their lots in their communities through sustainable ag and navigating the you know , sometimes very challenging bureaucratic systems that are in place that hold that hold the keys to these different leases and ownership opportunities for the lots . So what we're envisioning at this space is that we can bring people to us and get them trained and experienced in farming and learning more about how to navigate some of these public sector situations so that they can more likely acquire the lots and either a lease or ownership based on their needs . I know that the city's working on building out a community land trust so we could help people try to navigate that system as well , if that makes sense . So there's a ton of opportunities for collaboration there , and so we're imagining like a really intensive kind of workforce development space .

Diane Bickett 21:01

That's really important , because how many vacant lots are there in Cleveland approximately ?

Sara Continenza 21:07

I've heard like Well the land bank has about 17,000 , but there are , I believe , over 30,000 vacant lots in the city of Cleveland .

Diane Bickett 21:15

Yeah , and the public forum is often talking about the potential of these lots , but no one is really talking about how to acquire them , how to improve them and that sort of thing .

Sara Continenza 21:28

So that's something that you'll be working on and there are some really good projects happening underway that are working toward that , like Cleveland and some other groups through the Western Reserve , land Conservancy , through the city , through the county there's various groups doing wonderful work on that for sure , and so we're definitely not reinventing any wheels . It's more like just making sure that everyone is aware of all the great work being done and knowing how to participate in that work whenever necessary . We definitely , you know , know our place in this , which is food , and we want to just make sure that we are able to connect as necessary .

Diane Bickett 22:07

Okay , I understand . So , in addition to donating money , because I think you'll be going to big corporate donors , so for any big corporate donor listeners out there that want to get behind a good project , I mean I'll-

Support Food Strong and the Farm

Diane Bickett 22:20

tell you $5, .

Sara Continenza 22:20

$10 is also very helpful .

Diane Bickett 22:23

Absolutely Just like a political campaign , right , but you're also looking for , like skills-based volunteers . How can those people that you know , how can we contribute our time ? What needs do you have ? Carpenters , electricians .

Sara Continenza 22:37

Yeah , so as we move on this project , you know if there are any licensed insured you know type of you know , supporters .

Greg Rotuno 22:45

You know type of . You know supporters you ?

Sara Continenza 22:46

know that are willing to kind of support us in you know the various elements of the restoration process . We'd be really grateful . But you know , in general to our organization , you can always use support with things like grant writing , marketing . You know IT support , you know there's .

Sara Continenza 23:08

We are working right now to enhance our capacity , but there's a lot of things that I've continued to realize I need support with . You know we're a small , growing team , a small growing organization , and skills-based volunteers are super vital . We've been working very closely with BVU over the years . They've helped send us amazing supporters like Bone and Feather LLC , kevin Ament he was connected to us through BVU , amongst other amazing board members like Sam Weir , who's our secretary he's at Thompson High and LLP . So we've had a wonderful support network so far and I think what we could continue to use help with is those definite other areas administratively , along with what the farm needs , because it all plays together . We need to be able to make sure that we aren't leaving one side , uh , kind of to the wayside while we focus heavily on the other .

Diane Bickett 23:58

So it's going to be a holistic approach okay and um , I just lost what I was going to say so , your Thursday volunteering . How does that work ? What do you call it ? Volunteer Thursdays ? Yeah , volunteer , I want to circle back to that Sure From 5 to 7 , people just show up .

Sara Continenza 24:21

People can show up . We do have sign-up registration online on foodstrongorg Just click on Farm or Programs . And we are right now in the off-season . We're doing stuff indoors mostly and we have been clearing out every classroom in the church , so those have been used for storage and there are just a lot of stuff that needs to go in the dumpster . You know a lot of organizing , just kind of figuring out what could be consolidated so that we can clear out some of the classrooms , make room for some of the other stuff that might be coming in or some of the other activities that might be , you know , happening . So that's a big thing that's going on right now . We've already filled up almost four dumpsters since we've been there . Um , I hate trash , I hate filling up landfills .

Sara Continenza 25:11

But we've , we are you got to clear it out . We participate in the circular economy whenever possible . So we , anything that's usable , we keep in the church . That's why we have it being reorganized . But yeah , that um cutting up and disposing while the old carpets everywhere and you know , just kind of making sure that when we are ready to take next steps , we are ready for that .

Diane Bickett 25:32

Okay , and you have an online newsletter people can sign up for .

Sara Continenza 25:37

Yeah , when you go to foodstronorg it pops up Subscribe now . Just plug in your email , Okay .

Diane Bickett 25:42

Talk about the neighborhood and what it looks like around the farm , and you had mentioned , when we were walking the farm , that the Cleveland Foundation has a big project nearby , so this whole neighborhood , the St Clair Superior neighborhood , borders on the Huff neighborhood . There's a lot of other stuff . You talk about the circular economy , too . Going on like the Rebuilders Exchange and Upcycle Part Shop is close by , so you'll be a integral part of this community . Going back to the Cleveland Foundation , though , can you explain what ? There is a housing project or something you're talking about ?

Sara Continenza 26:19

well , the Cleveland Foundation is located in other new headquarters and soon to be collaboration space at Euclid and 66th Street , so a couple of streets over . Yeah , it's like about , I would say , a mile down . But this East 66th Street corridor , as they're calling it , is something that they're working on very heavily and so they're very focused on that Huff and soon-to-be St Clair Superior neighborhood . And so when you're going down 66 and you end up at Superior , you're facing our space , okay . So we're just kind of like the caboose of the corridor or the icing on the cake . Exactly . I love that . So , yeah , we're going to be working with them to ensure that we are working together on community engagement and just making sure that we're very strategic in how we approach all this , because the last thing I want to do is do something for a community or in a community right , the preposition I choose is with the community , so that's super important .

Sara Continenza 27:20

And then the neighborhood around our church . Actually , you know people take a lot of care for their homes , like when you walk the streets around our church . Actually , you know people take a lot of care for their homes , like when you walk the streets around the church . A lot of those homes are in really good shape . People take a lot of pride to care for them . There's a church right across the street from us . The Hells Angels are nearby , you know .

Sara Continenza 27:39

We've got a lot of pretty awesome neighbors and our site has left a lot to be desired over the years . So that's why we've been really working on we've we painted the front of the church to me through michael wall . She donated some of the services to paint the front of the church and we have , you know , through our volunteers from mckinsey and co . They actually , you know , removed most of the sod that was covering all the sidewalks and now people can walk safely . And we removed most of the sod that was covering all the sidewalks and now people can walk safely . And we've been clearing off the property of all the debris and old wood and fallen trees and things like that Bricks everywhere . So it's already looking a lot better from just a couple months we've been able to put in and I just want to make sure that we are part of that community that takes pride in its surroundings .

Sara Continenza 28:28

Yeah , the community deserves that it doesn't deserve to have another crumbling building .

Diane Bickett 28:32

Well said , and you're working with the neighbors to get their input on the vision for the ?

Sara Continenza 28:37

property too . Exactly , and we're really excited because not only is this going to be a food sovereignty space , but climate resilience hub sovereignty space , but climate resilience hub . I want to make sure that this is a safe space for people to be able to access for in times of need , right If maybe the grid goes down or other issues . We're very much focused on renewable energy and how we can incorporate that into the space so that we don't have issues should something like that occur and people can turn to us if they need us .

Diane Bickett 29:09

Wow , I love the vision .

Learning From the Kids

Diane Bickett 29:11

You want to talk a little bit about your experience working with kids . I mean , you give a lot to the kids , but you're learning a lot from them too . Can you give us some examples of some of the stars you've worked with that inspire you every day to keep going ?

Sara Continenza 29:27

I mean there's so many to even consider . I've had kids really transform over the years . One of my first class I ever taught I had a young lady who was having a really hard time , really really hard time , with stuff at home going on and it was coming on her behavior and she was violent . Hard time , you know , really really hard time , with stuff at home going on and you know , just coming on her behavior and she was violent and it was , and she uh definitely changed around a lot during that time and , um , she blossomed into a , you know , teenager and a young adult who had started her own non-profit and was giving back to her community . She graduated high school , was offered a full right to college , and so she was one of those examples of someone that I watched a transformation occur .

Sara Continenza 30:19

I've had other students like Jayanna . She started her own business making art and was selling at our farmer's market events for a while . There . We had Jonathan start his own photography company because of some of the entrepreneurship programming we brought into the program at Garfield School , you know . So we've had a lot of individual successes and just in general , what I learned from my students is that you never take life too seriously .

Sara Continenza 30:47

You know I try not to , but sometimes you know , when you're a leader , when you wear a lot of hats , you know you sometimes forget that and what I don't want to do is lose my inner child . I think it's a really important lesson for us all to remember . Stop what you're doing sometimes . Go play , whatever that play looks like , whether it's going dancing , getting out , going hiking with your friends , being goofy you know they rejuvenate that . They remind me of the importance of hugs . You know , like I'm a hugger , you know I mean , but sometimes life will just get at you , but they'll never let you forget , you know . So that just inner joy , something that's really important . And you know these kids surprise me every day with their level of innovation and expertise . I mean I learn from them all the time . And we're actually we're excited because we're going to be actually having our students in different schools do social media takeovers , so they're going to be creating the content for our social media and promoting the messages we're sharing .

Diane Bickett 31:46

They do it the best right they do .

Sara Continenza 31:48

They're so fun One of our schools . The students were sharing with us some of the beats they were producing online and on their computers , and so we're going to be bringing in our partner , refresh Collective , and they're going to guide our students through creating original hip hop music about fresh foods .

Diane Bickett 32:05

Oh man , well , I was going to end with the tip time , but I think you know that was a perfect tip , just in terms of you know , remember how it is to be a kid and have fun and not be too heavy . Don't let life keep beating it out of you . Yeah , and we're going to need that going into 2025 . So

Eco Speaks Announcement

Diane Bickett 32:22

I want to close out with a quick note to our listeners Our podcasts are going into year four , so Greg isn't here today to celebrate that with us . He's wrapping up a lot of stuff at work . But going into 2025 , we will probably be releasing on a less organized schedule , but look for one , maybe two podcasts per month . Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook , egospeakcle , to stay in touch with us and so you're notified of when new episodes come out . And also follow me , diane Beckett , on LinkedIn new episodes come out , and also follow me , diane Beckett , on LinkedIn , where I also put out some content about episodes and some of the folks that I've interviewed .

Sara Continenza 33:15

So real quick . I want to shout out Diane Beckett , because this is her act of service and love . In her retirement she's helping uplift local organizations and people that are working hard for our environment and our climate and in our community . So , Diane , you deserve a big round of applause because this act of love is really important . People like us really need the help to get the word out , and you're doing that , so thank you .

Diane Bickett 33:45

Thank you . I really appreciate that Sometimes I'll need to listen to that on occasion . We all need that little support to keep going .

Sara Continenza 33:54

We need each other , that's for sure , and I'm excited .

Diane Bickett 33:58

I love doing this podcast because I'm meeting great people like you . It keeps me engaged in my retirement and gives me something to do , and I'm grateful to Greg for coming along with me on this ride .

Greg Rotuno 34:10

See you next time .

Diane Bickett 34:11

Greg , yeah , we'll see you next time , so thank you so much .

Sara Continenza 34:14

Merry Christmas , happy holidays to everyone . Whatever you're celebrating , we celebrate you , and make sure to do something kind for yourself and don't be stressed out . It's a very stressful time of year if you let it , but just take that time you need for yourself and don't be stressed out . It's a very stressful time of year if you let it , but just take that time you need for yourself . Go breathe , Take a hike , whatever you need . Yep , yep .

Diane Bickett 34:33

And some last minute giving for the end of the year , giving Donate to Food Strong to help Sara with this project .

Sara Continenza 34:41

And when you're buying gifts shop , local Exactly . Thank you , thank you .

Greg Rotuno 34:48

We hope you've enjoyed this episode of EcoSpeak CLE . You can find our full catalog of episodes on Spotify , apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts . New episodes are available the first and third Tuesday of each month . Please follow EcoSpeak CLE on Facebook and Instagram and become part of the conversation . Please follow EcoSpeak CLE on Facebook and Instagram and become part of the conversation . If you would like to send us feedback and suggestions , or if you'd like to become a sponsor of EcoSpeak CLE , you can email us at hello at EcoSpeakCLEcom . Stay tuned for more important and inspiring stories to come .