School Partner Spotlight: AGC’s Little Leaf Market Extends Learning Into the Community
Since partnering with Emeril’s Culinary Garden & Teaching Kitchen in 2022, Academy for Global Citizenship (AGC) has steadily deepened its implementation of Emeril Lagasse Foundation’s signature program, bringing hands-on learning to life in the garden, teaching kitchen, and cafeteria. First highlighted in 2023 for its early impact on students and staff, AGC has continued to build on that momentum.
Little Leaf Market is the next evolution of that work. Housed on AGC’s campus and operated by Cultivate Collective, the nonprofit market brings AGC’s food education model into the surrounding community. The market offers fresh produce, pantry staples and ready-to-eat meals at affordable prices, creating a bridge between student learning and community access.
“It really feels like everything has come together,” said Kris De La Torre, managing director of Cultivate Collective. “The farm, the teaching kitchen, the school food program and the market are all reinforcing each other in meaningful ways.”
AGC’s six-acre campus allows students to experience food education from the ground up. Through Emeril’s Culinary Garden & Teaching Kitchen, students grow fruits and vegetables, prepare recipes in the teaching kitchen, and see those same ingredients reflected in their daily meals served in the school’s cafeteria. This consistent exposure helps students build confidence and curiosity around food.
“They’re not just learning about ingredients in theory,” Kris said. “They’re growing them, cooking with them and seeing them show up in real life.”
That continuity carries naturally into the market. Open four days a week, Little Leaf Market functions as a welcoming neighborhood corner store. Shoppers find produce grown on campus, eggs from a nearby organic farm, honey from school beehives and a thoughtfully curated selection of minimally processed pantry items. Prices are intentionally kept low to ensure accessibility.
For students, the market is a reflection of their own learning and contributions. Recognizing ingredients and dishes they’ve worked with at school, they feel a strong sense of ownership and pride when shopping with their families—often guiding their parents through the store, pointing out familiar foods, and sharing what they’ve learned. “Kids get excited about something they tried at school, and then they see it in the store,” Kris said. “They influence what their parents buy. We see it every day.”
Outside the market sits AGC’s community fridge and pantry cabinet, stocked daily with donated items and surplus meals from the school’s food program. Open to anyone, no questions asked, the fridge provides free, high-quality food to neighbors in need. Customers can also “pay it forward” by adding donations at the market checkout, helping ensure the fridge remains stocked.
Together, the garden, kitchen, cafeteria, market and community fridge form a connected ecosystem that supports learning, access and dignity.
For Kris, that impact is strengthened through AGC’s partnership with Emeril Lagasse Foundation and its national network of school partners.
“Emeril Lagasse Foundation is part of the solution,” she said. “Being connected to a national network creates momentum and helps move this work forward.”
From garden beds to grocery shelves, from classroom lessons to family meals, AGC’s partnership with Emeril Lagasse Foundation is creating lasting pathways for education, nourishment and community connection.
