Pepperdine News and Events

Alumnus Continues School Gardening Leadership Project to Improve Student Diet

Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) graduate Thomas Bangert (MS, ‘09) continues the mission of his leadership project as he works with the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation to create sustainable change in student’s diet.

Bangert, a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) teacher of 13 years, was recognized by Jamie Oliver’s Food Foundation for creating a K-5 curriculum focusing on food systems, sustaining the environment, growing, cooking and sharing.

Bangert’s philosophy of “Grow, Prepare, Share” led to the creation of the LA Human Garden Project which began as his leadership project for GSEP. He was also able to establish a student maintained garden at Westside Global Awareness K-8 Magnet where he serves as the science teacher. The garden serves as the foundation for the student’s education about renewable nutriment.

Reflecting on the need for such programs, Bangert says “When the adults on a school campus will not drink from the drinking fountains, or eat food from the school cafeteria, what we see is the adults modeling a cultural disconnect from the school site. They demonstrate a cognitively dissonant message that the water is poison, and the food is government waste, and both are bad for you, but good enough for the urban poor.“

At the dedication to the garden, Bangert encouraged over 80 students to write letters to LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy persuading him to reform the school menu.