Welcome to the first edition of the City Semester Newsletter! In our monthly issue, we’ll highlight our latest City Semester projects, trips and reflections. So far, it’s been a busy and exciting start for the Spring 2025 City Semester class. From eating tasty lunches at La Morada and working with community partners in the Bronx to digging around in the Fieldston compost bin, students immediately dove into hands-on work.
La Morada, a mutual aid kitchen in the South Bronx, started as our first off-campus trip, but it has now become a familiar place we return to every Wednesday morning. Whether we are skinning onions, making corn tortillas or folding pamphlets, we always have a lovely time. As the weather warms up, City Semester students have also started working in La Morada’s community garden, Bruckner Garden. Students have enjoyed spending time outside painting positive messages on the fence to welcome residents and composting to prepare the garden for spring. Experiencing the outdoors, instead of being stuck in classrooms with little sunlight, is one of the many wonderful aspects of City Semester.
In addition to weekly trips to La Morada, students have had the opportunity to go on many other outings related to current units of study. During our Food Migration unit, students went on a pizza tour in the West Village with Scott’s Pizza Tours. Not only did students stuff themselves with many slices of delicious pizza, but they also got to learn about the evolution of pizza, from the different types of ovens to the process of making the dough.
Using the pizza tour as inspiration, students taught one another about their own family’s culture through food. As part of the class’s Food Migration presentations, students needed to cook and bring in the food they were presenting on, allowing the audience to enjoy the dish while learning about it. We gained insights about the history, migration, NYC presence, sensory details and traditions about each food from every student. Dishes ranged from Moroccan tagine to oxtail. Needless to say, we were very well-fed for the whole week!
To continue the food unit, students visited Hunts Point Market in the South Bronx. Rising bright and early at 4 AM, the prime time to see the fish and meat markets in action, students first stopped at Blue Ribbon Fish in the Fulton Fish Market. Learning every step of the process, ranging from the best global fishing locations to the detail and care that goes into selling the fish each morning, was fascinating. You would think that people who work all night would be grumpy and exhausted, but unexpectedly, the fish market workers were full of energy and genuinely passionate about their jobs.
By 6:30 AM, we were on our way to Mosner Family Meats. Compared to the fish, the meat world had a completely different process and set of expertise. Geared up in jackets and hair coverings, practically looking like COVID-19 workers, we headed downstairs. There, we were amazed to see the meat’s transformation — whole lambs hanging on hooks gradually became packaged edible products ready to be shipped. Hunts Point felt like a hidden world, despite being the leading food supplier to the New York City metro area.
As you can probably tell, City Semester students have had their hands full with meaningful experiences and learning opportunities. Taking trips to locations that some had never known existed and forming relationships with community partners have allowed students to learn through doing. Taking a step out of our comfort zone and seeing where City Semester takes us has allowed the class to grow both as individuals and together.
Thanks for reading the first edition of our City Semester newsletter! Be on the lookout for our next one, where we’ll share details about new events, such as our upcoming visits to Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and Grassroots Grocery.
