You know things are going well when your students are begging for more of your basil pesto.


Hello there! My name is Allyson Schaefers and for this Fall semester I will be serving as the Nutrition Intern at Urban Harvest. I’ll be spreading nutritional knowledge in the after-school garden programs, community garden events, and more. My main goal is to help kids learn how to take a vegetable from their school garden and enjoy it on their plate. I will be accomplishing this mainly through recipe demonstrations and tastings utilizing vegetables and herbs grown straight from the school gardens.
I’ve recently moved to Houston from Dallas where I was working as the kitchen manager of a small business making all-natural frozen treats. We primarily sold to schools who provided the treats to students at lunch, giving them a fun and easy way to eat their fruits! Now in Houston though, I am working towards my Master’s in Public Health, more specifically health promotion and nutrition. As part of my program I am to complete an internship with an organization in Houston that allows me to apply my classroom work to the real world. I am so excited to have found this opportunity with Urban Harvest that allows me to combine my love of gardening and cooking and share that with kids. I especially value Urban Harvest’s mission to serve kids in communities burdened by disparities such as food deserts.
While I will be working mostly with youth in the Houston community during my internship, I’m dedicated to making the healthy choice the easy choice for people of all ages. Eating a nutritious meal doesn’t have to be complicated if you just know a few tips, tricks, and some cheesy jokes. Now, lettuce turnip the beet!
– posted by Allyson Schaefers