[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E429]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING STEPHEN RITZ

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RITCHIE TORRES

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 12, 2026

  Mr. TORRES of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an 
extraordinary educator, innovator, and community leader from the Bronx: 
Stephen Ritz, founder of Green Bronx Machine.
  Born and raised in the Bronx, Stephen Ritz has transformed lives 
through the power of education, sustainability, and hope. What began as 
a single classroom initiative in the South Bronx has grown into a 
global movement, one that has reached more than 375,000 students across 
six continents and trained over 11,000 educators worldwide. Green Bronx 
Machine was named by Fast Company as Most Innovative Company in 2024.
  Known as ``America's favorite teacher,'' Stephen created the first 
edible classroom in the world, and he and his students have grown more 
than 375,000 pounds of fresh vegetables right in the South Bronx, 
proving that classrooms can cultivate not only food, but opportunity, 
health, and dignity. His students, hailed as ``The Miracle in the 
Bronx,'' have earned national STEM championships, seven Anthem Awards, 
and the first Emmy Award in New York City Department of Education 
history. They have been celebrated at the Obama White House three times 
and featured on the cover of TIME for Kids.
  Through Green Bronx Machine, Stephen has woven together academic 
achievement, food justice, environmental stewardship, and economic 
empowerment, helping create more than 2,200 living wage jobs in New 
York City alone. He has testified before the U.S. House of 
Representatives Committee on Ending Hunger in America and presented at 
the United Nations and World Business Forum, carrying the spirit of the 
Bronx onto the global stage with unmatched passion, compassion, and 
energy.
  Stephen has also been recognized as a CNN COVID Food Hero, a 2023 
Global Food Hero, a 2024 Food Waste Warrior by Food Tank, and most 
recently was awarded the 2025 Global Food Changemaker Prize in Social 
Impact. For over a decade, he has served as Executive Director of the 
National Health, Wellness, and Learning Center at Community School 55 
as an unpaid, full-time volunteer.
  But perhaps what speaks loudest about Stephen Ritz is not the awards 
or the accolades: it is the life he lives every single day. He still 
calls the Bronx home, where he tends the most productive school garden 
per square foot in New York City, located in the heart of public 
housing. He raises chickens and exotic koi fish, including what is 
believed to be the largest captive goldfish in the Bronx. He shows up 
in his signature green shoes, cheese-hat in tow, and has taken over two 
million photos with children and celebrities alike, because to Stephen, 
every person he meets is worth celebrating.
  Today, we celebrate Stephen Ritz not only for his remarkable 
achievements, but for his unwavering belief that every child can grow, 
thrive, and succeed. The Bronx is proud to call him one of our own.

                          ____________________