Deaf Youth: Plant. Learn. Cook. Inspire

K-12 STEAM education

Central LA East LA South LA San Gabriel Valley West LA San Fernando Valley Gateway Cities South Bay Long Beach Antelope Valley City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit) County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Deafness profoundly impacts a child’s ability to communicate effectively, often due to limited vocabulary, comprehension challenges, and isolation. In California, over 70% of deaf children graduate high school functionally illiterate, creating barriers to critical thinking, independence, and meaningful connections. Low-income deaf students in L.A. lack access to innovative STEAM programs that are collaborative, tactile, and rich in academic language. Many also miss early exposure to environmental education, green technology, and healthy eating. A healthy diet is linked to better mental health, supporting brain function, mood, and self-confidence—yet these opportunities remain out of reach.
Plant. Learn. Cook. Inspire. program bridges this gap by integrating STEAM, health, and deaf advocacy—offering accessible, relevant learning experiences. Without such programming, deaf children and families will be excluded from vital conversations around food justice, sustainability, and wellness.

Plant. Learn. Cook. Inspire. will launch a hydroponic garden at the No Limits Educational Center in Los Angeles, where we will create an innovative STEAM learning experience designed specifically for deaf youth and families. It will be guided by qualified teachers and deaf chefs to empower and teach deaf youth to grow vegetables while engaging in lessons that incorporate biology, chemistry, environmental science, and green technologies. The program promotes academic growth and environmental responsibility through hands-on participation.
At each harvest, deaf youth will become sous chefs, working alongside a deaf chef to turn their produce into nutritious meals. Any unused vegetables will be distributed to families to ensure access to healthy, fresh food. Each session will include a cooking and wellness lesson focused on topics like low-sodium alternatives, natural sugars, and balanced meals. These lessons will be scripted, filmed, and professionally edited by deaf students into 10 educational cooking videos. Each video will feature the deaf chef and youth cooking, learning, and sharing health tips. Videos will be distributed to families in our program and made publicly accessible, showcasing the potential of deaf youth when given proper resources. This project addresses multiple inequities in STEAM access, health education, and deaf representation, reinforcing the message that deaf students are capable, creative, and ready to lead and inspire.

Los Angeles County will see a powerful model for STEAM education that empowers deaf youth to grow academically, physically, socially, and emotionally. Through hands-on learning tied to real-world outcomes, such as food production, cooking, and wellness, deaf youth will gain confidence in STEAM, build critical thinking skills, and expand their academic vocabulary. Families will benefit from engaging content that promotes healthy habits and features deaf youth taking the lead. The cooking videos will uplift voices rarely seen in media and share an empowering narrative of what’s possible. The broader community will see deaf youth as leaders, capable and contributing to a sustainable and equitable future. Deaf youth will inspire peers with disabilities to lead on other community issues. Schools will be encouraged to rethink how they include and support deaf students. Most importantly, deaf youth can gain the tools, knowledge, and belief to pursue healthy, independent, and fulfilling lives.