Food-Forward:
A Windsor Street Montessori Approach

Food-Forward means the garden is part of the lesson, and the lunch table is part of the classroom.

our definition:

Food-Forward is our whole-food approach to Montessori education. Not a diet, not a trend, just real food — mostly from real sources — connected back to the kids who grow it. Our students plant, harvest, cook, and compost as part of their school day, so the lunch table becomes a classroom for where food comes from and who it connects us to. We keep it approachable — familiar foods, familiar names, no pressure — because the goal isn't perfection, it's a lifelong, judgment-free relationship with food.

Where It Came From

Food-Forward started with a moment, not a mission statement. Our founder, Chef Gaby, once sat with a child new to this country in front of a tray of colorless, processed food — and watched that child feel unseen. That moment became a commitment: no child at Windsor Street would ever feel that way at a lunch table again.

What makes Food-Forward ours is the specific, daily version of the idea that food and education can’t be separated: a chef-led kitchen, a working garden, and a lunch table where kids don't just eat what they've grown — they talk about it, cook it, and return its scraps to the earth that grew it.

Food-Forward is

Whole food, most of the time
Seasonal, closer to the source
The lunch table is a lesson
Familiar foods, reimagined
Kids growing, cooking, composting
Non-judgemental, for every family

Food-Forward isn’t

100% organic or “clean eating”
A diet or elimination plan
Talking about bodies, weight, or “good” vs “bad”
Gourmet, fancy, or hard to make at home
A nutrition curriculum
A standard families need to meet

Food-Forward doesn’t start and stop in the classroom.

Families tell us it changes how they talk about food at home, too.

Parent testimonials

Frequently Asked Questions

We're whole-food — mostly from real, local sources — but we're not chasing a label like 100% organic. Our focus is your child's relationship with food, not a strict diet.
Not at all. We invite, never pressure. Kids develop comfort with new foods at their own pace, and we're there for it every step of the way.
We ask that all food come from our program rather than home — this keeps our nut-free environment safe for every child and makes sure everyone's part of the same shared meal.
Completely normal, and nothing to worry about. We keep offering without pressure — being around classmates who enjoy the food often does more than any instruction could.