UWS Students Sell Homemade Jam For A ‘Berry’ Good Cause

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY - In a “jam” to find stocking stuffers for the holidays? These Upper West Side families have a "berry" good solution.

Students from the K-8 Manhattan Country School on West 85th Street and their parents are whipping up unique jam flavors to help support the school’s sliding scale tuition program, which organizers say helps keep the school one of the most diverse in New York City.

“The sliding scale has allowed the school to bring together families of different economic levels, creating a diversity of students unparalleled in New York City schools — private or public,” said Andrew Page, a parent of two MCS students who is spearheading the fundraising effort.

“Educators have been visiting MCS for decades, and it's a national model for successful progressive education in an environment where no one racial or economic group is the majority. It is a really special space,” Page added.

75 percent of MCS families participate in the sliding-scale tuition program, which allows families to pay a percentage of the tuition based on their family income. The private school of about 250 students also touts an A+ in diversity from Niche, with 65% of its student body identifying as students of color.

The idea for the jam fundraiser emerged from discussions between several parents who love jam and know excellent recipes, Page said. Local families first combined their red pepper chili, pineapple ginger and triple-berry thyme recipes for the school’s Oct. 27 Farm Festival to overwhelming success.

The parent-led fundraiser is now growing with the launch of MCS’ holiday sale, with jams ranging in flavors from Maiya’s Mama’s Marmalade and Triple Berry Thyme to Red Pepper Chili and Pineapple Ginger, all to be offered at a pop-up shop at 150 West 85th Street on Friday, Dec. 15 from 8 to 9 a.m. Jams are priced at $11, though customers can also grab a three-pack for $30.

While some ingredients from the jams don’t grow in the climate suitable for the school’s working farm in the Catskills, Page says one goal for the ongoing jam fundraiser is to eventually grow all produce needed for the beloved recipes.

“We are working with the MCS Farm staff to raise rhubarb, thyme, and ginger so we can include them in the jams,” Page said, "but many of the ingredients — pineapple, for example — don't grow in the Catskills climate, so we are [currently] calling the jams 'inspired' by the fresh produce grown at the MCS farm.”

Each jam is boxed with hay from the Roxbury, New York farm, so there’s still a piece of MCS with each individual order.

The 200-acre farm is also the first of its kind for a New York City school, organizers say. Over 10,000 students from MCS and other schools have learned about organic gardening and how to care for livestock since the farm's opening in 1966.

For now, the jams are cooked and canned by families who develop the recipes in their home kitchens, where each jam is carefully heat treated to last more than one year without refrigeration, Page said.

“They are delicious and the unexpected flavor combinations in some way mirror … the diversity of the school,” Page added, “with people of such different backgrounds coalescing into a beautiful community.”

To place jam orders for pick up on Dec. 15, visit www.manhattancountryjam.com.