Feeding Minds and Futures: Inside The Education Fund’s Work in Miami-Dade

Education isn’t just about classrooms; it’s about the ecosystems that surround students, teachers, and families. In this episode of Fried On Business, I sit down with Marilen Marnett from The Education Fund to talk about how their work is transforming Miami-Dade County Public Schools. We dig into how creative programs, private-sector partnerships, and smart resource reuse are helping educators do with less while students gain access to richer, more hands-on learning experiences.

Marilen explains the story behind The Education Fund’s signature initiatives, including the Ocean Bank Center for Educational Materials and the Food Forests for Schools program. We talk about how surplus inventory is diverted from landfills into classrooms, and how school campuses are being turned into living laboratories where kids grow, harvest, and taste fresh produce right where they learn. She also shares how these food forests become hubs for science, nutrition, and environmental education that kids remember.

You’ll hear real examples of teachers who redesigned lessons because they finally had the supplies, technology, or outdoor learning spaces they needed. We also discuss how The Education Fund helps level the playing field for students in under-resourced communities by giving teachers the tools to create memorable experiences without having to fund everything out of their own pockets. Marilen and I talk about the ripple effect when one classroom changes—families get involved, communities volunteer, and students start to believe more is possible for their futures.

If you care about public education, local impact, or the future of Miami-Dade’s students, this episode will give you a hopeful look at what’s possible when nonprofits, businesses, and school leaders pull in the same direction. It’s proof that targeted support can change outcomes, one classroom at a time. Together, we highlight practical ways listeners, companies, and community leaders can plug in and help this work scale across more schools.

This episode of Fried on Business is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Warren Henry Auto Group.

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Jim Fried has been a real estate business person since 1980 and has had his own radio show since 2009.

Mr. Fried specializes in capitalizing commercial real estate transactions, unearthing urban land opportunities and is also a private lender.

He has been active in the real estate industry for many years as a financial intermediary, broker and investor. He has experience with many property types including, but not limited to: apartments, condominiums, retail centers, office buildings, industrial parks and health care – with a special focus on memory care.

Jim has closed over $3BB in real estate transactions during his career in markets across the eastern US.

Jim uses his communication skills to inform and entertain on his weekly podcast show – Fried on Business. Of course, the show discusses real estate, but he also tackles issues such as branding, sports business, philanthropy, entrepreneurship, public private partnerships as well as health and wellness.

He is also a mentor to many up and coming people in the real estate industry through his membership on the Board of The University of Florida’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies.

Mr. Fried is a winner of the Miami-Dade Public School Alumni Achievement Award.

Contact Jim via email at jim@friedonbusiness.com