Ash & Nate for Urban Roots

Why We Support Urban Roots:

We have been connected with Urban Roots in a few ways over the years, and we believe in their mission to empower youth through nature, healthy food, and community—things we love too! We loved their CSA share and would sign up in a heartbeat if we lived a bit closer. Join them (and us) in encouraging kids and young adults to explore their curiosity in the outdoors, gardening, cooking, and building community!

How to Contribute:

Feel free to learn more about Urban Roots by reading below, checking out the organization's GiveMN page, and visiting their website. However, be sure to come back to this page to donate!

About the Organization:

Deep Roots, Inspiring Leaders

Urban Roots is an organization whose mission is to cultivate and empower youth through nature, healthy food, and community. Since 1996, they have provided paid internships to youth on the East Side of Saint Paul. Youth interns develop leadership, entrepreneurial, and life skills through our Market Garden, Conservation, and Cook Fresh Programs. Each year, 76 youth interns, ages 14-21, participate in our progressive, tiered programming, connecting to one another and to the world around them.

This past summer, we welcomed 26 young people back to our work sites in smaller and socially distant crews and remained committed to supporting them and their families. This was possible through using personal protective equipment, a bike fleet for transportation and a build out of a micro kitchen with individual, socially distanced cooking stations. 

The remaining 50 youth interns attended our program virtually, participating in paid work shifts through Zoom Meetings, Google Classroom and guided learning kits to provide hands-on work activities. We also supported intern's families each week by providing them with food grown on our growing sites and purchasing from local BIPOC farmers. We now look towards the school year, where we'll support 16 youth interns for our academic session where they'll participate in programming in a hybrid model of onsite and virtual work shifts. We also are pleased to support distance learning, working with St. Paul Public Schools, providing enrichment classes through FLIPSIDE, Cooking & Food Safety Demonstrations and virtual field trips to enhance STEM learning.