SustainEd Farms

What SustainEd Farms does

SustainEd Farms is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2018 and headquartered in Edgewater, Colorado, operating across the Denver metropolitan area. The organization creates and manages farms and gardens on school campuses, providing hands-on experiential learning in sustainability and nutrition while distributing produce grown on these farms back to surrounding communities through student-run farm stands and donations to local food pantries and food justice organizations. SustainEd Farms concentrates on schools located in or near urban food deserts that serve disproportionately low-income and minority populations, and as of its 2024 Annual Report supports over 42 schools and community gardens in the Denver area. It also runs a high school internship program that links students to partner organizations such as We Don't Waste, Denver Urban Gardens, Re:Vision, and City Floral Garden Center. Staff size is reported as 1-10 employees, with named individuals including grants lead Erin Casey, year-round operations staff member Stella, and Luis Avalos, who joined in 2025.

The organization has no proprietary technology platform; its core operational assets are its experiential learning curriculum, garden management methodologies, and a network of school and community partnerships rather than any software product. Revenue is generated entirely through nonprofit funding mechanics: individual donations (including seasonal campaigns such as the Summer Growth Campaign with a $10,000 goal), corporate and individual sponsorships, merchandise sales used partly as donor incentives, and event-based fundraising such as the annual Secret Garden event. It also accepts donor-advised funds and stock donations, and lists EIN 82-4470822. Go-to-market is community-led and grassroots: peer-to-peer networks, social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube), an email newsletter, blog content, and recurring community events drive donor engagement and volunteer recruitment. Distribution of impact and produce is direct through school-based channels (student farm stands) and food pantry donations, with no intermediate commercial channel.

Customer segments are primarily Denver-area partner schools and the food-insecure communities they serve, with a secondary segment of high school students, volunteers, and community mentors engaged through the internship and volunteer programs. Marketing relies on the organization's nonprofit status, community impact narrative, and event-driven engagement rather than paid acquisition. No patents, trademarks, regulatory actions, mergers, acquisitions, or funding rounds beyond a single $20,000 contribution from Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day on 2025-04-08 are disclosed in the available data.

Name

SustainEd Farms

Legal name

SustainEd Farms

Website

https://sustainedfarms.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SustainEd Farms is a Denver-area 501(c)(3) nonprofit that builds and manages school-campus gardens to deliver hands-on sustainability and nutrition education, then distributes the produce to food-insecure communities via student farm stands and food pantry donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Urban Agriculture Education

NAICS

Other Crop Farming (1119), Vegetable and Melon Farming (1112)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable/Regenerative Agriculture & Conservation Practices (EDAOAOAO), Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI), Produce Markets & Greengrocers (CRAHAHAA)

Keywords

• School garden programs
• Urban agriculture education
• Food access programs
• Experiential sustainability learning
• Community food justice

Headquarters

HQ city

Edgewater

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, SustainEd Farms relies primarily on donations from individuals, community members, and supporters. The organization runs seasonal giving campaigns such as the Summer Growth Campaign with specific fundraising goals.
2. Sponsorships: Corporate and individual sponsors support the organization's operations and specific programs in exchange for recognition and brand association with food justice and environmental education.
3. Merchandise Sales: The organization sells SustainEd Farms merchandise including apparel and gifts, with merchandise offered as donor appreciation incentives during fundraising campaigns.
4. Event Fundraising: Annual Secret Garden fundraiser and community celebration events generate revenue through ticket sales and donations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SustainEd Farms creates and manages farms and gardens on school campuses in the Denver metropolitan area, delivering hands-on sustainability and nutrition education to students through an experiential curriculum. Produce grown with students is distributed back to the community via student-run farm stands at school sites and through consistent donations to local food pantries and food justice organizations, supporting over 42 schools and community gardens.

Product overview

SustainEd Farms is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that creates and manages farms and gardens on school campuses in the Denver area. The organization provides experiential learning programs focused on nutrition and sustainability education for students, and distributes produce grown on their school farms back to the community through student-run farm stands and donations to local food pantries. The organization supports over 42 schools and community gardens in the Denver area through hands-on programming, a high school internship program, and virtual resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• School Garden Management Program End-to-end management of on-campus farms and gardens for partner schools, including installation, year-round and summer maintenance, and coordination with educators—delivered to 42+ schools and community gardens across the Denver metro area.
• Experiential Sustainability and Nutrition Curriculum Hands-on, garden- and farm-based curriculum for K-12 students focused on sustainability, nutrition, and food production, designed to empower students to become sustainability leaders in their communities.
• High School Internship Program Structured internship for high school students incorporating garden work, field trips to partners such as We Don't Waste and City Floral Garden Center, food justice education, and community mentorship.
• Student-Run Farm Stands School-based farm stands operated by students to sell or distribute produce grown in SustainEd Farms gardens directly to families and community members.
• SustainEd Farms Merchandise Apparel and gift merchandise sold via the organization's online shop, used to support fundraising campaigns and serve as donor appreciation incentives.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports 42+ schools and community gardens in Denver area
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Denver Green SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDenver Green School hosts one of SustainEd Farms' partner gardens, serving as a site for student learning and community produce distribution.
• We Don't Waste (WDW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHigh school interns visit the We Don't Waste facility to learn about food justice and food distribution efforts, building educational connections between urban agriculture and food waste reduction.
• City Floral Garden CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHigh school intern program includes field trips to City Floral Garden Center where interns learn about plants and gardening from local horticulture experts.
• Denver Urban GardenscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner for garden programming workshops; hosts Garden to Cup Fresh Tea Workshop events together at George Washington High School.
• Re:VisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner in Farm to Fridge events, connecting school gardens with food access initiatives in Denver neighborhoods.
• Sprouts Healthy Living FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVolunteers from Sprouts support SustainEd Farms garden events and programming.
• Florence Crittenton High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school hosting garden programming; SustainEd Farms participates in FloCrit Fiesta community celebration events.
• Munroe Elementary SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost site for Farm to Fridge volunteer events and community food access programming.
• McAuliffe International SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost site for Park Hill Bike Bus Bonanza community event celebrating safe routes to school and neighborhood gardens.
• Eagleton Elementary SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school for garden programming and Farm to Fridge volunteer events.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Denver Urban Gardens: Denver-based nonprofit building and supporting community gardens, including on school campuses. Directly overlaps with SustainEd's garden-building mission and even serves as a collaborative partner, making it the closest functional peer in the same geography.
• Big Green: National nonprofit (formerly The Kitchen Community) that builds Learning Gardens in schoolyards and partners with educators to deliver hands-on food and nutrition lessons. Highly comparable school-garden model at much larger scale.
• FoodCorps: National nonprofit placing service members in schools to teach kids about food, nutrition, and gardening. Shares the school-based experiential learning and food justice mission and competes for the same foundation and corporate funding.
• Re:Vision: Denver-based food justice nonprofit addressing food access in low-income neighborhoods through community-led food systems work. Direct peer in mission, geography, and food desert focus — and an active SustainEd partner.
• Sproutin' Up: Colorado-based nonprofit engaging youth in growing, distributing, and sharing organic produce, with an emphasis on food access for low-income families. Closely comparable in mission, scale, and regional orientation.
• Life Lab: Nonprofit providing school garden curriculum, training, and support programs for educators. Comparable as a peer in the school-garden-education niche with a focus on teacher enablement and curriculum.

Broad incumbents

• Edible Schoolyard Project: Alice Waters-founded national program integrating organic gardening and kitchen classrooms into public schools. Operates in the same educational-agricultural space at a much larger brand and donor scale.
• Common Threads: National nonprofit delivering cooking and nutrition education to underserved children and families, including school-based programs. Comparable in food education mission and school channel; broader national footprint.

Regional players

• We Don't Waste: Denver-based nonprofit that recovers and redistributes food to reduce waste and address food insecurity. Adjacent in the Denver food justice ecosystem and an active SustainEd partner; comparable as a food access nonprofit.

Emerging players

• Green Bronx Machine: School-based urban agriculture and education nonprofit using classroom gardens to improve health, academic outcomes, and food access in under-resourced communities. Comparable mission and target population, distinct geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC-EeyzAxuhY78EtLlBJZ1PQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/sustainedfarms
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sustained-farms
• Instagraminstagram.com/sustainedfarms

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SustainEd Farms