Community Services Unlimited

What Community Services Unlimited does

Community Services Unlimited Inc. (CSU) is a California-based nonprofit founded in 1977 and headquartered at 6569 S Vermont Ave in South Los Angeles, with a reported headcount of 1-10 employees. The organization's stated mission is to foster communities that address systemic inequalities and barriers to self-reliant lifestyles, with its current programming concentrated on food justice and community wellness in South Los Angeles. CSU operates through several interconnected sub-brands and programs: the Village Market Place (South LA's first "Beyond Organic" produce market combining a retail store, SoulFul Café, commercial kitchen, and developing urban farm); the Garden Gateway hands-on gardening and cooking workshop series; the CSU/Expo Urban Mini Farm; the CalFresh Outreach and Application Assistance program; the Green Savings Program (in partnership with LADWP); the South Central Growers and Harvesters Network; the Paul Robeson Community Wellness Center; and the Healthy Food Kickstarter grant-funding program. Yoga Saturdays, Sankofa Exhibit, event rentals, and tree-planting/tree-giveaway initiatives round out the program portfolio.

The underlying operating model is community-led and place-based rather than technology-led. Core infrastructure consists of the physical Village Market Place storefront (open Tue-Fri 7am-6pm, Sat 8am-4pm), the Expo Urban Mini Farm at 3990 Bill Robertson Ln, the Paul Robeson Community Wellness Center, and supporting community-event programming. Digital infrastructure is modest: e-commerce runs on StoreByWeb (vmpla.com), produce bag subscriptions and POS on CSAware, and event promotion on Eventbrite and standard calendar tools. No AI/ML capabilities, patents, proprietary technology, or mobile apps are disclosed.

Revenue is generated through a mix of low-margin retail sales (with a 50% discount on EBT produce purchases that materially compresses realized price), nominal workshop deposits ($7, redeemable as a voucher and waivable), catering services (Souful Catering), and — most likely the largest component — grant funding (e.g., Healthy Food Kickstarter). Go-to-market is exclusively community engagement: events, volunteer days, workshops, organic social (Facebook, Instagram), email newsletter, and direct outreach to food-insecure households in South LA. The customer base is individual consumers and households, with documented outcomes of 200 households supported and 75 children receiving weekly after-school snacks during CSU's Covid-19 response, alongside $50,000 in groceries distributed and $25,000 sourced from local small farmers.

Name

Community Services Unlimited

Legal name

Community Services Unlimited Inc.

Website

https://csuinc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Community Services Unlimited is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit founded in 1977 that operates food access, urban agriculture, and community wellness programs for food-insecure residents of South Los Angeles, anchored by the Village Market Place food hub, Garden Gateway workshops, CalFresh outreach, and the Expo Urban Mini Farm.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Food Access and Urban Agriculture Services

NAICS

Fruit and Vegetable Retailers (44523), Community Food Services (62421), Food Crops Grown Under Cover (11141), Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (44424)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Retail-Eating Places (5812), Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Organic Produce & Farm Market Retail (CRAHAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Produce Markets & Greengrocers (CRAHAHAA), Community-Owned / Nonprofit Grocery Stores (CRAHALAB), Fresh Food Subscription/CSA & Produce Box Retail (CRAHAHAG), Farmstead & Local Artisan Food Markets (Retail Shops) (CRAHAGAO), Farm-to-Consumer Produce Boxes / CSA Delivery (AFAIANAC)

Keywords

• Community food access
• Urban agriculture programs
• Fresh produce retail
• CalFresh enrollment assistance
• Nutrition education workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Village Market Place Retail Sales: The Village Market Place operates as South LA's first Beyond Organic produce market, offering fresh produce, bulk-bin essentials, CA Bakers' Pantry items, natural home & body products, herbs & spice blends. The store operates with 50% off EBT produce purchases and offers home delivery and curbside pick-up.
2. Produce Bag Subscriptions: Online ordering system for produce bag subscriptions with delivery and curbside pick-up available.
3. Grant-Funded Programs: The Healthy Food Kickstarter provides grant-funding for programs that provide affordable, fresh, healthy food options to food-insecure communities in Los Angeles County.
4. Workshop Registration Fees: Garden Gateway workshops require a $7 deposit which is redeemable as a voucher at the Village Market Place. Fee waivers available upon request.
5. Souful Catering: Catering services offered through the Village Market Place.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Community Services Unlimited operates the Village Market Place food hub in South Los Angeles — combining a "Beyond Organic" produce market, retail store, the SoulFul Café, a commercial kitchen, and an urban farm — together with the Garden Gateway gardening and cooking workshop series, CalFresh food-stamp application assistance, the Green Savings LADWP utility-rebate program, and urban agriculture initiatives including the CSU EXPO Urban Mini Farm. Offerings are sold at retail at the physical store, online via the Village Market Place web store, and through subscription produce bags and catering services.

Product overview

Community Services Unlimited operates as a community-based organization focused on food justice and community wellness in South Los Angeles. The organization functions as a single unified offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Its primary products include the Village Market Place food hub (combining a produce market, retail store, SoulFul Café, commercial kitchen, and urban farm), Garden Gateway educational workshops, the CSU EXPO Urban Mini Farm, various food access programs (CalFresh assistance, Healthy Food Kickstarter), the Green Savings utility rebate program, wellness programming including Yoga Saturdays, and the South Central Growers and Harvesters Network. The Village Market Place serves as the central product, integrating retail, food access, catering, and agricultural programs into one ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Village Market Place: South LA's first 'Beyond Organic' produce market, including The Village Market Place Store, the SoulFul Café, a commercial kitchen, and a developing urban farm.
• Paul Robeson Community Wellness Center
• Village Market Place Food Hub

Products and services

• Village Market Place

Quantifiable outcome

• 200 households receiving ongoing support during Covid-19 response
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSU partners with LADWP through the Green Savings Program to help Los Angeles residents identify and access water and energy conservation rebates. CSU staff assist residents with the application process for LADWP programs that help conserve water and energy while saving money.
• USCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with USC for the Expo Urban Farm location and programs. The CSU/Expo Mini Farm is located at Bill Robertson Lane in partnership with university programs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Food Forward: Los Angeles-based nonprofit focused on food rescue and produce recovery, redistributing surplus produce to communities facing food insecurity. Highly comparable to CSU's mission of connecting local food to food-insecure South LA residents through the Village Market Place and Growers Network.
• Mandela Foods Cooperative: Worker-owned community grocery cooperative in Oakland serving a historically underinvested neighborhood with fresh, local, organic produce. Closest functional analog to Village Market Place as a community-rooted produce retail outlet.
• Hunger Action LA: Los Angeles advocacy and direct-service nonprofit focused on food access, SNAP/CalFresh enrollment assistance, and anti-hunger policy. Directly comparable to CSU's CalFresh outreach and food justice orientation.
• South Los Angeles/South Central Farmers: South LA urban farming collective with deep roots in the same community CSU serves. Direct peer in urban agriculture, food justice, and community garden programming.
• Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles (SEELA): LA-based nonprofit operating urban agriculture and community food programs, including farm stands and farmer training. Direct peer to CSU's South Central Growers and Harvesters Network and urban mini farm operating model.

Broad incumbents

• The Food Trust: Philadelphia-based nonprofit working on food access, farmers' markets, and healthy food retail in underserved communities. Direct comparable on the food justice and healthy corner-store / community market intervention model.
• PCC Community Markets: Seattle-area consumer cooperative specializing in organic, local, and sustainably sourced groceries. Comparable to CSU's Beyond Organic positioning and community-owned retail model, though at much larger scale and with a different ownership structure.
• LA Regional Food Bank: Much larger regional food distribution nonprofit serving LA County, addressing food insecurity through food sourcing and partner agency distribution. Comparable mission but operates at significantly larger scale than CSU's neighborhood-level model.

Emerging players

• Community Harvest Project: Nonprofit operating volunteer-driven urban agriculture and gleaning programs with adjacent food distribution work. Comparable to CSU's volunteer day model, urban mini farm operations, and CSU/Expo Mini Farm programming.
• Wholesome Wave: National nonprofit pioneering SNAP doubling/incentive programs at farmers' markets to make fresh produce more affordable. Directly comparable to CSU's 50% EBT produce discount model at Village Market Place.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/csuincla
• Facebookfacebook.com/CSUINC
• Instagraminstagram.com/csuinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Community Services Unlimited