CommonWealth Urban Farms

What CommonWealth Urban Farms does

CommonWealth Urban Farms is a non-profit urban farm based in Oklahoma City, founded in 2010, that produces fruits, vegetables, herbs, vermicompost, and ancillary goods on a roughly quarter-acre site in an urban setting. The organization combines on-site food production with an explicit education and community-development mission, operating with a headcount listed in the 11-50 range but driven overwhelmingly by volunteer labor. Its installed capabilities include a hoop house (funded via a 2016 Kyle Singler donation), a vermicompost operation run jointly with partner Closer to Earth, a compost-heating system developed with ODAFF grant support, and a designated Pollinator Paradise Garden built with the Urban Ag Coalition.

Its product and service portfolio spans several channels: small-batch fresh produce sold at price points of roughly $11-$40 per item; bagged and bulk vermicompost; a Garden School curriculum priced at $10-$15 per class; a 26-video educational content library hosted online; ticketed garden tours; a Patreon subscription channel at approximately $10 per month; a Partner-Farmer program that provides land and infrastructure access to external growers; and modest adjacent SKUs such as a "Pollinator Paradise Garden" product and a "LAB Serum" item. Technology footprint is low — there is no proprietary software platform, no automation infrastructure, and no AI/ML component referenced.

The business model is a non-profit, diversified small-ticket revenue mix layered onto a grants-and-donations base. There are no enterprise or contract customers visible in the data; revenue is fragmented across individual consumers, walk-in produce buyers, garden-school students, Patreon supporters, and tour attendees. Customer concentration is accordingly low but absolute revenue is constrained by the single-market (Oklahoma City) footprint, modest pricing, and dependence on volunteer labor — none of which point to material scale or growth headroom absent new funding or geographic expansion.

Name

CommonWealth Urban Farms

Legal name

CommonWealth Urban Farms

Website

https://commonwealthurbanfarms.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CommonWealth Urban Farms is a volunteer-driven, non-profit urban farm in Oklahoma City producing fresh produce, vermicompost, and educational programming (Garden School classes and a 26-video library) for individual consumers, learners, and partner-growers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Agriculture Services

NAICS

Vegetable and Melon Farming (1112), Other Crop Farming (1119), Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) / Vertical Farming (Indoor LED Farms) (AFAGAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Greenhouse Herb & Microgreens Production (Culinary Herbs, Microgreens) (AFAGAHAC), Agricultural Production & Farm Operations (EDAOAOAA), Farm-to-Consumer Produce Boxes / CSA Delivery (AFAIANAC)

Keywords

• Urban farming
• Vermicompost production
• Community garden education
• Urban agriculture workshops
• Pollinator habitat cultivation

Headquarters

HQ city

Oklahoma City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fresh Produce Sales: Sale of vegetables, microgreens, and cut flowers to individuals and restaurants in the Oklahoma City metro area through farmers markets and direct sales.
2. Vermicompost Sales: Sale of vermicompost (worm compost) in 1-gallon bags ($11) and 4-gallon buckets ($40) through email orders, phone orders, and at Paseo Farmers Market.
3. Garden School Classes: Educational classes offered each spring-fall with topics for beginning and experienced gardeners. Classes cost $10 per adult or $15 per pair, with free admission for volunteers in the composting operation.
4. Patreon Membership: Monthly membership subscription at $10/month providing 50% off Garden School classes. Patrons receive discounted access to educational programming.
5. Farm Tours: Free monthly tours on first Saturday at 9am. Group tours available other days at $5 per person with $50 minimum.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CommonWealth Urban Farms operates a volunteer-powered, quarter-acre urban farm in Oklahoma City that produces and sells vegetables, microgreens, cut flowers, vermicompost, and seedlings to individuals and restaurants, and offers hands-on educational programming including Garden School classes, weekly CommonWork volunteer sessions, farm tours, a Beginning Gardener video series, and a Partner-Farmer land-access program for aspiring urban farmers.

Product overview

CommonWealth Urban Farms is an urban farming operation in Oklahoma City offering a diverse portfolio of agricultural products and educational services. Core offerings include fresh vegetables, microgreens, and cut flowers for individuals and restaurants; vermicompost (worm compost) for sale; and seedlings through Lia's Garden partnership. The company provides educational programming including Garden School monthly classes, a 26-video Beginning Gardener Video Series, weekly CommonWork volunteer sessions, and free monthly Urban Farm Tours. Additional programs include a Partner-Farmer land access program, Pollinator Garden collaboration with Urban Ag Coalition, Hoop House growing structures, and compost heating (hot beds) for winter seedling cultivation. Lactobacillus (LAB) Serum educational materials are also available. The farm operates on approximately a quarter acre of cultivated land including vegetable/flower fields, hoop house, compost-heated greenhouse, food forest, and pollinator gardens.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CommonWork: A weekly hands-on learning and volunteer experience held every Saturday from 9am-noon, where community members participate in farming activities including composting and gardening.

Products and services

• Veggies, Microgreens & Cut Flowers Fresh vegetables, microgreens, and cut flowers grown on urbanized land in Oklahoma City, sold directly to individuals and restaurants in the metro area via Paseo Farmers Market and on-farm sales.
• Vermicompost (Worm Compost)

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 in 3 bites of food exists because of pollination - supporting pollinators is essential to food security
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Closer To EarthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for vermicompost (worm compost) production. CommonWealth Urban Farms and Closer To Earth partner to produce and harvest vermicompost using red wriggler worms fed a combination of composted food waste, wood chips, leaves, and rainwater. The partnership allows CommonWealth to offer vermicompost for sale to the community.
• Urban Ag Coalition (uaclogo)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to grow the Pollinator Paradise Garden, a collaborative initiative to attract pollinators by providing food, water, shelter, and nest sites through native plant cultivation.
• Paseo Farmers MarketcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary retail distribution channel for CommonWealth's vegetables, flowers, and vermicompost. Customers can purchase vermicompost at the market's online store and in-person.
• Phocas FarmsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvided technical direction for hoop house construction in fall 2016, under whose guidance volunteers participated in multiple build days.
• SixTwelveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaul Mays from SixTwelve was involved in the hoop house project. Listed as a Friend of CommonWealth with collaborative community initiatives.
• Fertile GroundminorOthersListed as a Friend of CommonWealth. Zero landfill event consultants and community sustainability organization.
• Local HarvestminorOthersCommonWealth Urban Farms is registered on Local Harvest, a directory for finding CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) in the area.
• OKC Urban Ag CoalitionminorOthersListed as a Friend of CommonWealth. Coalition supporting urban agriculture in Oklahoma City.
• OKC HarvestminorOthersListed as a Friend of CommonWealth. OKC Beautiful program focused on urban harvesting and food access.
• Native Farming Solutions OKCminorOthersListed as a Friend of CommonWealth. Local non-profit dedicated to preservation of American Indian seeds and cultivation techniques. Founder Travis Andrews serves on Oklahoma Compost and Sustainability Association board.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Food Project: Massachusetts-based non-profit running urban farms, youth employment, and food education programming. Comparable in combining vegetable production (selling to restaurants and markets) with structured educational programming and land-based farmer incubation, mirroring CommonWealth's Partner-Farmer program.
• Edible Schoolyard Project: Alice Waters-founded non-profit that supports edible education gardens in schools and communities. Closely matches CommonWealth's education-first mission, curriculum-style content library, and teacher/learner programming arc, though typically school-based rather than a centralized urban farm.
• Big Green: National non-profit that builds Learning Gardens and runs garden-based education programming in schools. Overlaps with CommonWealth on the educational programming and school partnership axis (Casady School, OSU, UCO), though delivery is in-school gardens rather than a central urban farm.
• Green Our Planet: Non-profit operating school gardens, hydroponic farms, and farmer/educator training across multiple U.S. states. Comparable for combining farm-based curriculum, teacher training, and student-run market sales, paralleling CommonWealth's Garden School and Beginning Gardener video offerings.
• Soul Fire Farm: Non-profit urban farm in upstate New York focused on food justice and intensive educational programming for aspiring farmers. Directly comparable to CommonWealth on mission (community-rooted urban agriculture, education-first model) and on the Partner-Farmer-style land access mission.
• Closer To Earth: Oklahoma-based non-profit partner that jointly operates the vermicomposting program with CommonWealth. Direct, named operational peer on the composting and urban agriculture axis (food waste → worm compost → retail) and the most operationally adjacent organization in the OKC ecosystem.
• Native Farming Solutions OKC: Local OKC non-profit dedicated to preservation of American Indian seeds and traditional cultivation techniques. Functions as a regional peer in urban agriculture education and seed/farming knowledge stewardship, listed as a Friend of CommonWealth.

Broad incumbents

• GrowNYC: Large New York-based non-profit running farmers markets, school gardens, and urban agriculture programming at city scale. Overlaps with CommonWealth's farmers market + education model but is materially larger, more institutionally funded, and operates across multiple program lines in one metro.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CW_UrbanFarms
• Facebookfacebook.com/Commonwealthurbanfarms
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/commonwealth-urban-farms

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 CommonWealth Urban Farms