Sharing Our Roots
Sharing Our Roots is a 501c3 nonprofit operating a 163-acre regenerative farm in Dakota County, Minnesota, providing long-term land access, shared infrastructure, and training to immigrant, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and emerging farmers, while supporting 145+ community garden families across Northfield and Faribault.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersNorthfield, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Sharing Our Roots does
Sharing Our Roots is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 2016 that operates a 163-acre regenerative farm in Dakota County, Minnesota, and was previously known as Main Street Project. The organization provides long-term land access and shared infrastructure to immigrant, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and emerging farmers through three core programs: the Commons Cohort (long-term land agreements with shared equipment and norms-based governance for 11 farm teams / 40 families), Community Connectors (supporting 145+ families across 7 community gardens in Northfield and Faribault), and Natural Lands (ecological restoration and the Wildlife Counts citizen science program documenting 246 plant, 96 bird, 174 insect, and 11 mammal species). Underlying practices include agroforestry, poultry-centered systems, prescribed burns, biochar production, and biodiversity monitoring, with a conservation easement held by Dakota County.
The business model is donation- and grant-driven rather than commercial. Revenue streams comprise individual donations, family and private foundation grants, county/state/federal government grants, farm product sales (garlic, elderflower, asparagus, honey, vegetables, flowers, botanicals) through farmers markets, wholesale (The Good Acre LEAFF program), and direct restaurant sales, plus patient financing from firms supporting perennial agriculture. Programs are largely free for farmers and community members; revenue-generating touchpoints are microgrants of up to $1,000 per farm per year, tiered ticketed fundraising events (e.g., SFA Homegrown Harvest Dinner $30-$150), and CSAs. GTM is community-led via word-of-mouth across farmer, immigrant, and BIPOC networks, supported by multilingual outreach in English, Spanish, and Kiswahili, content marketing, events/field days, and partnerships with Marbleseed, Carleton College, Land Stewardship Project, University of Minnesota Extension, The Good Acre, Ole Store Restaurant, and Dakota County. Operations are governed by Executive Director Derek Meyers with a seven-person program management team and a separate for-profit subsidiary, Sharing Our Roots Farm LLC, demonstrating perennial agriculture models.
Sharing Our Roots firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sharing Our Roots
- Legal name
- Sharing Our Roots
- Website
- https://sharing-our-roots.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Sharing Our Roots is a 501c3 nonprofit operating a 163-acre regenerative farm in Dakota County, Minnesota, providing long-term land access, shared infrastructure, and training to immigrant, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and emerging farmers, while supporting 145+ community garden families across Northfield and Faribault.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Sharing Our Roots is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Northfield
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sharing Our Roots business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Community-supported organization relying on donations from individuals to fund operations, farmer support programs, and land restoration work.
- Foundation and Government Grants: Funding from family/private foundations, county, state, and federal governments supporting land access solutions, conservation, and food security programs.
- Farm Product Sales: Farm income from products including garlic, elderflower, asparagus, honey, vegetables, flowers, and botanicals grown by cohort farmers and sold through farmers markets and wholesale.
- Patient Financing: Patient financing from firms supporting perennial agriculture model development and farm infrastructure.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | SFA Homegrown Harvest Dinner tickets with progressive pricing |
| Subscription | Monthly | AmeriCorps GreenCorps member compensation and benefits |
| Other | Annual | Microgrants for cohort farmers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Sharing Our Roots product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sharing Our Roots provides long-term land access agreements to immigrant, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and emerging farmers on a 163-acre regenerative farm, with shared infrastructure, equipment, and technical support. The organization supplements land access with community garden programming for 145+ families, ecological restoration and wildlife monitoring, and earned-income channels including a monthly farmers market, restaurant partnerships, and wholesale accounts.
Product overview
Sharing Our Roots is a 501c3 nonprofit organization operating a 163-acre regenerative farm in Dakota County, Minnesota. The organization provides land access and comprehensive support for emerging farmers through multiple interconnected programs: the Commons Cohort (land access with shared infrastructure for immigrant, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ farmers), Community Connectors (supporting 125+ families across 7 community gardens), and Natural Lands (ecological restoration with Wildlife Counts citizen science). The organization hosts Emerging Farmers Markets and provides workforce development through AmeriCorps/GreenCorps positions. Farm operations include diverse farmer businesses growing vegetables, botanicals, livestock, and honey. The organization transitioned degraded corn farmland to regenerative agriculture with certified organic practices, perennials, wetlands, and wildlife habitat.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Commons Cohort
- Community Connectors
- Natural Lands
Quantifiable outcome
- 30,000 pounds of produce grown by community gardeners in 2025
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Sharing Our Roots
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Sharing Our Roots technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Sharing Our Roots partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- MarbleseedcoreMarbleseed, a nationally recognized leader in the organic farming movement, awarded SOR the 2026 Changemaker of the Year Award. Marbleseed collaborates with SOR on field days and training events, including farmer stipends and educational programming.
- Wild Farm AlliancecoreHosting free hands-on field day exploring how birds, beavers, bats, and beneficial insects support working farms, with sessions on conservation practices strengthening pest control and biodiversity.
- Ole Store RestaurantcoreLocal Northfield restaurant featuring SOR farmer ingredients and hosting monthly pop-up farmers markets. Donates 25% of profits to SOR and provides venue for SOR board member community engagement events.
- Come and Get ItminorFood event organization co-presenting Celebración de la Cosecha, a large community harvest celebration with cultural dancers, food, and farmers market.
- Carleton College Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE)coreThree-year partnership hosting AmeriCorps VISTA positions and alternative spring break programs. Students engage in hands-on regenerative agriculture learning, volunteer work, and archaeological studies related to farming history.
- The Good AcrecoreRegional food hub providing wholesale market access for SOR cohort farmers through their LEAFF program connecting immigrant and minority farmers to wholesale accounts.
- Land Stewardship ProjectcoreCollaborative farmland access workshops held in Spanish, providing training on renting, acquiring, and maintaining farmland for immigrant communities.
- University of Minnesota ExtensionminorPartner in food safety and market access training for cohort farmers, providing educational resources and interpretation services.
- Minnesota Farmers Market Association (MFMA)minorProvides specialized training for cohort farmers to develop and enhance market skills for farmers market operations.
- Minnesota Board of Water and Soil ResourcescoreCollaborated on prescribed burns across nearly 50 acres of habitat in 2025 to improve soil fertility, increase plant diversity, and suppress invasive species.
- Dakota CountycorePartnership on conservation easements demonstrating innovative land protection models. Dakota County's Land Conservation Manager Al Singer noted SOR Farm is permanently protected and supports neighborhood wildlife experience.
- Growing Up HealthyminorPartnership creating opportunities for Latinx and immigrant youth to connect socially through agriculture. SOR described as critical to making the area a place where kids can grow up healthy.
- Minnesota GreenCorps/AmeriCorpscoreHost site for Minnesota GreenCorps member focusing on community readiness and outreach, sustainable practices for farm, gardens, and natural lands, and land management planning.
- St. Olaf Natural Lands and Carleton ArboretumminorPartner organizations providing local seed sources for native plant restoration, with hyperlocal species not commercially available.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Sharing Our Roots competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Big Green: National nonprofit building learning gardens and food equity programs in underserved communities; comparable mission-aligned approach to community food access and hands-on agricultural engagement.
- GROW Hauses / The GrowHaus: Colorado nonprofit operating an indoor farm and food hub focused on food access in a low-income neighborhood — similar community-rooted, regenerative-agriculture-plus-food-justice model.
- Cultivate KC: Kansas City nonprofit supporting urban agriculture and food systems through land access, farmer training, and market development — a near-structural analog of SOR's commons-based land access approach.
- Dream of Wild Health: Minnesota-based nonprofit operating a farm that serves Indigenous and BIPOC communities with land access, cultural food restoration, and youth leadership — directly comparable to SOR's Commons Cohort model focused on BIPOC/immigrant farmers and culturally-significant food.
- Rogue Farm Corps: Oregon-based nonprofit placing aspiring farmers on host farms for hands-on training and land-access pathways; comparable next-generation farmer development focus.
- New Roots (International Rescue Committee): IRC's New Roots program provides refugee and immigrant farmers with land access, training, and market opportunities across multiple U.S. sites — the closest functional analog to SOR's Commons Cohort model serving immigrant growers.
Others
- The Good Acre: Minnesota food hub running the LEAFF wholesale program that distributes SOR cohort farmers' produce; a channel partner providing downstream market access rather than a comparable operator.
- Land Stewardship Project: Minnesota-based regenerative agriculture and farmland access advocacy organization that co-runs Spanish-language farmland access workshops with SOR; adjacent advocacy partner.
- Marbleseed: Regional organic farming advocacy organization that awarded SOR its 2026 Changemaker award and co-hosts field days; adjacent ecosystem partner rather than direct operational peer.
- Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota: Statewide farmer-membership organization that gave SOR the 2023 Rural Vitality Award and co-presents the Homegrown Harvest Dinner; adjacent advocacy/network partner.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sharing Our Roots social profiles
Digital presenceSharing Our Roots financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sharing Our Roots leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Sharing Our Roots subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Sharing Our Roots funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sharing Our Roots M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sharing Our Roots
What does Sharing Our Roots do?
Sharing Our Roots provides long-term land access agreements to immigrant, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and emerging farmers on a 163-acre regenerative farm, with shared infrastructure, equipment, and technical support. The organization supplements land access with community garden programming for 145+ families, ecological restoration and wildlife monitoring, and earned-income channels including a monthly farmers market, restaurant partnerships, and wholesale accounts.
Is Sharing Our Roots a public or private company?
Sharing Our Roots is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Sharing Our Roots founded?
Sharing Our Roots was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Sharing Our Roots based?
Sharing Our Roots is headquartered in Northfield, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sharing Our Roots make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are foundation and Government Grants, farm Product Sales and patient Financing.
Who are Sharing Our Roots's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Big Green, GROW Hauses / The GrowHaus, Cultivate KC, Dream of Wild Health, Rogue Farm Corps and New Roots (International Rescue Committee). Others are The Good Acre, Land Stewardship Project, Marbleseed and Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota.
Does Sharing Our Roots have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sharing Our Roots.