Urban Roots MN

Name

Urban Roots MN

Legal name

Urban Roots

Website

https://urbanrootsmn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development and Urban Agriculture Services

NAICS

Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating (115112), Landscaping Services (561730), Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Vegetable & Herb Garden Installation and Maintenance (HSAIAFAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Urban & Community Reforestation / Street Tree Planting (AFAMACAL), Garden Bed Installation & Planting (Annuals, Perennials, Shrubs) (HSAIAFAB)

Keywords

• Urban agriculture
• Youth development programs
• Community gardening
• Nonprofit conservation
• Food access programs

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Paul

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual and Corporate Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals and corporations supporting youth programming and internship wages. Accepts one-time, weekly, monthly, and yearly recurring donations.
2. Foundation and Corporate Grants: Grants from foundations including Mortenson Family Foundation (Youth Intervention Program Grant), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, and corporate foundations such as Cargill Foundation, Best Buy, Wells Fargo.
3. Government Grants: Funding from Minnesota Department of Agriculture, MN DNR (ReLeaf Grants), Department of Employment and Economic Development, Department of Children Youth and Families, Ramsey County, and federal sources including USDA and US Forest Service.
4. Product Sales: Sales of produce at farmers markets, wildflower honey ($12), and merchandise (apparel $20-$28). Produce also distributed through Mobile Markets accepting SNAP/EBT with Market Bucks matching.
5. Right Track Youth Employment Program: Partnership with City of St. Paul's Right Track program to fund approximately 40% of intern wages during summer internships.
6. Workplace Giving and DAF: Donor-advised fund contributions, workplace giving programs, and matching gift opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Urban Roots MN is a Saint Paul nonprofit that cultivates and empowers youth ages 14-24 through nature, healthy food, and community. It runs paid youth internship programs in Market Garden (urban crop production), Conservation (habitat restoration and pollinator management), and Cook Fresh (culinary training using farm-grown produce), supported by a Free Trees distribution program, Mobile Markets, Community Garden Plots, and an online shop selling honey and apparel. In 2025 the Market Garden produced 10,000-15,000 pounds of produce across 1.5 acres of urban farm sites, with roughly half donated to the East Side community.

Product overview

Urban Roots MN operates three interconnected youth internship programs—Market Garden, Conservation, and Cook Fresh—that together form a comprehensive food system experience. The Market Garden Program produces vegetables across five urban farm sites, with produce flowing into the Cook Fresh Program for culinary training and community meals, while the Conservation Program restores green spaces and provides environmental education. Additional services include a Free Trees Program for neighborhood tree canopy expansion, Mobile Markets for fresh food distribution, Community Garden Plot rentals, and an e-commerce shop selling honey and apparel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Market Garden Program

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fairview Health ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Community garden partnership established outside Fairview's Rice Street clinic to expand food accessibility. Garden produce provides fresh options for clinic patients and surrounding community members.
• Metro State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShared GROW-IT Center greenhouse enables growing tens of thousands of plants. East Side Seed Library located at Metro State Library.
• Human Nature (formerly Frogtown Green)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on tree-planting in target neighborhoods. Human Nature leads community outreach and coordination for 1,000 tree goal.
• Tree TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in tree-planting initiatives on the East Side.
• The Nature ConservancyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in conservation and tree-planting efforts on the East Side.
• Mill City Farmers MarketcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWeekly produce sales location. Urban Roots sells vegetables, fruits, and herbs at the market.
• Mississippi Market CooperativecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHosting cooking classes and accepting produce donations. Urban Roots leads weekly lessons centered on in-season crops.
• Lower Phalen Creek ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership established native medicine garden at Rivoli Bluffs as urban foraging site for herbs, flowers, and plants used in traditional Native American practices.
• University of Minnesota (Multiple Departments)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with U of MN Bee Lab, Ecology Lab, and CFANS for research, citizen science, and conservation. Active participation in MSP LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) program.
• St. Paul Public LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeekly Garden Storytime program at Rivoli Bluff Farm and Restoration Site for children and families.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Big Green: National nonprofit building learning gardens in low-income schools and communities with food-access and education missions. Comparable youth-and-gardening focus with broader geographic footprint than Urban Roots.
• Urban Farming: Detroit-based nonprofit operating community gardens and food-growing programs in food deserts. Similar food-access + urban-agriculture focus with national advocacy component.
• Community GroundWorks: Madison, Wisconsin nonprofit operating urban farms, youth programs, and a botanic garden. Strong analog in a similar-size Midwestern city, with parallel youth + urban-agriculture integration.
• Keep Growing Detroit: Detroit nonprofit promoting urban food sovereignty through garden builds, urban farming, and youth programming. Closely comparable urban-agriculture + community-scale food access model.
• The Greening of Detroit: Detroit nonprofit combining urban tree planting, community green-space restoration, and youth workforce training. Closely mirrors Urban Roots' Conservation + tree-planting + youth internship model in another Midwestern post-industrial city.
• GrowNYC: New York City-based nonprofit running urban agriculture, youth education, and farmers market programs. Most comparable peer given parallel Market Garden-style urban farming, Greenmarket network, and youth employment pipelines serving under-resourced communities.
• City Blossoms: Washington DC nonprofit creating child- and youth-focused community gardens in under-resourced neighborhoods. Comparable youth-and-garden focus, with smaller production footprint than Urban Roots.
• Jones Valley Teaching Farm: Birmingham, Alabama nonprofit operating urban farms with youth education, apprenticeship, and Good Food programming. Direct analog with farm-to-table youth curriculum and on-site production.
• Peterson Garden Project: Chicago-based nonprofit focused on community gardening, edible landscaping, and food-growing education. Comparable community-garden mission with emphasis on teaching adults and youth to grow food.

Broad incumbents

• Edible Schoolyard Project: Berkeley, California-rooted nonprofit network promoting edible education in schools. Broader and more established brand, with shared curriculum-and-garden approach to food systems education.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/urbanrootsmn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urbanrootsmn
• Instagraminstagram.com/urbanrootsmn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

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 Urban Roots MN