Grow2Zero Farms
Grow2Zero Farms is a Long Beach, California nonprofit that combats food insecurity and food waste through weekly grocery distribution, regenerative urban farming, and the Future Urban Farmers Academy training program serving underserved families, aspiring urban farmers, and K-12 students.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersLong Beach, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Grow2Zero Farms does
Grow2Zero Farms is a Long Beach, California-based nonprofit organization founded in 2020 that addresses food insecurity, food waste, and urban agriculture education through an integrated portfolio of community programs. Its core offerings include a Weekly Food Distribution program serving over 120 local families (with door-to-door delivery to 40 housebound residents at Century Villages at Cabrillo), the Future Urban Farmers Academy (a no-cost training program with 16-week online and 6-month in-person tracks covering regenerative urban growing, culinary arts, mushroom cultivation, beekeeping, and related disciplines), Long Beach Food Fairs (rotating educational events pairing rescued food with local chef demos), and the Growing Locally program supplying hyper-local produce to corner stores in Long Beach food deserts. The organization diverts an estimated 1,500-2,000 pounds of edible food from landfills each week through food rescue partnerships with Food Forward, Food Finders, Rockenwagner Bakery, and Vallarta Supermarkets.
Underlying operations are built on a hyper-local urban farm in the Westside Long Beach Irie Park neighborhood, established with Prologis Santa Fe Corridor Business Grant funding during the COVID-19 crisis. The organization pairs physical infrastructure (regenerative growing plots, school gardens) with proprietary educational content, including a comprehensive school garden curriculum developed for the Long Beach Unified School District. The team is small (1-10 employees) and founder-led by Co-Founder and Executive Director Judi Gregory (30+ years in recycling and solid waste management) and Co-Founder and Farm Manager Leif Kemp, a Marine combat veteran and founder of Semper Fi Growers.
Grow2Zero's revenue model is donation- and grant-funded rather than commercial, relying on federal sources (USDA Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, NIFA Community Food Projects), institutional funders (Care First Community Investment, Prologis), and individual donations via PayPal with suggested gift tiers ($40 per family grocery bag, $150 monthly family feed, $250 farm row sponsorship). Go-to-market is community-led: direct outreach through Instagram, Facebook, a Mailchimp newsletter, and on-site distribution events, with no traditional sales motion. The customer base is end-beneficiary families and trainees rather than paying enterprise customers, making the model more analogous to a social impact nonprofit than a venture-backable business.
Grow2Zero Farms firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Grow2Zero Farms
- Legal name
- Grow2Zero Farms
- Website
- https://grow2zero.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Grow2Zero Farms is a Long Beach, California nonprofit that combats food insecurity and food waste through weekly grocery distribution, regenerative urban farming, and the Future Urban Farmers Academy training program serving underserved families, aspiring urban farmers, and K-12 students.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Grow2Zero Farms industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Urban Agriculture and Food Security Services
- NAICS
- Other Crop Farming (1119), Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating (115112)
- SIC
- Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Agricultural Services (700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Regenerative Agriculture (Soil Carbon, Cover Crops, Reduced/No-Till) (AFAGAMAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD), Sustainable/Regenerative Agriculture & Conservation Practices (EDAOAOAO)
Keywords
Where Grow2Zero Farms is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Long Beach
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Grow2Zero Farms business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Donations and Grants: Relies on donations from individuals and grants from organizations including USDA Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production and Care First Community Investment funding
- Funding and Grants: Funding from Prologis as part of the Santa Fe Corridor Business Grant; USDA Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production; Care First Community Investment funding
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Weekly Food Distribution Support |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Farm Row Sponsorship |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Grow2Zero Farms product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Grow2Zero Farms is a nonprofit urban agriculture organization that operates regenerative urban farming and food rescue programs in Long Beach, CA. It distributes fresh produce and rescued groceries weekly to food-insecure families, trains aspiring urban farmers through a no-cost academy, and provides community education on regenerative farming and waste reduction.
Product overview
Grow2Zero Farms is a non-profit urban farming organization that operates as a unified program portfolio rather than a software platform. The organization offers a suite of interconnected community programs centered on food security, urban agriculture education, and food waste prevention. Core offerings include the Weekly Food Distribution program for direct food access, the Future Urban Farmers Academy for skills training, and Long Beach Food Fairs for community education. Additional programs include Growing Locally produce distribution and free educational resources such as plant guides. All programs work together toward the mission of feeding communities while minimizing food waste.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Future Urban Farmers Academy: No-cost training program for aspiring urban agriculture professionals, offering both 16-week online and 6-month in-person on-farm programs.
- Long Beach Food Fairs
- Weekly Food Distribution
Quantifiable outcome
- Distributes fresh produce, meat, dairy, and shelf-stable items to 120+ families weekly
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Grow2Zero Farms
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Grow2Zero Farms technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Grow2Zero Farms partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Food ForwardcoreFood rescue partner that provides surplus food to prevent waste. Food Forward recovers fresh produce and distributes it through Grow2Zero's weekly grocery giveaway program.
- Food FinderscoreFood rescue partner collaborating with Grow2Zero to prevent edible food from going to waste. Part of the food distribution program.
- Rockenwagner BakerysupportingFood rescue partner providing fresh baked goods for the weekly food distribution program.
- Vallarta SupermarketssupportingFood rescue partner providing fresh and shelf-stable foods for the grocery giveaway program.
- Sowing Seeds of Change Urban FarmcoreStrategic community partner in Long Beach. Collaborates on urban farming efforts, provides fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables grown on-site for the Long Beach Food Fairs program.
- Long Beach FreshcoreStrategic community partner operating the Produce to Market program. Grow2Zero provides hyper-locally grown produce to corner stores in Long Beach's food desert neighborhoods.
- The Maye Center at the Growing Experience Urban FarmsupportingCommunity partner collaborating on urban farming initiatives in Long Beach.
- Farmlot 59supportingTeaching partner for the Future Urban Farmers Academy, providing hands-on farming education.
- Feel Good Salsa KitchencoreChef-preneurs partnership providing prepared foods for the Long Beach Food Fairs program. Saves community members time and resources by offering ready-to-eat nutritious meals alongside fresh produce.
- Go2Zero Strategies, LLCsupportingCompany founded by Judi Gregory, Co-Founder. Provides Zero Waste and Sustainability consulting services. Partner in food distribution program.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Grow2Zero Farms competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Soul Fire Farm: New York-based BIPOC-led nonprofit farm offering training programs in regenerative agriculture and food justice. Closely comparable mission profile combining regenerative farming, training cohorts, and food access for underserved communities.
- Big Green: National nonprofit building food learning gardens in K-12 schools. Directly comparable in developing and deploying school garden curriculum at district scale (Long Beach Unified for Grow2Zero), making it a strong peer for Grow2Zero's school curriculum program.
- The Growing Experience Urban Farm (Maye Center): Long Beach nonprofit urban farm operating under The Maye Center, a direct community partner of Grow2Zero. Runs comparable urban agriculture programs, fresh produce distribution, and community education in the same Long Beach market.
- Nuestras Raíces: Holyoke, Massachusetts-based nonprofit operating an urban farm and workforce training programs for Latino and underserved communities. Highly analogous in combining urban agriculture production, food security, and youth/adult training pathways.
- Green City Growers: Somerville, MA-based urban farming organization that builds and operates urban farms with a focus on education, training, and sustainable food production. Comparable in providing structured urban agriculture training and consulting services alongside production.
- Sowing Seeds of Change Urban Farm: Long Beach-based nonprofit urban farm that is both a strategic partner of Grow2Zero and operates a directly comparable model of urban agriculture, food access, and community education. Same geographic market and overlapping community partner network, making it the closest direct peer.
- The Food Project: Massachusetts-based nonprofit combining urban agriculture, food rescue, and youth workforce training. Operates a directly analogous model of regenerative growing combined with structured training and food access programs, making it one of the most structurally similar nonprofit urban farm operators in the U.S.
Regional players
- Long Beach Fresh: Long Beach food systems collaborative operating the Produce to Market program, of which Grow2Zero's Growing Locally initiative is a supplier. Operates as a regional food systems aggregator and peer partner rather than a direct urban farm operator.
Emerging players
- Semper Fi Growers: Veteran-focused nonprofit founded by Grow2Zero co-founder Leif Kemp, aiming to help veterans establish independent vertical farms. Comparable in mission alignment (veteran therapeutic agriculture) but distinct in vertical farm vs. open-field urban farming modality.
Broad incumbents
- Food Forward: Large-scale Los Angeles and Southern California-based food rescue organization that is a core food rescue partner of Grow2Zero. While its primary model is food recovery (not production), it is materially comparable in operating food rescue and produce distribution at regional scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Grow2Zero Farms social profiles
Digital presenceGrow2Zero Farms financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Grow2Zero Farms leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Grow2Zero Farms funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Grow2Zero Farms 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 Grow2Zero Farms
What does Grow2Zero Farms do?
Grow2Zero Farms is a nonprofit urban agriculture organization that operates regenerative urban farming and food rescue programs in Long Beach, CA. It distributes fresh produce and rescued groceries weekly to food-insecure families, trains aspiring urban farmers through a no-cost academy, and provides community education on regenerative farming and waste reduction.
Is Grow2Zero Farms a public or private company?
Grow2Zero Farms is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Grow2Zero Farms founded?
Grow2Zero Farms was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Grow2Zero Farms based?
Grow2Zero Farms is headquartered in Long Beach, United States, in the North America region.
How does Grow2Zero Farms make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations and Grants are the primary driver. The others are funding and Grants.
Who are Grow2Zero Farms's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Soul Fire Farm, Big Green, The Growing Experience Urban Farm (Maye Center), Nuestras Raíces, Green City Growers, Sowing Seeds of Change Urban Farm and The Food Project. Long Beach Fresh is listed as a regional player. Semper Fi Growers is listed as an emerging player. Food Forward is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Grow2Zero Farms have an API?
No public API is recorded for Grow2Zero Farms.
What industry is Grow2Zero Farms in?
Grow2Zero Farms's product category is Urban Agriculture and Food Security Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAGAMAA, Regenerative Agriculture (Soil Carbon, Cover Crops, Reduced/No-Till), with a secondary code of BPAGALAD, Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative). Its NAICS code is 1119 and its SIC code is 100.