Rooted In Wyoming

What Rooted In Wyoming does

Rooted in Wyoming is a 501C-3 nonprofit organization founded in 2019 and headquartered in Sheridan, Wyoming, that develops school and community agriculture projects to improve access to locally grown food for Wyoming families. Its core programs include a Garden-to-Cafeteria Seed Starting Program delivered to students in Sheridan County School Districts 2 and 3, year-round hydroponic lettuce production at the 5th Street Greenhouse supplying school cafeterias and food pantries, an Incubator Garden Partnership at the Bridges campus that provides water rights and infrastructure to aspiring market garden businesses, and the Teaching Garden at Bridges featuring 28 raised beds, two Johnson-Su Composting bioreactors, and 24 grape vines. The organization also runs the GALE (Grow a Little Extra) food assistance initiative, summer camp programming, and seed starting workshops in partnership with Sheridan College's Agriculture Department and University of Wyoming Extension.

The business model is a hybrid nonprofit funding stack combining individual donations, four-tier corporate sponsorships, foundation and government grants (Unicity Make Life Better Foundation, AARP Wyoming, Wyoming Department of Family Services Food Works Group, Wyoming Hunger Initiative, Homer A. and Mildred S. Scott Foundation, Robbins Family Foundation, Wold Foundation, AmeriCorps, T-Mobile), and event fundraising including the annual Farm to Table and Hoedown event and the WyoGives statewide giving day. Documented grants include $15,000 from Unicity (August 2022), a $100,000 matching donation commitment from Pam and John Standish for the September 2022 Hoedown, $50,000 from T-Mobile via SCSD#2 (December 2024), and $4,500 from AARP Wyoming (June 2025). The organization is led by Executive Director David Johnson (appointed June 2023) and a small staff supplemented by an all-volunteer board of directors that more than doubled in size in February 2025 with the addition of eight new members. Operations are concentrated in Sheridan County with a planned expansion to statewide Wyoming via an AmeriCorps & VISTA program launching in late 2026.

Name

Rooted In Wyoming

Legal name

Rooted in Wyoming

Website

https://rootedinwyoming.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rooted in Wyoming is a 501C-3 nonprofit founded in 2019 in Sheridan, Wyoming, that develops school and community agriculture projects to improve local food access. It operates hydroponic greenhouses, raised-bed teaching gardens, and food assistance programs in partnership with Sheridan County school districts, the VA, and local producers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Agriculture and Food System Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry (115), Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating (115112), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Irrigation & Water Use Efficiency Agronomy (AFACABAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Substrates & Growing Media (Coco, Rockwool, Peat Alternatives) (AFAAAHAF)

Keywords

• Community agriculture programs
• School garden education
• Local food systems
• Nonprofit food access
• Hydroponic greenhouse production

Headquarters

HQ city

Sheridan

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual donations from community members supporting local food initiatives and community resilience.
2. Grants: Funding from foundations and government programs including Unicity Make Life Better Foundation, Wyoming Department of Family Services, and others.
3. Sponsorships: Corporate sponsorships at four primary giving levels supporting the organization's programs and operations.
4. Event Fundraising: Annual fundraising events including the Farm to Table & Hoedown fundraiser and participation in WyoGives statewide 24-hour fundraising event.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Rooted in Wyoming is a 501C-3 nonprofit that develops school and community agriculture projects in Sheridan County, Wyoming, including seed starting classes in schools, hydroponic lettuce production in greenhouses, a Teaching Garden at Bridges with raised beds, an incubator garden for market producers, and food assistance through the GALE (Grow a Little Extra) initiative. The organization connects communities through local food to improve food access, agricultural and nutritional education, and community resilience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Garden-to-Cafeteria Seed Starting Program
• Teaching Garden at Bridges
• 5th Street Greenhouse Hydroponic Lettuce Production Year-round lettuce harvesting from hydroponic beds at the 5th Street Greenhouse in partnership with Sheridan County School District 2, with produce delivered to school cafeterias and food pantries.
• Incubator Garden Partnership A 1/4 acre incubator garden at Bridges with water rights access and infrastructure to support new market garden businesses and expand local food production by aspiring and existing producers in Sheridan County.
• GALE (Grow a Little Extra) Food Assistance Food assistance initiative that distributes fresh produce from community gardens to school cafeterias, food pantries, and community food programs to improve food access for Wyoming families.
• Mini-Grants Program Mini-grants of up to $1,000 available for community garden projects, with grant application periods in January and July.
• Victory Garden at Sheridan VA Resurrection and ongoing support of the Bob Giurgevich Victory Garden at the Sheridan VA Health Care System campus to benefit veteran gardeners, including accessibility improvements funded through an AARP Community Challenge Grant.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ students reached annually through seed starting education programs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Sheridan County School District 2coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary education partner for school gardens, hydroponic greenhouse, and Garden-to-Cafeteria programs. SCSD#2 operates the 5th Street Greenhouse where Rooted in Wyoming delivers seed starting classes and harvests lettuce for school cafeterias.
• Sheridan County School District 3coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for school greenhouse development at Arvada-Clearmont K-12 School, including planting days and farm-to-table programs.
• Sheridan VA Health Care SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResurrection and ongoing support of the Bob Giurgevich Victory Garden at the VA campus to benefit veteran gardeners, including accessibility improvements through an AARP grant.
• Sheridan CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Sheridan College Agriculture Department for student involvement, use of Joe and Arlene Watt Regional Agriculture Center Greenhouse for seed planting workshops, and agricultural education collaboration.
• Love, Tito's (Tito's Handmade Vodka)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerTito's Block to Block program provided major support for the Teaching Garden at Bridges. A team from Love, Tito's traveled to Sheridan to join local volunteers in constructing raised beds.
• Sheridan Community Land TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for land conservation and community access to outdoor spaces. Co-hosts programs including vermicomposting classes and shares intern resources.
• University of Wyoming ExtensioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for seed starting classes and agricultural education programs in Sheridan County schools.
• Smith Alley Brewing CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for the Farm Wall project featuring aquaponic garden systems.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kitchen Gardeners International: Nonprofit focused on empowering people to grow their own food through home and community kitchen gardens. Comparable to Rooted in Wyoming's mission of expanding local food production and gardening education.
• FoodCorps: National nonprofit that connects kids to healthy food in schools through hands-on garden and food education. Directly comparable to Rooted in Wyoming's Garden-to-Cafeteria seed starting and school garden programs in scope and target audience.
• Local Matters: Ohio-based nonprofit delivering food education and food access programs to communities. Comparable as a community-focused food access and education nonprofit with school and community programs.
• CommunityGrows: San Francisco-based nonprofit that operates community gardens and food education programs for youth and families. Directly comparable as a community garden / food access nonprofit running hands-on gardening and education programs.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: Largest US hunger-relief organization, operating a nationwide network of food banks. Overlaps with Rooted in Wyoming's Grow a Little Extra (GALE) food assistance program and food access mission, but at vastly larger scale.
• Slow Food USA: National chapter of the Slow Food movement advocating for good, clean, and fair food for all. Broader food systems advocacy organization with overlapping mission around local food systems and community resilience.

Others

• Farm Aid: National nonprofit supporting family farmers and building a resilient family farm-centered food system. Thematically aligned on local food systems and rural agricultural resilience, though focused on producer support rather than community education.
• ReFED: National nonprofit working to reduce food waste and transform the food system through data and action. Thematically related to Rooted in Wyoming's local food system development mission, though focused upstream on waste rather than production and education.

Emerging players

• Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities: Michigan-based nonprofit focused on resilient local food systems and community agriculture projects. Comparable in mission around strengthening regional food systems and community resilience through agriculture.

Regional players

• The Food Group (Minnesota): Minnesota-based nonprofit addressing food access and supporting local growers/producers through a hybrid food bank + producer-support model. Comparable to Rooted in Wyoming's combined food assistance and local producer coordination model, but serving a different region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RootedInWyoming
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rooted-in-wyoming

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Rooted In Wyoming