We’re shining a spotlight on this organization because they’re our valuable partner in delivering educational resources to northern gardeners of all ages and skill levels. This initiative is funded in part by a three-year Community Food Projects Grant.

Urban Ventures is a faith-based organization that focuses on creating a diverse group of leaders through meaningful work of growing and eating nutritious food. They’ve been working to break the cycle of poverty for nearly 25 years by growing local and beneficial food for the surrounding community along with encouraging local youth to seek a postsecondary education. Urban Ventures has a 1.5-acre plot located in South Minneapolis that serves as the main location for volunteer groups as well as an additional 5-acre lot outside of the Metro.

In addition to the garden, Urban Ventures also runs a farm stand that uses the “pay as you’re able” model. Throughout the growing season, the farm connects with numerous elementary schools to provide field trips to the garden and/or bring the market directly to the school for children to pick from. The organization works alongside 70 local partners to improve areas with gaps such as nutrition, academics, parenting resources, physical activity, and more. Check out this link to take a deeper look into Urban Ventures’ annual reports on their progress in Minneapolis.

To stay connected with the Urban Ventures memos, donations, current stories, and updates, they encourage you to follow their page, “urbanventures” on Tumblr. You will find areas to donate, volunteer opportunities, and see the impact directly through recipients, along with finding healthy recipes and how you can help break the cycle of poverty in your own home.

Urban Ventures works to educate youth, strengthen their families and build a healthy community in South Minneapolis while fostering lifelong bonds. Poverty is a large problem in the United States, Minnesota included, where 51% of youth in South Minneapolis grow up. By working alongside Urban Ventures, you will see a vision of a city without urban poverty while sharing values of faith, integrity, empowerment, diversity and sustainability.