Urban Roots

Celebrating 30 Years of Food and Environmental Programs for Youth on the East Side of Saint Paul

In 1996, “Macarena” was the song of the year, Independence Day was the biggest movie in theaters, and Urban Roots planted something new on the East Side of Saint Paul: our food and environmental programs for youth.

We’d already been working alongside communities since 1969, when we were incorporated as the Community Design Center of Minnesota to help residents reach their goals for better health, well-being, and economic opportunity. Growing food and restoring green space turned out to be especially powerful ways to do exactly that, and thirty years later, we're still at it. 

Hundreds of youth have joined us, growing and sharing food, restoring habitats, and becoming community leaders. We’ve come a long way from dial-up, and we’re not slowing down. This Give to the Max Day, help us keep growing.

All gifts are matched up to $10,000 thanks to the generosity of Allina Health, our Board of Directors, an anonymous donor, Fairview Health Services, and Old National Bank! 

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Then: June 12, 1996 Star Tribune            Now: October 5, 2026 Star Tribune

Select documents and photos for the Community Design Center and Urban Roots were obtained from the University of Minnesota Archives.

Deep Roots, Inspiring Leaders: Get to know Urban Roots

Youth interns are the heart of our work.

Our mission is to cultivate and empower youth through nature, healthy food, and community. We do this by providing paid internships to youth on the East Side of Saint Paul. Youth interns develop leadership, entrepreneurial, and life skills through our Market Garden, Conservation, and Cook Fresh Programs. Each year, up to 85 youth interns, ages 14-24, participate in our progressive, tiered programming, connecting to one another and the world around them.

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Our Programs

​ Conservation Conservation youth interns support and improve green spaces around the East Side and participate in the restoration of local parks (spanning 80 acres) through removal of displaced plant species, native seed collection, and installation of native plants (4,320 native plants planted last year). Interns learn hands-on skills through the installation and maintenance of rain and pollinator gardens and also engage in citizen science projects, such as insect surveys, water sampling, and forest inventories.

​ Market Garden Youth in the Market Garden program participate in small-scale crop production at our urban gardens while engaging with our hands-on curriculum. Interns practice valuable job and life skills through growing food—becoming stewards of their environment and communities. The produce we grow goes to 1) the Cook Fresh program to be made into shared meals for interns across all three programs, 2) farmers markets including Mill City Farmers Market and the new East Side Farmers Market in St. Paul, and 3) East Side of Saint Paul community hunger relief efforts (with over half of the 13,500 pounds of produce grown in 2025 being donated).

​​ Cook Fresh The Cook Fresh Program engages and instructs youth interns and the greater community in the skills, knowledge, and confidence to make healthy, culturally relevant, delicious, and affordable meals. Youth interns learn food preparation skills and explore career pathways and post-secondary education. Interns also engage in entrepreneurship, public speaking, hands-on lessons for the community, and social/environmental advocacy. Cook Fresh also provides space for youth interns to learn about food justice and equity while putting what they learned into practice on the East Side of Saint Paul. Click here to learn about our new Behind The Plate cookbook!

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2025 in Numbers

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