Grant Recipients
These are the previous recipients of the AGRI Urban Agriculture Grant, listed by fiscal year.
2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018
| Organization | Project Summary |
|---|---|
| 180 Degrees Inc. | Install a teaching garden on-site at a St. Cloud Youth Center. Funds will support the development and delivery of urban agriculture educational programming for at least 95 youth experiencing homelessness annually. |
| Anishinaabe Agricultural Institute | Build community gardens and greenhouses to teach regenerative agriculture practices and traditional ecological knowledge for youth in the Village of Pine Point, a village of the White Earth Nation. |
| Anoka High School | Construct the Agriculture All Inclusive Learning Greenhouse, creating a space for students to learn the multifaceted nature of agriculture and how it connects to daily living. |
| Basic Needs Inc. of South Washington County | Support the Growth for Good Community Garden by funding new garden equipment and supplies. Funds will be used to replace a garden shed, purchase a tiller, build ten new raised beds, and fill all 44 garden beds with new soil. |
| Community Action Duluth | Expand the Seeds of Success program at Denfield High Schools. Funds will be used to increase the number of garden beds, improve the on-site compost system, provide educational experiences, and support the deepening relationship between the garden space and the school community. |
| Crookston Public School | Construct a year-round solar greenhouse to provide hands-on agricultural experiences for all students in ISD 593. |
| East Phillips Improvement Coalition | Facilitate collaboration between four community gardens and urban farms across the Phillips Neighborhoods to create a food sovereignty network. The coalition will utilize funds to share resources, coordinate educational events, fund garden infrastructure, and hire a project manager. |
| Family Freedom Center | Build upon current programming to expand youth farming workshops, food preservation techniques, and entrepreneurship training, enhancing urban agriculture within the Black community in Duluth. |
| Frogtown Farm | Enhance Frogtown Farm's capacity for urban agriculture by installing a post-harvest processing station and repurposing an existing shed into a community kitchen for value-added production. |
| Frogtown Green | Promote urban agriculture community development through weekly gardening workshops for youth and community members. The project will take place at Frogtown Green's four urban farming and agriculture-related spaces in the Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul. |
| Global Entrepreneurship Week Minnesota | Teach community members about sustainable farming practices, renewable energy, and urban agriculture at Way of the Root Farm. |
| Harvest Hope Farm | Expand Farm Camp and Farm Camp on Wheels programming to teach youth about sustainability in agriculture, careers in agriculture, where their food comes from, life skills, and how to pay it forward in their community. |
| Hope Community Inc. | Establish the Food, Land and Community (FLC) program to conduct a 19-month project to develop and pilot a replicable, scalable youth education program in the form of paid summer internships in urban agriculture. |
| Hutchinson Public Schools | Create a space for students from all grade levels to experience local agriculture up close. Funds will purchase a walk-in cooler, build composting infrastructure, work tables, and a produce washing station for students to use. |
| Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability | Build a Deep Winter Greenhouse at Rock Ridge High School, creating a space that will be a living classroom utilized by science classes, including Horticulture and Science 9, whose state standards revolve around climate science; culinary arts courses making fresh salads; and Indigenous Education projects. |
| Irreducible Grace Foundation | Support African American Heritage Gardening Methods & Market, encompassing the expansion of a community garden, integrating African American heritage gardening methods, and the launching a weekly "pay what you can" urban farmers market. |
| Living Earth Center | Engaging Mankato-area youth in hands-on agricultural experiences through the Seeds 2 Sauce program. Funds will be used to pay for staff to develop and teach the program, and to purchase supplies and materials for growing produce and establishing on-site gardens. |
| Prairie PRAXIS | Encourage future leadership in urban agriculture via community connectors/garden coordinators, youth leaders, youth stewards, & youth volunteers, all of whom will work with urban farmers & gardeners in the Moorhead area. Most participants will be BIPOC & underserved. |
| Regents of the University of Minnesota | Empower Hmong youth through cultural immersion experiences and education focused on rediscovering their agricultural roots. The project will involve and honor Hmong farmers who support this initiative through teaching youth traditional agricultural practices and food preservation and preparation methods through visits to the school as well as field trips to their farms. |
| Sheridan Neighborhood Organization | Hire a Garden Manager to oversee the community garden volunteer program and manage crop rotation, soil building and harvesting. Funds will also be used to build a chicken wire fence around the donation plot to deter pests and increase produce available for donation. |
| Spark-Y | Create an urban farm highlighting various permanent and “sand box” farming applications to promote youth empowerment in environmental work, high school technical training, and employer-backed certifications. |
| Sprout MN | Support the Gamradt Park Community Garden to purchase raised plant beds, fencing, and essential tools for gardening and pay for staff to manage the program. Produce and programming will be available for senior citizens and those with limited access to land. |
| St. Cloud State University Community Garden | Collaborate with SCSU’s American Indian Center and Biology Department to create a Healing Garden featuring native plantings, medicinals, and traditional ceremonial herbs. Serving as an outdoor learning space providing hands-on education for on- and off-campus visitors, this venue for workshops and classes for area youth, university students, and area community members will expand on the mission and purpose of the SCSU Community Garden. |
| Star of the North Academy | Refresh the on-campus garden space by rebuilding the garden beds, installing a new greenhouse, and exposing students to Minnesota agriculture through farm field trips. |
| University of Minnesota Foundation | Collaborate with the Little Earth of United Tribe to promote the production of Yellow Perch at the urban aquaponics facility located in the East Philips neighborhood. Funds will supply Yellow Perch fingerlings, and provide workforce development to Little Earth community youth and MN undergraduates. |
| Urban Roots MN | Expand Urban Roots' Community Garden Program by increasing Culturally Specific Crop partnerships and improving their urban agriculture curriculum for youth interns. |
| WE WIN Institute | Support the development of teaching and pollinator gardens at WE WIN’s permanent home in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood of Minneapolis as well as the WE WIN cooking program, which connects youth with local chefs to cook food harvested from the WE WIN garden. |
| Winona Area Public Schools ISD 0861 | "Cultivating the Next Generation of Farmers with Hydroponics" by purchasing hydroponic equipment and educating school staff and students on how to grow year-round, nutritious produce. |
| Woodbury Thrives/Woodbury Community Foundation | Triple the number of plots at the Woodbury Community Garden, building a more inclusive space for community members to grow their own produce. Funds will be used to make some plots ADA-compliant and to purchase community-owned garden equipment. |
| Organization | Project Summary |
|---|---|
| Audubon Neighborhood Association, Minneapolis | Develop a vacant half-acre lot located in Northeast Minneapolis to provide fresh, culturally-specific produce to low-wealth neighbors in need. In addition, the project will offer workshops focusing on agriculture and value-added production, host on-site markets, and provide mentorships. |
| Augsburg University, Minneapolis | The Cedar-Riverside Urban Agriculture Regeneration Project will increase food production and build community capacity by offering culturally appropriate training and technical support to gardeners in the Cedar-Riverside Neighborhood of Minneapolis. |
| Bancroft Neighborhood Association, Minneapolis | This project will support an assistant mentor position and provide stipends to youth engaged in their summer gardening program. Youth will tend boulevard, backyard, and community gardens and make their harvest available through free vegetable stands and by hosting community meals. |
| Black Storytellers Alliance, Minneapolis | The Black Storytellers Youth/Community Initiative Program (BSAYCIP) will focus on educating urban youth in agricultural self-sufficiency with the goal of expanding agriculture within the North Minneapolis community. BSAYCIP will allow youth to participate in the process of running a communal garden using farm techniques such as preparing seedlings, planting, maintaining, cultivating, and harvesting food for the community. |
| Cimarron Community Farm, Lake Elmo | Cimarron Community Farm will revamp their farm program to focus on all aspects of growing food from seed to table. They will offer hands-on experiences for youth to plant, water, manage, harvest, and create meals using vegetables they grew at the farm. The farm will create new entrepreneurial opportunities for youth, especially teens, by selling produce at the farmers' market and engaging neighbors. |
| Duluth Community Garden Program, Duluth | Duluth Community Garden Program will create a community garden hub at their Fox Hole Community Garden site. They will build two greenhouses, a shed for storage, and workshop space to host classes for gardeners and the greater community. |
| Ecolibrium3 (Eco3), Duluth | Eco3 will expand its programming at the formerly closed farm site at Lake Superior College to repurpose underutilized infrastructure and build long-term viability by improving the farm site’s programming to align with Lincoln Park's community-expressed needs. |
| Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC), Cloquet | The FDLTCC Sustainability Demonstration Garden Project will create an intentional demonstration space located at the 14th Street Campus that will encompass renewable energy systems, farmer business development, student-led community demonstrations, and a seasonal farmers' market. |
| Harvest Hope Farm, Moorhead | Harvesting Hope for Others Farm Camps will expand their offerings to include ‘Farm Camp on Wheels’ to be facilitated at Robert Asp Elementary School located in Moorhead. The project will expand youth knowledge of sustainable food resources and expose youth to methods of growing produce including raised beds, hydroponic gardens, container gardens, trellis' and in-ground gardens. |
| Laurel Community School, St. Paul | Laurel Community School’s Agri-Science Educational Gardens will transform an academic instruction in science into a hands-on curriculum about concepts in science and agriculture. Students will grow plants from seeds and harvest produce to share with their community. Students will also be introduced to insects that live in the garden and to the microscopic world in the soil. |
| NativeWise, Sawyer | NativeWise will construct an outdoor learning space to support their workshops focusing on the intergenerational transfer of indigenous agricultural knowledge. This space will create a hands-on learning environment for youth to learn about topics such as plant surveys, seed saving, pasture rotation, forest ecology, bison ecology, and medicinal herb harvesting and processing. |
| Spark-Y, Minneapolis | Spark-Y will construct an educational market garden and outdoor kitchen at WEE Farms located in Savage, providing a youth and community learning site for multicultural agriculture education. In addition, they will curate a recipe book that highlights culturally significant cuisine and gardening techniques of three initial ethnic groups important to Minnesota’s local food system: Hmong, Native American, and Chinese. Finally, they will develop a youth-focused certification on sustainable food systems, multicultural farming, and culinary education. |
| St. Paul Youth Services (SPYS), St. Paul | SPYS’ YouthPowerMN Leadership Institute will develop and pilot YouthPowerED curriculum that will focus on how Black history & identity are impacted by the food system, the history of Black agriculture, and ways that community gardens contribute to equity and food justice within the food system. The curriculum will include garden design, crop varieties, harvesting/preparing food, and visiting local community gardens and partner organizations working with innovative gardening techniques such as small-scale aquaponics. |
| Urban Roots, St. Paul | Urban Roots will use this funding to consult with an irrigation specialist and invest in irrigation infrastructure at their East Side farm sites. |
| Urban Ventures, Minneapolis | Urban Ventures will build 30 raised beds on top of their asphalt parking lot to meet the demand for locally grown, organic food from residents of the neighborhood. In addition, they will add five Ag and Nutrition Educators to increase the opportunities for youth to attend Urban Venture's urban farming and nutrition programs. |
| Organization | Project Summary |
|---|---|
| American Indian Community Housing Organization, Duluth | AICHO is working with middle and high school students to foster youth development, strengthen the Indigenous food system, and ensure greater and more sustainable access to healthy Indigenous foods through community gardening projects. |
| Boys and Girls Club of the Bemidji Area, Bemidji | The Boys and Girls Club of Bemidji is installing a hydroponic growing system at their site to expand their youth agricultural lessons and extend their growing season year-round. |
| Detroit Lakes High School, Detroit Lakes | Detroit Lakes High School is building a long-lasting greenhouse for ag-based curriculum and projects, making agricultural education accessible to all students at every grade level. |
| Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Fond du Lac | The Fond du Lac Band is remodeling and expanding the Babaamaadiziwin Gitigaan (Journey Garden) and their outdoor kitchen space to serve as a centerpiece for agricultural education and community development |
| Growing North Minneapolis, Minneapolis | Growing North Minneapolis is hiring youth workers to work at 21 community garden sites, learning ag-based entrepreneurial skills through hands-on growing experiences with farmers and mentors. |
| Hope Community, Minneapolis | Hope Community is educating and engaging 40 youth in three "Farm Science" community garden projects. |
| Lionsgate Academy, Minnetonka | Lionsgate Academy is building a greenhouse to advance career exploration and other learning opportunities for their students. |
| Mankato Area Public Schools, Mankato | Mankato Area Public Schools is building a technology-enhanced greenhouse project to prepare students for "22nd Century" jobs focusing on farm to fork production and sustainability. |
| North Country Food Alliance, Minneapolis | North Country Food Alliance is working with the Somali American Farming Association to expand and update the community garden located at the Horn Towers. The project will also include two food fellows and cultural interpreters to increase accessibility to the garden for residents. |
| Nova Classical Academy Green Team, St. Paul | Nova Classical Academy’s student-led Green Team is installing raised beds and a composter to create educational opportunities for all students. |
| Twin Cities Community Agricultural Land Trust, St. Paul | Twin Cities Community Agricultural Land Trust is upgrading and installing garden equipment to enhance youth lessons and improving accessibility at the UMN Peace Sanctuary Garden, located in St. Paul. |
| Urban Roots, St. Paul | Urban Roots is continuing the development of the Rivoli Urban Farm Site on the East Side of St. Paul. |
| Youth Farm, Minneapolis | Youth Farm is hiring teens and a program specialist for the Youth Social Enterprise (YSE) program, using urban agricultural experiences to improve food access, community health, education, and career development. |
| Organization | Project Summary |
|---|---|
| Appetite for Change | Train youth in urban agriculture and expand garden to increase the amount of produce grown. |
| Duluth Community Garden Program | Expand the One Vegetable, One Community program through after school programming and community garden improvements. |
| Fairmont Area Kinship | Mentorship program for youth and adults surrounding the life cycle of plants. |
| Frogtown Farm | Provide farm tours to local schools and youth organizations. Apprentice local youth in urban farming techniques. |
| ISD 2752 Fairmont Community Education and Recreation | Enhance science and math lessons through the use of educational tower gardens. |
|
Little Earth Resident’s Association |
Teach local youth about traditional Native American methods of nurturing, harvesting, preparing, and distributing crops. |
| Our Community Food Projects | Develop a sustainable method of growing Cassava in Minnesota. |
| Spark-Y | Expand current urban agriculture farm into the Northeast Sustainability Hub. |
| Urban Roots | Develop a site on Saint Paul's Eastside into an educational urban farm and production destination. |
| Victory Neighborhood Association | Teach families in North Minneapolis how to grow produce along their alleyways and boulevards. |
