Setting down roots
Urban Roots grows footprint with purchase of longtime Austin farm
Local nonprofit Urban Roots is setting down permanent roots in East Austin. As the only farm-based youth leadership organization in the city, the organization cultivates leadership skills through food and farming to inspire, engage, and nourish the community. And after a decade of farming at its 3.5-acre property on Delwau Lane, the nonprofit has announced the official purchase of the land, along with plans to celebrate its 10th annual farm tour on May 11.
The annual Tour de Farm fundraiser will begin with youth-led tours of Urban Roots' South Austin farms, before guests head to Meanwhile Brewing for a farm-to-table dinner from Distant Relatives, live music, and more. The evening supports the nonprofit’s ongoing efforts to raise future leaders and build a community dedicated to achieving food equity.
Urban Roots was founded in 2008 with just 15 teenagers and one field, eventually became an independent nonprofit in 2011. The group provides youth development programs through paid internships that focus not just on farming, but also on raising leaders and good citizens. As the nonprofit’s signature event, the Tour de Farm showcases young voices of change and a delicious chef-crafted meal with produce sourced from Urban Roots farms, located in South and East Austin.
This year, part of the celebrations will commemorate the recent purchase of the Urban Roots farm on Delwau Lane and its permanent place as both part of the organization and the East Austin community.
“This farm has been at the heart of our organization for over a decade, and we’re extremely proud and humbled to maintain such a magical place that allows us to continue to serve our neighbors in East Austin,” said Urban Roots Board Chair, Erin Fohn, in a release. “On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are proud to preserve this land and to make this long-term commitment to not only the work we do, but to the people and partners in East Austin that we serve.”