One of the great things about Austin is their love of “local.” Local artists, locally owned businesses, local breweries and locally grown food. From farmer’s markets to food trucks to five-star restaurants, Austinites are loyal to everything Austin has to offer, right down to the very dirt on the ground. That’s why when we were choosing our partner non-profits for our South Austin Urban Mattress, we chose one that makes a difference in the food community in Austin, Urban Roots.
A few weeks ago we took our family to meet up with Paige at Urban Roots’ 3.5 acre urban sustainable farm in East Austin, to see exactly how this incredible non-profit does what it does. Urban Roots uses sustainable agriculture to transform the lives of young people and increase the access to healthy food in Austin. Through their spring and summer youth program, Urban Roots provides paid internships to Austin high schoolers to develop life and job skills while growing food for the Austin community. They learn about sustainable agriculture, healthy lifestyles, life and job skills, and food justice issues, including hands-on service at hunger relief organizations. One of the things we love about Urban Roots is that they donate 40% of their harvest to local soup kitchens and food pantries and sell the other 60% at farmers’ markets and through their CSA.
“Through our dynamic and holistic program, Urban Roots youth Interns grow into some of Austin’s youngest leaders, advocating for a sustainable and healthy food system for all.”
We asked Paige what is the biggest area of growth she sees in their interns during their time with Urban Roots and she said “Confidence.” She said is was amazing to watch 14-17-year-old youth come into the program to work and learn, and leave knowing how to present in front of people, take care of customers at farmer’s markets, and talk knowledgeably about their skills and the food they produce.
In addition to their CSA, Urban Roots sells at the SFC Farmer’s Market Downtown, SFC Farmer’s Market at the Triangle, and the Dove Springs Neighborhood Farm stand. At South Austin Urban Mattress, we highly value giving back to our community by giving 2% of every purchase to local non-profits. We are thankful to have Urban Roots as one our non-profit partners and look forward to engaging more with them in the future.
-The Callaway’s, South Austin Urban Mattress
p.s. Paige gave us some potatoes and onions to take home and they were delicious!