New Roots Urban Farm is an organic, Black-led farm located in the northside of St. Louis that acts as an incubator and sanctuary for Black farming education.

We work with underrepresented and low-income Black and brown mothers, fathers, youth, elders, people with mental illness and disabilities, trans and queer people, and people with little formal education who are BEGINNING or ASPIRING farmers in St. Louis City, an area facing environmental racism and food apartheid.

We aim to provide the assistance, education, tools, and resources folks need to be able to grow food for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Our Story:

New Roots Urban Farm is one of the oldest urban farms within St. Louis City and resides within the St. Louis Promise Zone. A group of activists came together in the early 2000’s to start this farm as a way to spread awareness about food apartheid in low income minority communities.

The group used their farming and animal husbandry knowledge to inspire the community to create food for themselves as a belief that this was the most direct way to better mental and physical health in their lives. This is still our mission 20 years later.

New Roots is one of the leading organizations specializing in spreading awareness around issues such as food apartheid, the alarming statistic of Black farmers being less than 1 percent of the farmers nationwide in the US, and environmental racism injustices in low income communities. We started a campaign in 2022 called Operation Grow Black Growers to create 200 new Black Farmers in St. Louis over the next 10 years. New Roots Urban Farm serves as an community hub and incubator for Black and Brown growers interested in starting gardens and animal husbandry projects with little or no money to invest. We hold FREE to the public workshops teaching sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry practices as a means to create new healthy soil to remediate climate change and enhance community health and sustainability. We equip new and beginning growers with the knowledge and resources they need to thrive and provide for themselves and their families.

Antajuan Adams Sr. (Farmer Twan) is Lead Farmer and Co-Director of New Roots Urban Farm. Antajuan has farmed at New Roots for 11 years and specializes in growing organic fruits and vegetables and raising chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits. The oldest of 8 children raised by a single mother, Antajuan grew up in the neighborhood New Roots is located in and experienced firsthand the effects of food apartheid and environmental racism. Antajuan has dedicated his life to feeding and empowering his community.

Current Programs:

New Roots donates 100% of the produce grown on site to community members in need, serving more than 300 families annually. In addition to fresh produce, we coordinate bulk donations of essential goods (e.g. personal care products, clothing, diapers, face masks, and hand sanitizer) and distribute them to community members.

We host public volunteer days every Tuesday and Saturday year-round. We host monthly demonstrations and workshops on urban regenerative agriculture, conservation practices, and animal husbandry for new and beginning farmers. We host Youth Farm Camps in the summer months and field trips and day camps for youth throughout the rest of the year.

We run an ongoing program with Hogan Street Regional Youth Center, a youth detention facility across the street from the farm, called the “Hogan Street Green Club” where Farmer Twan provides hands-on training and mentorship to the incarcerated youth on growing their own food and raising animals. The youth are currently managing several raised beds and fostering a rabbit and ducks born and raised at New Roots. Farmer Twan recently served as assistant coach for the facility’s basketball team, supporting them to win a championship amongst other Missouri youth services facilities.

We provide jobs to vulnerable community members who are unhoused, have disabilities, been incarcerated, and/or recovering from addiction.

Help fund a future of empowering land stewardship!