About
Urban Roots Youth Internship Program includes youth internships in the Market Garden, Cook Fresh, and Conservation Programs. Youth interns plant, maintain, and harvest small-scale crop production within urban gardens, learn about food grown seasonally and how to prepare it fresh from the garden, and take part in cooking activities. Conservation youth interns restore green spaces and operate gardening, entrepreneurship, cooking, and conservation projects.
• Ages: 14–18 years old
• Schedule: Office hours Monday–Friday, 8:00am–4:00pm
Urban Roots MN is a Saint Paul organization whose mission is to cultivate and empower youth through nature, healthy food, and community. Urban Roots, formerly Community Design Center of Minnesota, was incorporated in 1969 as a 501(c)3 and has operated its food and environmental programs on the East Side of Saint Paul since 1996. The Urban Roots Youth Internship Program is a tiered internship program that hosts up to 90 interns each year, with youth ages 14–24 participating and youth ages 14–18 employed year round in the Market Garden, Cook Fresh, and Conservation Programs. It is one of the largest youth employers on the East Side of Saint Paul and focuses on under-resourced, majority BIPOC youth. The three main programs—Market Garden, Cook Fresh, and Conservation—address immediate community needs around fresh food access, the environment, and wellbeing, and promote community health through education, the restoration of green spaces, and access to locally grown food. Conservation youth interns work to connect the community with their natural resources, and community members can sign up for community garden plots at farm sites, receive free trees within the service area, and participate in group tours of work sites. Group tours visit urban farms, park restoration sites, and an office demonstration site that showcase organic growing methods, outdoor classrooms, native plant pollinator gardens, and honey bee hives.
Last updated June 28, 2026.
• Ages: 14–18 years old
• Schedule: Office hours Monday–Friday, 8:00am–4:00pm
Urban Roots MN is a Saint Paul organization whose mission is to cultivate and empower youth through nature, healthy food, and community. Urban Roots, formerly Community Design Center of Minnesota, was incorporated in 1969 as a 501(c)3 and has operated its food and environmental programs on the East Side of Saint Paul since 1996. The Urban Roots Youth Internship Program is a tiered internship program that hosts up to 90 interns each year, with youth ages 14–24 participating and youth ages 14–18 employed year round in the Market Garden, Cook Fresh, and Conservation Programs. It is one of the largest youth employers on the East Side of Saint Paul and focuses on under-resourced, majority BIPOC youth. The three main programs—Market Garden, Cook Fresh, and Conservation—address immediate community needs around fresh food access, the environment, and wellbeing, and promote community health through education, the restoration of green spaces, and access to locally grown food. Conservation youth interns work to connect the community with their natural resources, and community members can sign up for community garden plots at farm sites, receive free trees within the service area, and participate in group tours of work sites. Group tours visit urban farms, park restoration sites, and an office demonstration site that showcase organic growing methods, outdoor classrooms, native plant pollinator gardens, and honey bee hives.
Last updated June 28, 2026.
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