Urban Seeds Grow

Advancing health equity through integrated food systems, environmental design, and community development.

Urban Seeds Grow (USG) is a Newark-based community development nonprofit founded in 2022 to create the institutional infrastructure necessary to advance equitable, place-based systems change. Through strategic partnerships, community-led planning, and innovative investment, USG develops permanent community assets that improve economic mobility, public health, education, environmental sustainability, entrepreneurship, arts and culture, and neighborhood resilience.

As the nonprofit partner to Al-Munir LLC, Urban Seeds Grow secures philanthropic and public investment, cultivates cross-sector partnerships, and leads the redevelopment of community-owned spaces into lasting institutions that empower residents and strengthen neighborhoods for generations.

USG Projects

Core Design Elements

Economic Mobility & Entrepreneurship

USG develops pathways for wealth-building and financial stability through entrepreneurship, small business support, cooperative models, and workforce pipelines aligned with emerging industries.

Education & Job Readiness

USG delivers culturally responsive and experiential learning opportunities that prepare individuals for academic achievement, career exploration, certification pathways, and long-term employment.

Housing Stability & Community Development

USG supports community stability through partnerships, advocacy, and programming that promote equitable access to housing, neighborhood stability, and integrated support services.

Public Health & Community Wellness

USG advances health equity through community-based education, access to nutritious food, preventative health initiatives, and partnerships that strengthen pathways to care and health literacy.

Spirituality, Faith & Community Healing

USG recognizes the role of spirituality and faith in community resilience by creating spaces for reflection, fostering partnerships with faith-based institutions, and integrating values of service, stewardship, and collective responsibility into its work.

Reimagining Community Development from the Ground Up

Urban Seeds Grow envisions a future where every neighborhood has access to community-owned institutions that create opportunity, improve health, and build generational wealth.

We are building a new model of community development by:

  • Leveraging public, philanthropic, and private investment to create sustainable, resident-centered institutions that generate long-term social and economic impact.

  • Demonstrating how community-informed planning can reshape neighborhoods while ensuring residents remain the primary beneficiaries of redevelopment.

  • We produce and distribute fresh, culturally relevant food through urban farms, greenhouses, and community-based distribution systems.

  • We train youth and adults for careers in agriculture, environmental science, construction, and public health.

  • We deliver hands-on, experiential learning through school partnerships, after-school programs, and community workshops.

  • We build mixed-use spaces that integrate housing, food production, commercial activity, and community services.

Redevelopment Vision

Produce over 50,000 pounds of fresh food annually via hydroponic and aquaponic systems

Train more than 200 residents per year in sustainability workforce pathways

Engage thousands of Newark students annually through hands-on STEM and environmental education

Create year-round jobs and affordable, locally grown, pesticide-free produce

Include housing, greenhouse facilities, a community wellness center, workforce hub, aquaponics facility, educational center, and agritourism space

Partners & Clients

  • Al-Munir Consulting

  • La Casa De Don Pedro

  • City of Newark

  • USDA

  • Invest Newark

  • Grammy Museum Foundation

  • Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace

  • The Trust for Public Land

  • Greater Newark Conservancy

  • Newark Science and Sustainability

  • New Jersey Historical Commission

  • New Jersey Urban News

  • National Black and Food Justice Alliance

  • True Products

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