Growing Food and the Next Generation of Leaders in East Phillips

Volunteer

What We Do

The EPNI Farm Program provides fresh, culturally-relevant produce to the community and youth workforce training.

Through partnerships with Little Earth and East Phillips Community Garden, EPNI shares growing space at two locations. During the summer, we offer apprenticeships to young adults to gain hands-on agricultural, business planning, and community building skills.

In May 2026, EPNI was granted a short-term lease by the City of Minneapolis to begin planning an urban farm at the Roof Depot parking lot. Our attention is focused on developing core infrastructural needs through 2026, and we plan to begin growing food at the Roof Depot in 2027.

 FAQs

  • Since 2024, we have tended land at the EPIC Community Garden and the Little Earth Urban Farm.

  • Everything that we grow has been directly requested to us from community members in East Phillips. We had a general survey in 2025 and we have utilized that list for the 2026 growing season. We grow culturally relevant produce, herbs, and medicine that can’t always be accessed at an affordable price.

  • We distribute our produce throughout the growing season to local free produce distribution sites in East Phillips:

    • Pillsbury United Communities at Waite House Community Center (2323 11th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN, 55404). Every 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month from 10am-1pm.

    • 24hr Cake at Bici Xicas (3012 E Lake St, Minneapolis, MN, 55406). Every Thursday at 2pm.

    • Produce Distribution at Little Earth Urban Farm. Specific to Little Earth Residents and not open to the public.

  • We receive a lot of concern about growing food at a location that is well known for its arsenic contamination. We want to reassure everyone that all food grown at the Roof Depot site will be grown above ground in raised beds with plastic linings to prevent root penetration through the asphalt into contaminated soils.

    We plan on utilizing the Swedish Hugelkultur mounded raised bed style, which requires very little maintenance and allows us to form large raised beds with reclaimed unprocessed lumber from around the Twin Cities metro.

    We are not planting directly in-ground, which is essential to ensure our crops have no arsenic contamination. All of our food will be grown sustainably, just as we’ve been doing at our sister sites for the last two years!

  • You can attend our events and volunteer at the gardens, RSVP here. If you are interested in our apprenticeship and employment options, visit the Education page in the spring when we hire for the summer. Make sure you receive the latest updates by subscribing to our newsletter.