City Sprouts

Founded 16 years ago, City Sprouts is the oldest community garden in Omaha. It is a not-for-profit organization that strengthens inner-city communities through its education center and urban garden.

Using dirt and sweat, on a day-to-day basis City Sprouts grows vegetables, teaches youth and the public at large, employs inner-city residents, and seeds other community gar-dens across Omaha.

Yet at its roots, City Sprouts cultivates much bigger issues. It practices and promotes sustainability, economic viability, healthy nutrition, and education. It nurtures individuals and communities through food and knowledge. It’s also a great place to get dirty and have fun.

At its original Orchard Hills demonstration site, City Sprouts maintains over 50 garden beds for local families, civic organizations, school groups, and anyone who has an itch to garden. No one is turned away. At the nearby Decatur lot, produce is grown for local farmer’s markets.

Besides growing food to nourish bodies, City Sprouts also nourishes minds. It offers children’s programming throughout the year on nutrition, gardening, and nature. For the public, City Sprouts provides a broad array of workshops that focus on everything from gardening techniques to urban ecology. Service learning opportunities also abound, and City Sprouts has been the site for two Masters of Public Health capstone projects.

There’s something for everyone at City Sprouts, be it the taste of a sun-ripened, summer tomato or learning the finer points of sustainable wind energy.