Tune into the Urban Roots Instagram feed and you’ll find a new series of videos featuring executive director Max Elliott teaching viewers how to plant peppers; showcasing his ready crop of kale and the helpful, aphid-eating ladybug larvae that live on the leaves; or interviewing (at a safe distance) local restaurant business leaders. His tone is even and hopeful, a brief lifeline to those of us battling isolation as the COVID-19 outbreak wears on.
In 2008, Elliott founded Urban Roots as a nonprofit farming initiative in East Austin with a mission “to use food and farming to transform the lives of young people and to inspire, engage, and nourish the community.” Over the years, he’s grown the 3.5-acre farming operation to annually support 75 paid internships and fellowships for teenagers and young adults.
Read more from Adam Boles with Culture Map Austin here.