ABOUT US

Izzy Petersen and Matt Suprunowicz met as Teach for America corps members at a Title I school located in a food desert in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Right away, they noticed a disconnect among students, who were largely unaware of where their food came from and what healthy food was. Matt and Izzy ended up in Colorado through various choices, where the same issues were present throughout the greater Denver area. They asked themselves...

“Wouldn’t it be cool if there was an organization that provided locally grown food and experiential education, focused on sustainability and helped maintain and support school gardens? On top of that, what if that food went to families that really needed it?”

Their answer? SustainEd Farms.

SustainEd Farms was founded on the principle of providing locally grown food to schools and communities in need. With the mission of contributing to a sustainable food system in the greater Denver area, Matt and Izzy incorporated pilot programming for a year and a half before setting up school partnerships. To this day, SustainEd Farms brings their vision to life by empowering students and educating where real food comes from.

Work with Us!

Together we can create a more food-just Denver.

Whether it’s collaborating on a school garden, incorporating garden education in your school, or a project related to farming and sustainability, we want to hear from you! Feel free to fill out the contact form below, and we'll get back to you soon.

Bringing School Gardens to Life

We want to help schools build their vision. To do this, we approach school communities to ask what they envision for their school garden, brainstorm what that garden programming could be, and develop ideas to implement through collaboration and partnership. This work includes giving supplies and materials, seedlings, seeds, and compost to schools, which they can use to start gardens or plant their existing gardens. We’ve also taken abandoned school gardens and revamped them entirely, planting and getting them set up for the summer.

Education and Maintenance

Our work also involves coming into school classrooms to teach students how to start their own seeds. When we return to do community planting, each student gets to plant their own seedlings and the school community itself completes the season’s planting. In addition, we curate garden activities like bug releases, art projects, and more. During the summer, SustainEd Farms helps maintain gardens so they stay thriving and can turn into a learning space in the fall. This includes watering and taking care of the gardens, as well as harvesting any food to include in our farm shares with the community.