Cleveland Urban Farm & Green Business Foundry
Cultivating Justice · Harvesting Excellence
A nonprofit urban farm and green business foundry empowering veterans and justice-impacted citizens to grow their own futures, and their community's food.
Our Mission
Sowing the Seeds of Tomorrow is a Cleveland-based nonprofit urban farm and green business foundry. We grow specialty crops like microgreens. And we grow the next generation of green entrepreneurs.
By learning to farm and think in systems, veterans and justice-impacted citizens build resilient businesses and become architects of their own economic futures.
The farm is the classroom. Every seed we sow, every harvest we bring in, every business we help launch: that's the mission becoming real.
Specialty crops like microgreens grown for Cleveland restaurants and food access programs.
6-week cohort teaching sustainable business across solar, water, agriculture & more.
Veterans and justice-impacted citizens ready to build something of their own.
Partnering with Cleveland institutions to build a regenerative local food ecosystem.
For Chefs & Restaurants
A living palette of four microgreens: Purple Kohlrabi, Tatsoi, Red Stem Radish, and Confetti Mix. Grown to order and delivered live, roots and all. Not cut. Keep it in your cooler, water it once a day, and cut it fresh tray-side as you plate. It lives three weeks or longer.
How it works: reserve your order above, we confirm the harvest and delivery day that works, then you pay by Zelle to 216-576-5435. Grown to order means every palette arrives live, roots and all. You cut it fresh, tray-side, for weeks. No standing inventory, no waste.
Our Story
Keith Rowan spent years planning Sowing the Seeds of Tomorrow on legal pads, on buses, in libraries, in quiet moments of determined vision. A Navy veteran and lifelong grower, he dreamed of building an urban farm that would teach people what he'd had to learn the hard way: that self-sufficiency is power.
"I decided to build a business that creates wealth, not just jobs, and to teach others to do the same."
Through EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute, Keith gained professional culinary training and the restaurant relationships that would become STSOT's first buyers. Through John Carroll University's Entrepreneurship Program, he refined the vision. Through every obstacle (and there have been many), he kept going.
In 2024 he bought a house in Cleveland. In 2025 he broke ground on the basement lab. In 2026, the nonprofit was incorporated, the 501(c)(3) approved, the first student enrolled, and the first equipment delivered from a Toledo farm whose owner believed in the mission enough to make it possible.
The seeds are in. The harvest is coming.
We flooded. We're fixing it. We kept going. The lab will be done by the end of July. The equipment is purchased. By mid-August we'll be ready for the modular expansion, with plenty of room to grow. Support the mission →
What We Do
We grow specialty crops like microgreens for Cleveland restaurants and food access programs. Our indoor growing facility uses sustainable, science-based methods and doubles as a living classroom.
Our 6-week cohort teaches veterans and justice-impacted citizens how to launch green businesses, from solar installation to water reclamation to urban agriculture. Students leave with a business plan, a network, and a mentor.
Free and low-cost workshops on urban farming, food preservation, composting, and sustainable living, open to all Cleveland residents. The farm is a community asset, not just a production facility.
University Partnerships
STSOT is proud to partner with the John Carroll University Entrepreneurship Program, which helped the founder develop stronger business plans and a deeper curriculum, and to maintain deep ties with EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute, whose graduates are among our most committed community members.
Join the Program
The Foundry is for veterans and justice-impacted citizens ready to build their own green business. Tell us what you want to grow. If it is a fit, we will be in touch about the next cohort.
Support the Mission
Sowing the Seeds of Tomorrow is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your donation is tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. EIN 93-4168447. Every contribution directly funds our farm, our students, and our community.
Restaurant Partners
🔧 Equipment Donations Needed
If you have any of these sitting around, we will put them to work:
Donate via our Facebook fundraiser, or contact us directly; check, Venmo, or Zelle accepted. STSOT is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit; your donation is tax-deductible.
Friends of the Farm
These individuals and businesses believed in Sowing the Seeds of Tomorrow before there was anything to believe in. We are grateful for their partnership, their craft, and their trust.
Get Involved
Whether you want to apply to our program, support the mission, partner with us, or simply learn more, we want to hear from you.
Cleveland, Ohio | stsot.org | EIN 93-4168447