Courtesy Heru Urban Farming
Tyrean “Heru” Lewis wanted to buy produce. But he didn’t like the limited, tired-looking options he found at his local grocery store on St. Louis’ north side. What began as a routine errand in 2017 turned into a passion project for the former educator when he decided to investigate the same grocery chain’s stores in Midtown, Clayton, and West County. There, he found an expansive produce section packed with beautiful fruit and vegetables.
“It was like night and day to the one in my neighborhood,” says Lewis. “I told myself, ‘I need to do something about this.’”
In this week’s Top Story, the founder and CEO of Heru Urban Farming talks about his passion for bringing fresh produce to his neighborhood, his family’s roots in farming, and why he teaches the importance of keeping healthy food at home.
Let’s talk about Heru Urban Farming.
We grow more than 20 types of produce and herbs on four acres in three different locations in Florissant. I sell at the Be Well Café Farmers Market (2207 Salisbury St.) every Saturday, and I do CSAs.
How does Heru Urban Farming help ‘do something’ about the disparities you saw on that produce field trip?
There’s a gas station and a Family Dollar on every corner in my neighborhood, but thousands of people don’t have access to fresh food within a half mile of where they live. I want to change the narrative. For every five CSA subscription boxes I sell, for example, I donate one to a family in need.
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Do you have any background in farming?
My great uncle was part of a Black cooperative in Texas that purchased land in 1939 and grew tomatoes. He and his son won first and second place in peas and beans in the Texas State Fair. That’s in my blood. But I didn’t really plan a business. When I got started, I was just growing food for my family after that trip to the stores. I started out with three vacant lots across the street from my house. I had two raised beds with zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes, and some pepper plants in buckets. That’s it.
You were one of six entrepreneurs selected for the inaugural Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Accelerator at UMSL. What will you do with the $50,000 in capital?
I was able to hire a worker for the first time and pay him a good wage. I also purchased a greenhouse, which allows me to extend my growing season. I got hooked up with SLATE to bring young people between the ages of 17 and 27 to work with me. There’s never a shortage of work, and now we have more hands to help.
Do the young people motivate you?
I really don’t need motivation to get this fresh food to our community. Fresh food is not going to change everything about the problems in the inner city, of course, but it plays a part in your body’s development, how you pay attention in class in school, your energy, your mindset. I’m just doing my part to help.
