2020–present
Baby Sprout
One pot, one plant. A mint garden that fits on a window sill.
Democratizing access to healthy food.
MintBox is a nonprofit founded and run by high school students in New York City. We build single-pot mint growing boxes and self-watering planters, and we donate them — more than 2,000 boxes so far, delivered in person to the organizations that ask.
The problem we work on
3 million
New Yorkers live in a food desert.
More than three million New Yorkers live in a food desert — a neighborhood without reliable access to fresh, affordable produce. Growing a little of your own food does not fix that. It does put fresh herbs and vegetables within reach of a window sill, a classroom, or a senior center common room, and it is something a person can start this week.
Source: Figure cited from New York City food access reporting. Confirm the current source and year before the next grant cycle.
01 — Programs
What we make
2022–present
Auto-Watering Planter
A waist-height planting bed that holds two months of water.
2021–present
Baby Sprout EDU
The kit, paired with a plant science and nutrition curriculum.
02 — Partners
Who we work with
Manhattan · Since 2021
Hudson Guild
We built our first Auto-Watering Planter with members of the Fulton Senior Center, who maintain it themselves.
Manhattan · Since 2023
Covenant House
We donated 50 Baby Sprout EDU kits across four shelters in Manhattan and the Bronx.
Manhattan · Since 2021
Avenues: The World School
Where the EDU curriculum was written, tested, and first taught — co-developed with Lower Division teachers.
Manhattan · Since 2026
VISIONS at Selis Manor
Services for blind and visually impaired New Yorkers at Selis Manor. First joint session August 2026; about 60 boxes committed.
Manhattan · Since 2026
Saint Peter's Lutheran Church
An ongoing distribution partnership that began with a joint community event in February 2026 — the partnership model working exactly as designed.
Manhattan · Since 2025
St. Clement's Food Kitchen
Since November 2025: distribution paired with a hands-on planting workshop rather than a drop-off, for neighbors already coming to the food kitchen.
Manhattan · Since 2025
New Sanctuary Coalition
Since September 2025: kits for families attending the weekly pro bono immigration legal clinics, alongside the childcare program run there by a MintBox member.
03 — Impact
What we have done so far
Every number here comes from one file, carries a definition, and is dated. Nothing is rounded up.
$2,500+
Raised since 2020
2,000+
Boxes donated
75
EDU kits donated
3
Self-watering planters built
3
Partner organizations
120
Students reached
04 — What a kit is worth
What a kit is worth
Supermarket herbs are sold in bunches you cannot finish before they wilt. A kit replaces that, week after week. Change any assumption below — the model is fully in your hands.
What that comes to
- Saved per household, per year
- $363
- Saved across all households, per year
- $725,920
- Kit pays for itself in
- 3 weeks
- Produce not thrown away, per year
- 2,621 kg
This is a model, not a measurement. It multiplies the assumptions above; it does not track real receipts. Every input is editable so you can check it against your own prices.
05 — Field log
From the field
August 2026
First session at VISIONS at Selis Manor
A morning session at 135 West 23rd Street with KidsKnowRights, hosted by VISIONS' program and community engagement team, for blind and visually impaired New Yorkers. We committed about 60 boxes; the pot shipment arrived broken, so 10 went out on the day and the rest are being scheduled. Mint is a plant you can grow by touch and smell — this partnership is shaping every guide we print.
June 2026
Two thousand boxes
Somewhere this spring, the total number of MintBoxes donated since 2020 passed two thousand. It took three years to donate the first two hundred and about two more to donate the next eighteen hundred. The year-by-year records are being reconciled for the impact page.
May 2026
200 kits to school families
Requests came through a parent form and delivery ran to homerooms rather than entrance pickup. Demand outran supply — more than 40 additional families asked after the first giveaway, so the form closed when materials ran out. Every family already on the list still received a box.
06 — Team
Who runs MintBox
MintBox is founded, run, and rebuilt every year by high school students.
Bring MintBox to your community
We build to order and deliver in person across the five boroughs. Tell us who you serve and we will tell you what we can do.