Mary Ostafi organized the first downtown community garden in St. Louis, which donates food to St Patricks Center and established Urban Harvest STL, a nonprofit that empowers urbanites to GROW a better city! Her background in architecture and interest in food equity led her to form Urban Harvest STL and pioneer the building of the first rooftop farm in St Louis, the FOOD ROOF Farm. Mary founded the organization in 2011 and led a grassroots initiative to grow food in downtown St Louis. This vision took root in the community and over the years has grown from a community garden to seven urban agriculture projects which are an educational platform for the community and a source of healthy food for underserved people living in nearby food deserts. A seasoned public speaker, she has addressed audiences such as TEDx and multiple national conventions on the topics of urban agriculture and sustainability.