Our History

United People Community Organization was founded in late 2016 by long-time community organizer and social justice pastor, Rev. Audrey Hollis, and other members of Greater St. Mark Family Church and the surrounding neighborhoods in north St. Louis County. 

The north St. Louis County neighborhoods around St. Mark’s church are very similar to those in south St. Louis around City Greens Market.  City Greens describes their origin like this:

“City Greens market began in 2008 in the basement of the St. Cronan Catholic school building. A group of women from our neighborhood who called themselves the “Midtown Mamas” were discussing the difficulty of getting to the nearest grocery stores, and how expensive the food was, even though it wasn't organic and came from far away. Many of these women had moved to St. Louis from the rural South, and brought with them a vibrant culinary tradition that valued cooking with fresh vegetables and creating well-rounded, healthy meals. Since moving to an economically depressed urban environment, they saw that their culinary tradition was becoming lost due to lack of availability of produce and the abundance of cheap, unhealthy, junk food. They could see an obvious link between the high rate of health problems in their community and the lack of healthy food options.” http://stlcitygreens.org/our-mission/

Our Mission

The mission of United People (UP) Community Organization is to empower the under-represented to improve and revitalize our community. The mission of United People (UP) Market is to provide fresh, quality, affordable produce, to promote healthy living and provide a space for neighbors to interact.

What We've Achieved