Through interactions with the recently formed Cooperative of the Institute of Urban Agriculture and Nutrition (CIUAN), a catalyst initiative co-governed by community organizations and academia to engage in mutually beneficial research and teaching projects, Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is supporting community efforts to bring healthy food to urban environments. This paper will discuss an innovative model, Sustainable Research and Economic Development model, to involve undergraduate students in interdisciplinary community-based research exploring pathways for urban agriculture and urban farmers markets to turn blighted properties into gardens, or rice paddies, as part of a larger metropolitan community economic development effort.