Canna Biz News ~
The EVOLUTION Magazine Newsroom
Root 66 Cleanup Crew
Giving Back to the Communities That Support Them
At
Root 66 Dispensary, everyone is proud to be a local Missouri company. Its stores are here, its brands are grown here, and the communities it serves are the same ones Root 66 calls home. The U. S. Canna company family of brands— Root 66, Ostara, and Cubano— were all built right here in Missouri, so giving back has always felt like part of who the brands are.
That’ s what inspired the Root 66 cleanup crew.
The trash cleanup was important, but honestly, that wasn’ t the best part.
“ The best part was meeting people who cared enough to show up,” said U. S. Canna director of marketing and creative Jordan Mödde( MOO-dee).“ Employees, customers, friends, family, and neighbors all pitched in. Some came once. Some came to almost every cleanup. Watching that little group grow over the summer reminded us how much people genuinely care about where they live.
“ Being local means something to us. We love our roots here in Missouri, and whether someone shops at Root 66 Dispensary, enjoys Ostara gummies, or picks up a Cubano pre-roll, they’ re supporting products that are grown and built right here at home. Being able to give something back to the same communities that support us feels amazing.”
Root 66 kept the events simple on purpose. It supplied the cleanup gear and safety vests, so volunteers just had to show up.“ We even handed out coupons that could be redeemed at participating dispensaries as a little thank-you for helping. Whether someone stayed the whole morning or only had an hour to spare, every little bit helped,” said Mödde.
The hard working Root 66 Cleanup Crew above includes Patrick Topping, general manager, Root 66 South Grand; Mike Carroll, assistant general manager, Root 66 South Grand; Patrick Holcomb, sales manager, Missouri medical sales; Chazz Sawyers, financial office assistant. Photo location: Root 66 South Grand location at 3737 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO.( Photo by Jordan Mödde.)
From May through October, the Root 66 Dispensary team hosted six community cleanup events throughout St. Louis, spending Saturday mornings cleaning up around its own stores and neighboring businesses, including Swade and Kind Goods locations. It wasn’ t about who owned the building. It was about taking care of the neighborhoods they all share.
Nothing complicated. Just gloves, trash bags, a few trash grabbers, and people willing to spend a couple of hours making their community a little cleaner.
Over the six events, about 15 to 20 volunteers joined in, with several returning month after month. Together, they collected roughly five full large trash bags of litter at each cleanup, along with larger items that couldn’ t fit in bags and had to be moved directly into nearby dumpsters by hand or with a shovel.
“ For me it’ s just about keeping our neighborhood clean and organized,” said Ham Hamrah, founder and CEO of U. S. Canna.“ We’ re grateful for everyone who showed up and shared the love.”
October 17 was the last cleanup event for the season. Mödde says,“ Now that the Cleanup Crew has wrapped up for the season, we just want to say thank you.
“ Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time, shared our events, or simply stopped to say hello while we were out cleaning. You helped turn a simple idea into something we’ re incredibly proud of.”
Looking back, Mödde said,“ Six Saturday mornings doesn’ t sound like much, but together we cleaned up a lot of St. Louis City, met some great people, and spent time investing in the neighborhoods that have supported Root 66 from the beginning.”
For U. S. Canna, its brands, and team members, that’ s what being local is all about.
Learn more about Root 66 Dispensaries at www. root66cannabis. com, or Ostara products at www. ostaracannabis. com.
44 October 2026