Farming is a familiar livelihood for many of the refugees we resettle each year. Our New Roots for Refugees program, in partnership with Cultivate Kansas City, builds on those existing strengths to help refugees start their own farming businesses and provide healthy food for their families, as well as the community. In 2015 at our Juniper Gardens Training Farm, 16 farmers from Burma and Bhutan — speaking 7 different languages – helped carry the program to its best year yet with sales totaling more than $108,000! Our farmers sold their produce at 15 farmers’ markets across the metropolitan area. Nearly half of them participated in our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program where consumers build a personal relationship by picking up veggies from the same farmer each week. In addition, many of our farmers got their first taste of wholesale, selling to 8 local restaurants and grocery stores. During the last year, three families graduated from our New Roots program. Of those, two have already purchased and cultivated land and one is planning to buy a house with land this year. We’re proud to report that our program’s alumni farmers also had a record breaking year, adding nearly $70,000 to their family’s income. With the growing season just around the corner, be sure to follow:

New Roots for Refugees at https://facebook.com/newrootsforrefugees/