The New Farms for New Americans Program will use the funds to provide garden plots and education on agriculture and nutrition
Major Federal Grant Supports Vermont Refugee Farmers
By Jack Thurston
NECN
September 14, 2020
Excerpt:
Members of Vermont’s immigrant and refugee community are celebrating a major federal grant they say will provide critical nutrition access, cultural connections, and education about farming.
New Farms for New Americans, a Burlington program administered by the nonprofit Association of Africans Living in Vermont, or AALV, just landed a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
It’ll provide substantial garden plots to roughly 70 households to support food production, and will offer a nearly yearlong immersion for refugee farmers into Vermont-specific issues like soil differences, growing seasons, and what pests they may encounter here as opposed to in the homelands they had to flee because of violence or persecution.
The grant-funded initiative will support more than 250 people, according to the USDA.
“Having this ability to grow these crops here that would reflect what we are used to from our home countries is really powerful, and allows us to remain connected to the land we left and also being part of this community,” said Jacob Bogre of AALV.
The federal money will also support nutrition education customized for refugees, who, the USDA said, can experience health issues like higher blood pressure or weight gain when they come to the U.S. and start eating unfamiliar foods
