Garden Project Helps Refugees Grow Cultural Foods

Oregon Public Broadcasting posted a feature that describes how the Portland organization Outgrowing Hunger is operating community gardens for refugees that help them grow foods from their countries of origin. The gardens help the refugees connect with their community and assist them in accessing familiar and healthy foods that can be hard to find in the United States, and that can be of cultural significance. Outgrowing Hunger not only operates multiple community gardens, but also has a small-scale farm accelerator that can help refugees get started in farming businesses that provide culturally significant foods from numerous different regions. The farmers here sometimes face challenges finding seed, as well as adapting to different growing conditions and managing the work of a small farm along with an outside job. Outgrowing Hunger has used grant funding to set up purchasing agreements that buy the farmers’ produce for CSA boxes while they are getting established and developing markets for their culturally relevant produce.
Related ATTRA publication: Specialty Melon Production for Small and Direct-Market Growers