Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Historically, the International Rescue Committee in Dallas (IRC) has resettled a majority of its refugee clients in Vickery Meadow, primarily because of the well-established existing refugee community and availability of affordable housing. Vickery Meadow is the most racially and economically diverse community in Dallas County, Texas, with approximately 23,000 residents in an area that spans 2.9 square miles. As of 2010, 88.1% of residents were people of color, and as of 2012, 46.7% of residents were foreign-born. Through the CFP Cultivating Community Food Capacity project, the IRC's New Roots program in Dallas engaged this community through farmer training, outreach, emergency food distribution, and market/free food outlets. The participants were representative of the Vickery Meadow neighborhood in their diversity. New Roots served 12 Bhutanese gardeners, 6 Burmese gardeners, and 1 Congolese gardener during Year 4. 100% of gardeners attended at least one seasonal planting training discussed in Outcome 2.1a. In March 2020 many food pantries were forced to temporarily close their doors as social distancing and stay at home orders rolled out in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To address the gap in services in Vickery Meadow, between March 18 and May 29 in Year 3, the IRC distributed food, cleaning supplies, PPE, diapers, and gift cards to refugees and other vulnerable immigrants. In total, 226 unique families received assistance (712+ beneficiaries) and 521 bags of food were distributed over the course of 11 weeks. 72% bags of food were distributed to females. 50% of bags were distributed to Rohingya clients and 19% of bags were distributed to Spanish-speakers. In July, the IRC received HQ support to continue New Roots' Emergency Food Distribution efforts. Since then, the IRC has distributed 382 more bags of pantry food and produce. Over 22 weeks, the IRC distributed 2,079 pounds of produce, 3,250 pounds of shelf stable food, and 523 face masks. The IRC made over 90 food deliveries to ill, non-mobile, or newly resettled SNAP-eligible low-income clients impacted by COVID-19. In Year 4 Emergency Food Distribution efforts continued. New Roots distributed 1512.12 pounds of fresh produce and 3,079.5 pounds of shelf stable food in Year 4. Changes/Problems:New Roots Dallas found a natural shift in programming during COVID in response to client need and local funding. Food banks across the U.S. have seen a 55% increase in the number of people seeking help and are unable to meet the high demand. High rates of unemployment and Covid-19 infection among new American community members have contributed heavily to lack of stable access to adequate amounts of nutritious food. Refugees and immigrants have been some of the hardest hit populations in the country, disproportionately experiencing food and nutritional insecurity due to their high rates of employment in the "gig economy" and other job sectors heavily impacted by the pandemic such as food, hospitality, and health care. Although some immigrants are eligible for public pandemic relief benefits, they do not always feel safe accessing them. According to a study by the Urban Institute, "1 in 7 adults in eligible immigrant families - 13.6% - reported that they did not enroll in programs like Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and housing subsidies last year because of worries that it would affect their legalization efforts." New Roots Dallas will continue to connect refugee and immigrant clients with local gardening space. However, the priority of our program moving forward will focus on overcoming food security obstacles through food navigation and nutrition education. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Continued from above. The program helped the participants themselves in various ways, financially and otherwise. In response to a 2020 participant survey, for example, over 85% of participants said the program helped them grow more food; save money on groceries; and meet new people from their ethnic/language community. Over 75% of participants said the program helped them make new friends and feel more connected to their neighborhood. Another 65% said the program helped them know more about produce that grows in the U.S./Texas, learn new farming methods/practices, and share the food they make with family and neighbors. Participants also expressed interest in learning more about various topics related to the program. For example, over 85% of participants were interested in learning about growing vegetables for their family and friends, healthy food and nutrition, and managing gardening expenses. Outcome 2.2: At least 80% of New Roots Farmers remain involved after 2 years of participation. By Year 3, 88% of New Roots Farmers remained in the program after 2 years. Unfortunately, by Year 4, 2 of 5 New Roots Urban Farms closed due to lapse in both client participation and local partnership. This cut New Roots' capacity to hosts farmers and gardeners by half. In November 2020, New Roots decided to discontinue gardening at Our Lady of Sorrow Community Garden in West Dallas due to a lapse in participation. Gardening clients had a very difficult time finding safe transportation to this garden, which was 15 miles from their homes in Vickery Meadow. One of the gardeners from Our Lady was placed in the MPA program at the Live Oak Community Garden to continue participation. In January 2021, McShan Elementary School (Seeds of Hope Garden) suspended gardening efforts to ensure the safety of their students by limiting the number of individuals allowed on campus. The Seeds of Hope Garden previously hosted 12 Rohingya gardeners. Many of these gardeners are currently being supported by New Roots via regular food and supply distributions. Some of these gardeners were given supplies and assistance for balcony/patio growing near their apartments. Outcome 2.3: The Gardeners in Community Development (GICD) land tract will be prepared for production by the end of Year 1; production will continue through the 4-year project period. The GICD land continues to be in production and host 12 MPA participants. Outcome 2.4: Production at Central Lutheran Church will begin by Year 2 and continue through the rest of the project period. The Central Lutheran Garden continues to be in production. In Year 3 the garden expanded by six new raised beds and 288 square feet. In Year 4, the garden installed an in-ground plot, expanding production space by 348 square feet. Central Lutheran developed 1,212 square feet of production space throughout the four-year project. Year 1: Land in Production (sq ft): 0 Production Space Added (sq ft): 0 Total: 0 Year 2: Land in Production (sq ft): 0 Production Space Added (sq ft): 576 Total: 576 Year 3: Land in Production (sq ft): 576 Production Space Added (sq ft): 288 Total: 864 Year 4: Land in Production (sq ft): 864 Production Space Added (sq ft): 348 Total: 1,212 Outcome 2.5: In Year 3 and Year 4, at least one additional half-acre of land will be secured. New Roots sought out multiple opportunities for more land throughout the project. During the COVID pandemic, client needs pivoted and New Roots prioritized general food security issues. During Year 4, New Roots decided that land acquisition was no longer a priority. Goal 3: Equip Vickery Meadow residents with the knowledge and skills to navigate and contribute to their food system by training Youth Food Justice participants and organizing collaborative partners around food-system change. Outcome 3.1: 4 Youth Food Justice Participants per year engage in the New Roots Dallas program (total of 10 unduplicated participants), under the supervision of the New Roots Specialist The IRC achieved this outcome in Years 1 and 2 with 16 total unduplicated participants engaged in Youth Food Justice (YFJ). No additional Youth Food Justice (YFJ) programming was held in Year 3 or 4 due to COVID-19 social distancing measures and because youth in other IRC programs expressed exhaustion with online activities. Additionally, after analyzing data from participant assessments, while participants expressed enjoying the programming, participants did not seem to retain lasting food navigation or nutritional knowledge. As a result of this analysis, the IRC will evaluate other more impactful ways to involve refugee youth in food and nutrition education in the future. Outcome 3.2: 50 households will receive food navigation and market tours each year, totaling 200 households. The IRC provides local food navigation training to refugee resettlement clients during their first 90 days in the United States through Cultural Orientation (CO) training. During Year 4, 84 households completed CO training and assessments, exceeding the initial annual goal of 50 households. Of those clients, 92% could provide directions to a source of fresh produce and core food staples within 90 days of arrival. Of the clients who completed CO training and assessments during Year 4, 48% were women. Women exhibited a 93% success rate of being able to navigate to a source of fresh food and core food staples, while men exhibited a 91% success rate. Since Year 1, 434 clients received food navigation training. Outcome 3.3: At least 25% of SNAP households who receive food navigation tours will use Double Dollars at markets. Please refer to Outcome 1.4. Outcome 3.4: At least 75 individuals per year will become informed of the farmer's markets through American Sign Language (ASL) classes, women's group gatherings and cultural orientations. During Year 4, 127 resettlement clients were informed of local markets during CO training, well above the target of 75 individuals. Since Year 1, 384 individuals were informed of local markets through CO, ASL classes, women's groups, and other IRC classes and programs, exceeding Year 4 goal by 28%. Outcome 3.5: Special events put on in collaboration with partnering organizations reach 100 community members directly each year. In Year 4, New Roots collaborated with Northwest Community Center to reach 79 unique individuals through food distributions. Over the four-year project, New Roots and partner organizations performed outreach to 2,814 individuals, exceeding this outcome by over 700%. Outcome 3.6: Increased decision-making and program responsibility taken on by community residents and organizational partners as evidenced in hosting and chairing of meetings, garden management, market sales and tracking self-reliance, and hiring of community residents in program roles over the life of the project. During Year 3 and 4, group workdays and trainings were mostly suspended. Multiple urban farmers took on responsibilities and leadership roles in the gardens to help compensate for this. There are 12 MPA participants. One of those participants and his family committed extra time to assist with general maintenance around the garden. Other MPA farmers took on garden monitoring tasks to ensure garden tools, space, and water utilities were being accessed responsibly. Between July and November 2020, a small group of MPA gardeners regularly provided produce for the IRC's emergency food distribution. These six participants were heavily involved with organizing and conducting harvest events and implementing new COVID-19 safety guidelines in order to provide produce for food insecure IRC refugee families, initiating community food security support. In 2021, one new gardener was welcomed to the MPA program. A leader from the garden supported the new gardener through technical advice and regular transportation to the garden. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Continued from above. What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1: Over the four-year period, the program provided almost three tons of fresh produce in the target communities. The recipients were predominantly refugees or other types of immigrants. At times, the program operated or attended as many as four markets. Outreach was conducted to over 1,000 families, exceeding the program's goal by more than 65 percent. Land in production ultimately exceeded 13,000 sq. ft., and annual sales levels reached almost $60,000. While the COVID pandemic and other factors prevented the program from reaching certain quantitative goals, the fundamental goal of organizing community gardens to help immigrant gardeners and their local communities was achieved. Goal 2: The program recruited 59 new gardeners, well beyond the goal of 20. By year 3, almost 90% of the gardeners had continued their participation for two years, although various factors adversely affected participation in year 4. Profits per market increased by over 40% after two years, with a large increase in year 2 being partly offset by COVID-reduced profits in year 3 and then a shift to donating garden output. GICD land continued in production for the program's duration, and Central Lutheran Community Garden expanded its square footage each year after the first. Goal 3: The program also helped many Vickery Meadow residents know more about how to navigate and use the food system. For example, 16 Youth Food Justice participants engaged in the program, compared to a goal of 10. Also, over 430 clients received food navigation training, more than double the goal of 200. Information on the farmers' markets and food pantries was provided to 384 individuals, compared to a goal of 300. Special events held with a local partner reached over 2,800 individuals, seven-fold more than the goal of 400 individuals. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The four-year CFP project provided many training and professional development opportunities. Conferences included the following: New Entry Farms hosted the Community Food Systems Conference in 2017 and 2019. Staff were able to meet key New Entry and NIFA staff during the conference, and key takeaways aside from networking include learning from other programs across the country that are carrying out innovative food systems work. IRC also attended the Dallas Hunger Summit in 2017, 2018, and 2019 hosted by Texas Hunger Initiative. At this conference, IRC established a key partnership with Central Lutheran Church, and staff gathered information about food policy in Dallas and Texas. This opportunity helped staff gain understanding of the greater work being done in Dallas towards food security, gain public policy knowledge on impactful policies affecting the community, and network to build new relationships New Entry Farm also hosted the National Field School Conference in 2018 and 2019. At this conference, staff gained access to a broader network of refugee farmer training programs, presented about sourcing culturally appropriate seeds, and learned more about facilitation and participatory planning. This new knowledge led to a Training of Trainers workshop and the subsequent election of two farmers to take on leadership positions in the garden. In 2018, two Youth Food Justice Interns traveled to New York to attend the Rooted in Community Summit, a youth-led food justice conference. There, the interns shared with youth from around the country the food justice work in Dallas and learned from other communities. They were also able to meet refugee youth from other IRC New Roots programs. Trainings included IRC's learning collaborative in 2019 and 2021: The collaborative focused on aligning program activities with strategic planning in program design, monitoring and evaluation, data collection, introduction to research, and the IRC's evidence-based model, known as the Outcomes and Evidence Framework. The Outcomes and Evidence Framework is a strategic planning guide that ensures programming is successful in creating measurable, positive changes in people's lives, and fulfilling the overall mission of the IRC. The knowledge gained through this collaborative was directly applied to the project through improved data tracking tools, program evaluation techniques, and better data analysis. Workshops included: The Seeding Dallas Forum in 2018, which allowed staff and participants to share best practices in community gardening and organic gardening with varied workshops around soil health, garden management, seasonal planting, and other networking opportunities, and Grow North Texas Raised Beds workshop in 2018, during which participants built raised beds at a community space while learning about the tools and materials needed. Farm visits included: Paul Quinn College's We Over Me farm, F.A.R.M. - Farmers Assisting Returning Military, Texas Worm Ranch, Restorative Farms, Big Tex Urban Farms, and Texas A&M AgriLife Center. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Constantly sharing program updates and results with local partners, including City Square Food Preference Survey and Gardener Profiles to Northwest Presbyterian church. Published and featured articles, including: Client Highlight, March 2020 IRC'S COVID RESPONSE, April 2020 KERA Coverage of COVID RESPONSE, April 2020 THE WORLD Article on Frontline Organizers, May 2020 D Magazine Frontline Heroes, August 2020 World Food Day Post, October 2021 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Outcome 1.1: 4 community markets will operate in refugee and immigrant rich communities, providing residents access to affordable fresh produce within one mile of their homes during the market season. Throughout the four-year project, New Roots provided a total of 5,983.42 pounds of fresh produce to the local community, 92% of the overall goal. The majority of recipients of produce were refugees or other immigrants. The largest groups of recipients were from Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Afghanistan. Others were from Bhutan, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Senegal, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and Sudan. The program faced many barriers to hosting and attending markets during Years 3 and 4: COVID guidelines closed the market at Northwest Community Center (partnership with THH) Good Local Markets (both locations) limited number of vendors, making it more competitive to participate, and Harvest operations remained unsafe through Year 4 as Dallas COVID infection rates stayed surging and social distancing measures remained in place. Instead of marketing and selling produce to respond to increased local need for food during COVID-19, New Roots Dallas responded by providing free food via socially distanced pick-up and delivery. The distribution method was determined based on client capacity to pick up food, including consideration of vulnerabilities that might prevent or hinder pick-up (e.g., pregnancy, lack of mobility or transportation, immunocompromised or age). Most recipients picked up food at a nearby community center. Many others picked up food at the IRC office or received a contactless delivery. Outcome 1.2: Outreach will target 600 families over 4 years. Since Year 1, the IRC has conducted outreach to over 1,000 families. The 4-year goal was exceeded in Year 3 by 70.5%. Most outreach was achieved during the North Texas World Refugee Day events over the first three years. Outreach was also conducted at markets and resource distribution events via informational flyers. Outcome 1.3: 1,000lbs of produce in Year 2, 2,500lbs of produce in Year 3, and 3,000lbs of produce in Year 4 of local produce will be available to residents through markets. New Roots counted 1,509.02 pounds of produce in Year 4, 50% of the yearly target outcome. Over the entirety of the project, 5,983.42 pounds of produce were counted by New Roots staff, 92% of the total outcome. For example, over the six-month period of June to November 2020, more than three tons of donated food were distributed, including over 2,800 pounds of produce and 3,400 pounds of shelf staples. The peak months were August to October, which averaged over 1,600 pounds per month. Over three-fourths of the recipients were women (78% females vs. 22% males). New Roots did not achieve Outcome 1.3 in Year 4 due to shifts in client need and staff capacity. Garden harvests are time consuming and gardener participation varied during the pandemic. Additionally, the produce was to be donated, not sold, so it became difficult to ensure urban gardeners would be compensated for their donations. MPA gardeners donated 636.8 pounds of fresh produce to New Roots emergency food distribution efforts from July through November of 2020. New Roots partner, Northridge Presbyterian Church, supported the MPA program during this effort by providing $100 monthly to any gardener able to donate to the distribution. Northridge Presbyterian contributed a total of $3,000 to 6 gardeners over the 5 months. Although this model was difficult to continue without sustainable funding, it is a concept to be explored in the future. Considering this, and the rapidly increasing rate of food insecurities among clients, New Roots staff focused on sourcing supplies from other local partners, such as the LDS Bishop Storehouse, which could provide the increased amount of food needed. Outcome 1.4: 40 shoppers enroll in Fresh Fund in year 1; 50 in year 2; 80 in year 3; and 90 in year 4. 50% of market sales will be from EBT transactions. New Roots encountered many challenges in achieving this outcome. During Year 2 of the project, New Roots depended on partnership with Good Local Markets in order to access a Fresh Fund (funded by GusNIP) and to process SNAP purchases. Unfortunately, in Year 3, Good Local Markets' Fresh Fund ended and was unable to be renewed due to new GusNIP spending limitations. New Roots was seeking alternative funding for a Fresh Fund and became a certified SNAP vendor. Unfortunately, COVID had other plans, and IRC Dallas clients were swiftly affected. Feeding America's report, The Impact of the Coronavirus on Local Food Insecurity in 2020 and 2021, lists Dallas County as having the 5th highest projected number of people in very low food secure households in 2021 at 149,980 adults and 171,240 children. By the beginning of Year 4, New Roots had completely pivoted away from markets in order to directly distribute food to clients, as levels of food insecurity were unprecedented in the communities IRC serves. Outcome 1.5: 11,000sqft of community garden space is in production in Year 2, 13,000sqft in Year 3, and 15,000 sqft in Year 4; equaling $50,000 worth of fresh, culturally-appropriate produce grown in Year 2, $58,000 in Year 3, and $67,500 in Year 4. Garden space in production fluctuated throughout the project. In Year 4, New Roots community garden production space totaled 13,148 square feet; growing $59,166 worth of fresh, culturally appropriate produce. The Year 4 goal of 15,000 square feet was not achieved due barriers created during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many urban gardeners rely on public transportation to get to and from the garden space. This transportation became unavailable and/or unsafe during the pandemic, and participation for gardens outside of Vickery Meadow dwindled. Eventually, New Roots excepted it was not an idea time for new land requisition. Instead, staff pivoted to food aggregation and distribution efforts to meet client need. Goal 2: Support farm business development of New Roots urban farmers and procure additional land for agricultural production. Outcome 2.1: At least 5 New Roots urban farmers will be recruited each year (for a minimum of 20 over four years) to take part in a training course and mentorship program that will educate urban farmers on the transition from gardening to commercial farming and small business development. The initiative will leverage existing IRC Microproducer curriculum and consulting services from the U.S. Small Business Administration's Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE). Producers will see a 25% increase in profit from their sales after two years of participating in the program. Due to COVID safety guidelines, the traditional 6-week Micro-Producers Academy (MPA) training program was not executed in Year 4. Instead, the New Roots national team collaborated to create a Youtube channel. The channel contains multilingual videos with subjects in nutrition, cooking, and gardening. New Roots Dallas welcomed 3 new community gardeners in Year 4. Over the length of the project, New Roots trained 59 individuals in the MPA. This outcome nearly tripled the goal of 20. New Roots total profits in Year 1 were $1,550.06, averaging $91.18 per market. Year 2 profit was $2,569.11, a 65% increase from Year 1 and an average of $135.22 per market. Year 3 profit totaled $1,170.00, averaging $130 per market. Although the New Roots did not make 25% more total profit in Year 3, this outcome was still achieved. The IRC exceeded this goal in under two years as total profit increased by 65% from Year 1 to Year 2. There were fewer markets in Year 3 due to COVID-19, however, average profit per market increased by 42.6% from Year 1 to Year 3. New Roots did not sell produce in Year 4, but instead donated it to recipients needing help because of COVID.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Historically, the International Rescue Committee in Dallas (IRC) has resettled a majority of its refugee clients in Vickery Meadow, primarily because of the well-established existing refugee community and availability of affordable housing. Vickery Meadow is the most racially and economically diverse community in Dallas County, Texas, with approximately 23,000 residents in an area that spans 2.9 square miles. As of 2010, 88.1% of residents were people of color, and as of 2012, 46.7% of residents were foreign-born. Through the CFP Cultivating Community Food Capacity project, the IRC's New Roots program in Dallas engaged this community through farmer training, outreach, emergency food distribution, and market/free food outlets. The participants were representative of the Vickery Meadow neighborhood in their diversity. New Roots served 14 Bhutanese gardeners, 12 Rohingya gardeners, and 11 Burmese gardeners during Year 3. 81% of gardeners attended at least one seasonal planting training discussed in Outcome 2.1a. In mid-March many food pantries were forced to temporarily close their doors as social distancing and stay at home orders rolled out in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To address the gap in services in Vickery Meadow, between March 18 and May 29, the IRC distributed food, cleaning supplies, PPE, diapers, and gift cards to refugees and other vulnerable immigrants. In total, 226 unique families received assistance (712+ beneficiaries) and 521 bags of food were distributed over the course of 11 weeks. 72% bags of food were distributed to females. 50% of bags were distributed to Rohingya clients and 19% of bags were distributed to Spanish-speakers. In July, the IRC received HQ support to continue New Roots' Emergency Food Distribution efforts. Since then, the IRC has distributed 382 more bags of pantry food and produce. Over 22 weeks, the IRC distributed 2,079 pounds of produce, 3,250 pounds of shelf stable food, and 523 face masks. The IRC has made over 90 food deliveries to ill, non-mobile, or newly resettled SNAP-eligible low-income clients impacted by COVID-19. Changes/Problems:In the third year of the program, the IRC, like the wider community, encountered COVID-19 related challenges that have resulted in a shift in programming. For most of Year 3, IRC prioritized supporting refugee families that were effected by COVID-19 through illness, job loss, and severe food insecurities. Instead of attending markets and selling to SNAP costumers, New Roots produce was funneled back into the refugee community completely free of charge. In the final months of Year 3, IRC's community partner, Northridge Presbyterian Church, stepped up to sponsor New Roots gardeners. This meant that gardeners donating produce to IRC's food distribution were then able to receive a stipend for their contribution. In Year 3, the IRC faced difficulties setting up SNAP vending. During Year 1 and 2, the IRC used SNAP accessible terminals made available through a partnership with Good Local Markets. Beginning in 2020, Good Local Markets no longer had extra terminals for IRC to use at the Vickery Meadow Farm Stand. The IRC has taken steps towards SNAP accessibility by becoming an FNS certified SNAP vendor, however, the financial pathways within the agency are not finalized. The finance department had to prioritize a transition to contactless payments for cash assistance clients in response to COVID-19. New Roots will continue to work with the finance department to ensure that the VMFS is able to accept SNAP payments when it is re-started after COVID-19 outbreaks subside. Over the course of the project, the IRC has found that attending and facilitating markets is both labor and time intensive for staff and clients. Increasing the number of markets is not possible with the limited FTE for staff available in Year 4. We found that direct, local corner stores and cultural food outlets could be more efficient for both staff and gardeners. In Year 4, the IRC will also focus on connecting clients to food outlets to practice direct sales and foster individual customer relationships. Instead of increasing market participation in Year 4, IRC will increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables by providing more free sources of food. This food may be sources from food pantries, IRC gardens, or partner gardens and farms. During Year 3, the New Roots program experienced staff turnover. The New Roots Coordinator separated from IRC in November 2019. The Urban Farming and Training Specialist was promoted to New Roots Coordinator in January 2020. The Urban Farm and Training Specialist position is yet to be filled due to budget constraints and an IRC-wide temporary hiring freeze during the pandemic. The New Roots Coordinator completed the Urban Farm and Training Specialist activities during this time. A Food Security Specialist began working with New Roots in May 2020 to assist with Emergency Food Distribution efforts and ensure that CFP outcomes are achieved. The New Roots program also transitioned departments in June 2020 as the Economic Empowerment Program Manager transitioned to a new role. Previously located under Economic Empowerment, program staff and management believe that given the changing landscape of food security and urban agriculture in Dallas, and because income for gardeners is so limited, the program was not serving economic outcomes, but rather health and food security outcomes. The New Roots programs now report to the Deputy Director. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Continued from above. Outcome 2.5 The IRC continued to explore options for additional land use in Year 3. During the year, the IRC explored a land use partnership with Community Beer Company, a local craft brewery. Community Beer Company offered almost a full acre for garden space at their new restaurant location, however, construction on that new site has been postponed due to COVID-19. It is unclear if this space will be available to the IRC by the end of Year 4. Additional partnership opportunities continue to be explored with USDA NRCS and Mars Hill Farm. While IRC may not secure more land for our own management, we may refer IRC clients to partner gardens/farms for access to garden space. Outcome 3.1 The IRC achieved this outcome in Years 1 and 2 with 16 total unduplicated participants engaged in Youth Food Justice (YFJ). No additional Youth Food Justice (YFJ) programming was held in Year 3 due to COVID-19 social distancing measures and because youth in other IRC programs expressed exhaustion with online activities. Additionally, after analyzing data from participant assessments, while participants expressed enjoying the programming, participants did not seem to retain lasting food navigation or nutritional knowledge. As a result of this analysis, the IRC will evaluate other more impactful ways to involve refugee youth in food and nutrition education in the future. Outcome 3.2 The IRC provides local food navigation training to refugee resettlement clients during their first 90 days in the United States through Cultural Orientation (CO) training. During Year 3, 104 households completed CO training and assessments, exceeding the initial annual goal of 50 households. Of those clients, 72% could provide directions to a source of fresh produce and core food staples within 90 days of arrival. Of the clients who completed CO training and assessments during Year 3, 48% were women. Women exhibited a 76% success rate of being able to navigate to a source of fresh food and core food staples, while men exhibited a 68% success rate. In March, market tours were suspended due to COVID-19. Approximately __ of CO clients received market tours during Year 3. Since Year 1, 375 households have received food navigation and market tours. Outcome 3.3 Due to COVID-19 forcing IRC and partner market closures during Year 3, zero SNAP-eligible households were able to utilize Double Dollars. Instead, the IRC was still able to increase access to fresh produce without markets through New Roots' Emergency Food Distribution, as described in the Changes/Problems section which was a quicker way to provide access to clients to affordable, healthy food options immediately to their household. This was deemed a better option given the extent and urgency of food insecurities within IRC clients. Since Year 1, # of SNAP households who receive food navigation tours used Double Dollars at markets. Outcome 3.4 During Year 3, 119 resettlement clients were informed of local markets during CO training, well above the target of 75 individuals. Since Year 1, 252 individuals were informed of local markets through CO, ASL classes, women's groups, and other IRC classes and programs, exceeding Year 3 goal by 12%. Outcome 3.5 The IRC reached a total of 616 individuals during Year 3. 544 individuals were reached throughsocial media postsandlocal news articlesreporting on New Roots' Emergency Food Distribution. An additional 72 individuals were reached through IRC events including markets and North Texas World Refugee Day. The IRC met and exceeded the target of reaching 100 individuals in Year 3. Since Year 1, the IRC has reached 2,735 community members through various events. Outcome 3.6 During a year when group workdays and trainings were mostly suspended, multiple urban farmers took on responsibilities and leadership roles in the gardens. There is a total of 12 MPA participants. One of those participants and his family committed extra time to assist with general maintenance around the garden. In September 2019, MPA farmer trainers held a fall planting event for the community. Other MPA farmers took on garden monitoring tasks to ensure garden tools, space, and water utilities were being accessed responsibly. Beginning in July, a small group of MPA gardeners regularly provided produce for the IRC's emergency food distribution. These six participants were heavily involved with organizing and conducting harvest events and implementing new COVID-19 safety guidelines in order to provide produce for food insecure IRC refugee families, initiating community food security support. Training Opportunities In November 2019, the Urban Farming and Training Specialist attended the New Entry Farm's National Field School Conference in Ithaca, NY. At this conference, the specialist gained access to a broader network of refugee farmer training programs, toured successful incubator farms, and learned more about facilitation and participatory planning. The knowledge gained during this conference was key in engaging farmers to take on more organized responsibilities in the garden. In December 2019, the New Roots Coordinator attended the New Entry Farm's Community Food Systems Conference in Savannah, GA. At this conference, the Coordinator learned how organizations across the nation address common underlying themes of food security, social justice and sustainable agriculture across urban and rural environments, and foster community empowerment to create resilient and equitable local food systems. The knowledge gained during this conference inspired the IRC to survey clients in order to identify food security gaps within the Dallas refugee community, the results of which will guide future food security programming. Previous trainings and professional development opportunities provided by the project include: Seeding Dallas Forum Dallas Hunger Coalition Conferences for seniors, children, faith-based communities, and urban and rural communities. Opportunities to learn on partner farms (We over Me (Paul Quinn College), Farmers Assisting Returning Military, Texas Worm Ranch, etc.) Presenting on certain topics at New Entry Farm conferences How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?New Roots reports outcomes to the Dallas office annually during a fiscal year recap all-staff meeting. The Dallas office reports outcomes to IRC HQ quarterly through Strategic Action Plan reports. IRC HQ publishes an annual report of IRC work across the globe that is available online and disseminated widely to donors and stakeholders. Additionally, the IRC's Executive Director regularly disseminates programming updates to refugee stakeholder groups through monthly Dallas Area Refugee Forum meetings and quarterly Metroplex Refugee Network and consultation meetings. The IRC is also in consistent communication with community partners, reporting shared outcomes and goals along with partnership needs. Community partners that sponsored gardeners during the pandemic received monthly farmer profiles. These profiles allow gardeners to share their story with people that support their work. New Roots' Emergency Food Distribution efforts throughout the pandemic were reported on by several media outlets. KERA, the Dallas local NPR station, and Public Radio International ran stories on the efforts. The New Roots Coordinator was also highlighted in the Best of Big D Frontline Heroes issue of D Magazine. These stories highlighted food security issues facing the target community and disseminated information about IRC efforts to the Dallas community. The IRC regularly shares progress on USDA CFP outcomes with clients. The IRC provides monthly market and harvest reports, and shares individual gardener improvements through annual evaluations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In Year 4, New Roots will continue to build on the momentum and capacity built in the first three years of the program to continue to reach the outcome goals. The Project Change submission from Year 2 has laid out achievable goals that better fit the needs of the target community. As the IRC in Dallas continues to diversify its client base in response to community need, New Roots will also continue to expand programming to include other vulnerable, low-income, and immigrant populations, beyond refugees, to address and meet food security needs in Dallas. The IRC's main focus for Goal 1 during Year 4 will be pivoting away from the EBT/Fresh Fund model to provide completely free food to clients through the IRC office, home deliveries, and food pantry referrals. New Roots will continue to procure donated produce from partner farms and greenhouses in efforts to increase the amount of produce available. New Roots gardeners will receive stipends for donating produce to IRC. IRC will continue to inform clients of local markets with SNAP matching capabilities. This pivot is to support the increased local food security needs of target populations as a result of COVID-19. To achieve Goal 2, New Roots will continue to support refugee and immigrant farmers by providing training, growing space, and other opportunities for farmers to earn additional income. Deepening partnerships with Big Tex and Restorative Farms offer new and advanced training opportunities. New Roots will also continue to explore old and new partnerships to secure an additional half-acre of land before the end of Year 4. To meet Goal 3, New Roots will expand Food Navigation services offered to help newly-arrived refugee families quickly adapt to their new food system. This will orient new clients on local food pantries, SNAP-accessible farmers' markets, ethnic food sources, and resources to reapply for SNAP benefits. New Roots will also focus on spreading market information to specific groups listed in Outcome 3.4, and encouraging those individuals to utilize Double Dollars at markets as listed in Outcome 3.3.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Outcome 1.1 In the months before the COVID-19 outbreak, the International Rescue Committee in Dallas (IRC) planned on participating in four SNAP accessible markets: Good Local Market at White Rock, Good Local Market at Lakewood, and two locations of the Vickery Meadow Farm Stand. Due to social distancing measures implemented after COVID-19, the IRC was only able to attend markets from October 2019 through February 2020. During that time, the IRC attended 9 total markets and conducted 3 wholesale sales, selling a total of $1,170 in refugee grown produce. Beginning in March 2020, the IRC was no longer able to safely conduct large group harvests in the urban gardens, and markets were suspended. Once safety measures were put in place, the IRC began harvesting again in small groups, however, the produce was used to meet the food security needs of IRC clients instead of being sold at market. Since Year 1 of this grant, the IRC has attended or held 45 markets at 3 locations; these markets were located in zip codes 75231, 75218, and 75214. That averages to 1.6 markets per month during market season (March-November). Outcome 1.2 In Year 3, the IRC conducted outreach to 60 families at the North Texas World Refugee Day event and 226 families via emergency food distributions, totaling 286 families. Since Year 1, the IRC has conducted outreach to 1,023 families. The 4 year goal was exceeded in Year 3 by 70.5%. Outcome 1.3 Through markets and emergency food distribution efforts in Year 3, the IRC provided Vickery Meadow and surrounding neighborhoods with 2,972.4 pounds of fresh produce, surpassing our Year 3 goal of 2,500 pounds. Of this produce, 2,290.7 pounds were given away for free at Vickery Meadow Farm Stand locations to address the food security needs of SNAP-eligible low-income refugees in the wake of COVID-19 layoffs and furloughs. The produce was provided by the IRC Micro Production Academy (MPA) farmers and Big Tex of the Texas State Fair, a partner organization. 4,474.4 pounds of produce have been distributed or sold since Year 1. Outcome 1.4 Due to COVID-19, the IRC was required to suspend markets in March to keep staff and clients safe. As produce grown was given away (instead of sold) to support the food security needs of SNAP-eligible low-income populations in Vickery Meadow as a result of COVID-19, sales were limited. Because of the limited sales period in Year 3, only one individual was enrolled in the Fresh Fund program. The IRC did not complete any EBT transactions during Year 3. Outcome 1.5 This outcome was met as the IRC had 13,095 square feet of urban land in production during Year 3. This includes land from five IRC gardens (Live Oak Community Garden, Central Lutheran Garden, Seeds of Hope Garden, Our Lady of Chairty Garden, and Temple Emanu-El Garden) and two community partner gardens (Big Tex of the Texas State Fair and Restorative Farms) growing plants for IRC gardeners. The land is estimated to have yielded produce worth $58,000, reaching the target. In Year 2, 1,224 square feet were added with the addition of Temple Emanu-El and Central Lutheran Gardens. In year 3 1,359 square feet were added through expansion of the Central Lutheran Garden, and through partnership with Big Tex, Restorative Farms, and In My Shoes Garden. Outcome 2.1a The IRC welcomed 15 new community gardeners to the program in Year 3, 12 of whom are women. Since Year 1, 56 community gardeners have been recruited. During Year 3, a total of 37 gardeners were engaged in programming. Gardeners range in age from 26 to 67 and come from Burma, Bhutan, and Indonesia. All gardeners live in zip codes 75231 and 75031. During Year 3, 29 number of trainings were conducted with active gardeners. In March 2020, the IRC suspended typical large group trainings to limit health risks to clients. Instead, farmers received individual training. All 15 new gardeners completed basic garden trainings, which take approximately 1.5 hours each. During basic garden trainings, clients are made familiar with garden rules, proper use of garden equipment and soil amendments, emergency/safety protocols, and given materials and assistance with initial garden bed preparation and planting. 14 seasonal planting trainings were held; five of these took place in the fall 2019. One training on the proper planting techniques and plant care for cool season crops in each of the five IRC gardens were held for a total of 5 trainings. In spring of 2020, 9 socially-distanced small group training days took place across the five garden sites. Gardeners received similar training for warm season crops. Seasonal planting trainings took 1-3 hours depending on the size of the group and individual gardener experience level. Typically, the IRC would conduct more specific and advanced agricultural/market trainings, however, 28% of gardeners are over 60 and/or have known health issues that make them more susceptible to contracting severe cases of COVID-19. IRC considered this risk and decided to only conduct trainings that were crucial to maintaining production, such as basic garden trainings for new gardeners and seasonal planting trainings for continuing gardeners. To supplement this loss, the IRC national team collaborated to create a YouTube channel and developed gardening videos and tutorials for clients. The channel currently has 33 videos, covering topics such as seasonal garden preparation, shade structure building techniques, crop specific nutrition, and COVID updates. If large group gatherings continue to be suspended in Year 4, gardeners would benefit from expanding the language options for online gardening videos and tutorials. Trainings on transitioning gardeners to commercial farmers and/or small business developers were not administered. IRC Dallas clients live in a very urban setting which is not conducive to the scale of commercial farming. Additionally, client feedback suggests that most gardeners are satisfied with their level of involvement in the program. While many gardeners express interest in learning about sales and financial tracking, very few have interest in being a full-time commercial farmer. In Year 4, IRC aims to provide gardeners with some small business trainings, such as garden budgeting, sales tracking, and customer relation development. Outcome 2.1b IRC total profit in Year 1 were $1,550.06, averaging $91.18 per market. Year 2 profit was $2,569.11, a 65% increase from Year 1 and an average of $135.22 per market. Year 3 profit totaled $1,170.00, averaging $130 per market. Although the IRC did not make 25% more total profit in Year 3, this outcome was still achieved. The IRC exceeded this goal in under two years as total profit increased by 65% from Year 1 to Year 2. There were fewer markets in Year 3 due to COVID-19, however, average profit per market increased by 42.6% from Year 1 to Year 3. Outcome 2.2 Of the 52 gardeners that participated during Year 1, 46 of them remained in the program for at least two years. 88% of gardeners remain involved after two years in the program. Outcome 2.3 The Live Oak Garden (GICD) continued production in Year 3. Fourteen farmers harvested 992.7 pounds of produce for markets and emergency food distributions from the land. Since Year 1, 2,494.7 pounds of produce have been harvested for market and food pantries from this 4,608 sq ft garden. Outcome 2.4 Production in the Central Lutheran Church Garden continued in Year 3 and has expanded. In Year 3, the Central Lutheran Church has expanded by 10 new raised beds (576 sq ft total) which were utilized by 5 of the new gardeners. Since Year 1, the garden has expanded by 1,728 sq ft. Outcomes 2.5 - 3.6 continued in response to question below.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Dallas resettles a majority of its refugee clients in Vickery Meadow, primarily because of the availability of affordable housing. Vickery Meadow is the most racially and economically diverse community in Dallas County, Texas, with approximately 23,000 residents in an area that spans 2.9 square miles. As of 2010, 88.1% of residents were people of color, and as of 2012, 46.7% of residents were foreign-born. In the first year of the CFP Cultivating Community Food Capacity project, the IRC's New Roots program in Dallas engaged this community through farmer training, outreach, youth program, and market outlets. The target audience was representative of the Vickery Meadow neighborhood in its diversity. To this end, the farmer training program provided training and technical assistance to 12 Bhutanese refugee growers in production, post-harvest skills, and marketing techniques. Although the trainings are intended and required for the enrolled growers, additional family members and friends often joined the workshops and trainings held at the IRC office and the Live Oak Community Garden. The outreach for the market was focused on trainings and gatherings at the IRC, through flyers and posters at key organizations in Vickery Meadow, including Northwest Community Center (NCC) and Literacy Achieves, and at neighborhood events. Through the Youth Food Justice Internship component of the project, the IRC recruited eight high school students from the Vickery Meadow community to participate in a job readiness and community engagement program. These eight students were former refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burma and Sudan. Clients in this cohort, which increased 33% in participation from last year, spoke seven languages. To sell produce, this year the IRC New Roots program positioned itself at Good Local Market's White Rock Market, a few miles away from the Vickery Meadow neighborhood. This market is a traditional urban farmer's market that is SNAP accessible through a token system. Through partnership with Good Local Market, IRC was also able to support a SNAP-accessible monthly farm stand at NCC during resource distribution days. The NCC Farm Stand served 33 shoppers (94% women) with SNAP Market Match, potentially feeding 154 individuals based on the shoppers' household sizes. Changes/Problems:The Cultivating Community Capacity project has seen significant success and movement towards greater food access through the USDA's CFP funding. As IRC is finishing year 2 of 4 of the project, evidence has supported a better understanding of the changing context and needs of the community. Therefore, in October of 2019, the IRC in Dallas submitted a Project Change request, with changes made to Goal 1 and its corresponding outcomes, as well as three other outcomes under Goals 2 and 3. These changes were made in order to better align the project with activities that were already occurring within the community to promote the same outcomes. Goal 1 has been changed to read: "Increase access to familiar and healthy food options through a comprehensive community garden and marketing program in neighborhoods of high refugee and immigrant community members." The IRC has started a new SNAP and incentive-accessible farm stand within the Vickery Meadow community, but there have been delays in the sales and momentum-build of the stand. Going into Year 3, the IRC would like to incorporate existing New Roots Programming successes by better capturing the impact of the community garden spaces New Roots co-manages. The five community garden spaces that New Roots works in provide growing space and support to refugee and immigrant community members. Based on a participant survey done in 2019, 83% of participants reported that they rely on the garden to feed their family and 100% of participants reported improvements in their health from participating. Under Goal 1, we have modified two outcomes and introduced a third that measures the square footage of garden space, in order to align with this inclusion of the impact of community gardens. Under Goal 2, Outcome 2.4 was updated to reflect a change in partnership from Our Lady of Charity Parish to Central Lutheran Community Garden. With regard to Goal 3, the IRC has learned that the capacity of youth enrolled into the youth program is not at the level needed to help community members reapply for SNAP. In the last few years, however, there has been an increase in support from other organizations and Health and Human Services Commission offices, which serve as a great resource to help families reapply for SNAP. The gap that the IRC has identified is focused rather on navigating the local food systems and the education around when and where to go for SNAP reapplication services. We have made modifications to Outcomes 3.2 and 3.3 to emphasize the provision of education on navigating the local food systems as clients are entering into the US. This will be done by established staff members who work closely with newly arrived families and other community partners, rather than by youth program participants. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Urban Farm and Training Specialist attended the New Entry Farm's National Field School Conference in November 2018 in Boulder, CO. At this conference, the specialist gained access to a broader network of refugee farmer training programs, presented about sourcing culturally appropriate seeds, and learned more about facilitation and participatory planning. This new knowledge directly impacted the trainings the specialist conducted with refugee famers at the beginning of the 2019 growing season, which led to a Training of Trainers workshop and the subsequent election of two farmers to take on leadership positions in the garden. The Urban Farm and Training Specialist also visited the New Roots program at the IRC's office in Tucson, Arizona. This visit provided an opportunity to share best practices and resources particular to food access programming specific to refugees and immigrants. The Urban Farm and Training Specialist was also able to attend the Dallas Hunger Summit, a one day summit bringing together organizations working towards hunger relief in Dallas. This opportunity helped staff gain understanding of the greater work being done in Dallas towards food security, gain public policy knowledge on impactful policies affecting the community, and network to build new relationships. The New Roots Coordinator participated in the International Rescue Committee's Learning Collaborative Cohort. The collaborative focused on aligning program activities with strategic planning in program design, monitoring and evaluation, data collection, introduction to research, and the IRC's evidence-based model, known as the Outcomes and Evidence Framework. The Outcomes and Evidence Framework is a strategic planning guide that ensures programming is successful in creating measurable, positive changes in people's lives, and fulfilling the overall mission of the IRC. The knowledge gained through this collaborative was directly applied to the project through improved data tracking tools, program evaluation techniques, and better data analysis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The IRC is in consistent communication with community partners, reporting shared outcomes and goals along with partnership needs. Additionally, the New Roots Coordinator presented at the Texas Hunger Initiative's Summit, Together at the Table: Hunger and Poverty Summit, on November 7th, 2019. The New Roots Coordinator gave a presentation on how IRC was tracking not only food security, but the increase in social capital amongst participants who garden. The Urban Farm and Training Specialist presented on working with diverse farmers and sourcing culturally appropriate seeds as part of a panel at the New Entry's National Field School conference in Boulder, CO. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In Year 3, New Roots will continue to build on the momentum and capacity built in the first two years of the program to continue to reach the outcome goals. Barriers to achieving some outcomes have been addressed in the Project Change submission, which will help us better achieve the overall goals. As the IRC Dallas continues to diversify its client base in response to community needs, New Roots will also continue to expand its programming to include other vulnerable, low-income, and immigrant populations to address and meet food security needs in Dallas. In Goal 1, New Roots has a robust community gardening program for the refugee and immigrant community. Partnering with six community organizations, schools, and churches, New Roots helps coordinate enrollment for the gardens in addition to providing general maintenance. To capture the true impact of these garden spaces, the estimated dollar amount of food grown within these gardens will be calculated towards Goal 1. The calculation is a common calculation used amongst the community garden community for intensely grown areas. The estimate per square foot of garden is $1.50 per square of garden space per season. In Year 3, New Roots will use the calculation to better estimate the impact of these garden spaces for community members to be more food secure. New Roots plans to procure additional produce from local farmers to sell alongside the New Roots' farmers' produce to increase the pounds of produce available at market outlets. New Roots also plans to involve gardeners in marketing directly to individual consumers such as restaurants and small businesses. In addition, New Roots will record outreach numbers and impact in a more systematic manner in order to preserve accuracy of program data. In Goal 2, New Roots will continue to support refugee and immigrant farmers by providing training, growing space, and other opportunities for farmers to earn additional income. New partnerships are emerging as the City of Dallas and other groups are turning their focus to local food production. In Goal 3, New Roots will pilot a new Food Access Navigator initiative to help newly-arrived families to quickly adapt to their new food system. This will orient new clients on local food pantries, SNAP accessible farmer's markets, and resources to reapply for SNAP benefits. New Roots will also focus on spreading market information to specific groups listed in outcome 3.4.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The response to welcoming refugees and immigrants in the United States has been a topic of national interest this year, but it has also been a unifying topic among the Dallas community. The New Roots program has been a consistent and welcoming face connecting new community members to Dallas neighborhoods through the growing and selling of food. In Year 2, New Roots served 57 refugee and immigrant families in food-growing activities. Of these 57 families, 40 participated in New Roots-provided garden spaces and are community gardeners, and 17 participated in the farmer training program. These programs help supplement food security needs and money savings, but also help participants to build social capital within their community. In Year 2, New Roots had 11,584 square feet of space in production, and an estimated $52,128 worth of food was grown and consumed. In the farmer training program, a total of 932 pounds of produce was taken to market outlets. This represents a 68% increase in overall amount and a 72% increase in sales from Year 1. Lastly, during the summer the New Roots program engaged eight refugee youth in a Youth Food Justice internship, catering to high school-aged students who are not involved in other academically-inclined summer programs because of their recent arrival to the country and limited English ability. Through the program these students increase their social capacity by being a part of a small cohort and have the opportunity to work with eight different community organizations and businesses working in food justice. Outcome 1.1: IRC participated in two markets in Year 2: Good Local Markets' White Rock Market and the Vickery Meadow Farm Stand. In these two markets, the IRC attended 19 total market days and farmers made a total of $2,554 in sales, increasing total sales by 72% as compared to Year 1. This increase in sales and the addition of a market was due to the capacity built in Year 1 by hiring an additional staff member focused on farmer training and markets, as well as the partnership built with the property owners of the Vickery Meadow Farm Stand. Outcome 1.2:The IRC was able to reach families in the Vickery Meadow community by conducting the Vickery Meadow Farm Stand at Northwest Community Center during their Resource Distribution Days. Northwest Community Center serves between 230 and 260 families on each Resource Distribution Day, a program in which low-income neighbors in need can receive diapers, dry food goods, and household supplies for free. The presence of the Vickery Meadow Farm Stand at the Resource Distribution Days allowed the IRC to inform hundreds of families of our SNAP-accessible markets. The IRC was also able to reach 600 individuals through its participation in World Refugee Day. World Refugee Day is a celebratoryevent organized yearly by the IRC, other resettlement agencies, and local community organizations. New Roots participated by selling vegetables and conducting outreach to the attendees to increase both market and garden participation. Outcome 1.3: 932 pounds of produce were harvested for the White Rock Farmers Market and the Vickery Meadow Farm Stand. This was an increase by 68% from Year 1. The IRC contributes this increase to the increase in staff capacity, with the addition of the farm specialist. While the pounds of produce projected in the outcome has not yet been reached or surpassed at this point, the IRC is strategizing to source additional produce so more food can be available at the markets in the future, especially at the Vickery Meadow Farm Stand Outcome 1.4: The IRC enrolled 33 shoppers in the first year of the Fresh Fund program. Through a partnership with Good Local Markets, the IRC's Vickery Meadow Farm Stand was SNAP-accessible with a 1:1 match on all SNAP sales. Although this falls short of the expected outcome, IRC feels confident that there will be increased participation as momentum and awareness builds for the Vickery Meadow Farm Stand. New Roots expects to see a significant increase of participation in Fresh Fund when the second location of the Vickery Meadow Farm Stands opens in spring 2020. This second location is near an intersection central to the Vickery Meadow community, and the vegetables will be sold during the time when parents pick children up from school. Outcome 2.1: A total of five new farmers were enrolled in the farmer training program this year. Farmers who were enrolled in the Micro-Production Academy in 2018 saw at least a 38% increased profit in 2019. Our most improved farmer saw a 136% increase in sales. Outcome 2.2: IRC will report on this outcome in Year 3. Outcome 2.3: Live Oak Community Garden, in partnership with GICD, was used for production in Year 1 and Year 2. Seventeen farmers each received 384 square feet of space and a total of 932 pounds of produce was taken to market in Year 2. Outcome 2.4: Phase 1 of the production space at Central Lutheran Community Garden was completed and six new families had access to growing space in the gardens. Please note that the location for the production garden has been moved to Central Lutheran Community Garden rather than Our Lady of Charity Parish. Please refer to the Changes/Problems section, or the Project Change submission, for more information. Outcome 2.5: Outcome to be addressed in Year 3 and 4. Outcome 3.1: Eight Youth Food Justice participants engaged in and completed a seven-week internship in June and July of 2019. They increased their knowledge of healthy foods and sustainable agriculture, gained soft skills, and built social capital within the greater Dallas community by networking with eight local food justice organizations and companies. Outcome 3.2: Outcome was not addressed in Year 2. Please refer to the Changes/Problems section, or the Project Change submission, for more information. Outcome 3.3: Outcome was not addressed in Year 2. Please refer to the Changes/Problems section, or the Project Change submission, for more information. Outcome 3.4: New Roots began a relationship with two women's shelters in West Dallas, informing 20 women of the farmer's markets. Additionally, 4 women were informed at a Child Care Career Pathway Workshop held at the IRC. Outcome 3.5: IRC reached more than 600 individuals through the World Refugee Day Celebration in June 2019, where New Roots participants sold produce. Outcome 3.6: IRC conducted two Training of Trainer workshops in Year 2. Nine participants from the farmer training program participated in the workshops and two participants were elected by their peers to help with data tracking and seasonal planting accountability.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Under the standards of the IRC's Food Secure Resettlement Initiative, which defines food security as the ability to acquire culturally appropriate foods that are also affordable and accessible, Vickery Meadow is considered a food desertfor newly arrived refugees. Although there are a number of grocery stores in the neighborhood, none meet all three criteria of affordability, accessibility and cultural relevance. Furthermore, while many refugees come to the United States with agricultural experience and have the knowledge and capacity to grow their own food, it is extremely difficult to locate land for agricultural production in the urban, densely populated area of Vickery Meadow. Vickery Meadow is the most racially and economically diverse community in Dallas County, Texas, with approximately 23,000 residents in an area that spans 2.9 square miles. As of 2010, 88.1% of residents were people of color, and as of 2012, 46.7% of residents were foreign-born. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Dallas resettles an overwhelming majority of its refugee clients in Vickery Meadow, primarily due to availability of affordable housing. In the first year of the CFP Cultivating Community Food Capacity project, the IRC's New Roots program in Dallas engaged the community through farmer training, outreach, youth program, and market outlets. The target audience for IRC in Dallas' CFP project is representative of the Vickery Meadow neighborhood in diversity, and the 2017-2018 farmer training program provided training and technical assistance to 12 Bhutanese refugee growers in production, post-harvest skills, and marketing techniques. Although the trainings are intended and required for the enrolled growers, additional family members and friends often joined the workshops and trainings held at the IRC office and the Live Oak Community Garden. Outreach for the market was focused on trainings and gatherings at the IRC, through flyers and posters at key organizations in Vickery Meadow, including Northwest Community Center and Literacy Achieves, and at neighborhood events. Through the Youth Food Justice internship component of the project, six high school students from the Vickery Meadow community participated in job readiness and community engagement activities. The IRC recruited twice as many Youth Food Justice student interns as it did the previous year. This year's cohort included refugee students from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar and Ethiopia, and collectively they spoke over nine languages. To sell produce, this year IRC established a vendor booth at Good Local Market's White Rock Market six miles away from the Vickery Meadow neighborhood. This market is a traditional urban farmer's market that is SNAP-accessible through a token system. Changes/Problems:In Year 1, New Roots encountered unexpected outcomes and barriers due to changing context. Focusing on increasing food access through market outlets, New Roots discovered the network of direct marketing and sales occurring within the target communities' neighborhoods. New Roots provides access to valuable urban land for marginalized community members to grow food. The White Rock Local Market has been a beneficial entry point for New Roots farmers to better understand seasonality, marketing strategy, and growing different types of crops for consumers. These valuable learnings will transfer well into the second year of the project as future market outlets will focus more in the Vickery Meadow community. Necessary partnerships and research was accomplished in Year 1 for New Roots to better understand the permits required to establish a market outlet in Dallas. One of the major partnerships with Texas Health Resources, a local hospital network, will provide a space within the neighborhood to start a farm stand. With this new partnership and increased training for farmers on tracking direct sales, New Roots will continue to work towards the target outcomes of pounds of produce, markets, and the Fresh Fund program. With the delay of starting a farm stand in the Vickery Meadow community, other outcomes were delayed, including the start of a Fresh Fund program and outreach opportunities for the Youth Food Justice Interns. Some barriers the team discovered in starting a farm stand included establishing a partnership with a site that was privately owned and zoned appropriately and researching the necessary permits, permissions, and applications. Although the partnership is now established, this delayed New Roots from launching the Fresh Fund program and providing market tours in Year 1. As New Roots began to increase programming for this project, it was recognized that greater capacity was needed outside of the hired staff and their time. With 79 total clients in the New Roots program involved in either community gardens or the MPA program, there was not enough capacity to meet the objectives of starting a market in Goal 1, having enough produce to take to the market, and increase valuable partnerships. As a part-time farm manager was hired in February to work with the MPA program, it became evident that their skills and talents could be utilized as a full-time position. By increasing the farm manager's time, they would be able to manage more participants in the MPA program as it grows from year to year. In Year 2, the program anticipates enrolling five more participants in the MPA and six more families in the community gardens. Their time would be spent providing trainings and workshops in sustainable agriculture and gardening as well as leadership skills. As the program increases the amount of land it grows on and the number of participants, ultimately more food can be grown and sold into the local communities. Consequently, more families would have supplemental income and communities would be strengthened. New Roots feels confident with the strong base of capacity building that was established in Year 1 to continue to progress towards the three goals. The program continues to shape its project through effective relationships with community members and partners who inform how the local food systems can be strengthened in Dallas. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The IRC participated in relevant conferences and workshops during Year 1. New Roots staff attended the Community Food Systems Conference in December 2017, hosted by New Entry Farms. Staff were able to meet key New Entry and NIFA staff during the conference, and key takeaways aside from networking include learning from other programs across the country that are carrying out innovative food systems work. IRC also attended the Dallas Hunger Summit in September 2017, hosted by Texas Hunger Initiative. At this conference, IRC established a key partnership with Central Lutheran Church, a future farm site, and staff gathered information about food policy in Dallas and Texas. Program participants including community gardeners and farmers attended the Seeding Dallas Forum and the Grow North Texas Building Raised Beds workshop. The Seeding Dallas Forum allowed staff and participants to share best practices in community gardening and organic gardening with varied workshops around soil health, garden management, seasonal planting and other networking opportunities. At the Raised Beds workshop, participants built raised beds at a community space while learning about the tools and materials needed. Additionally, six growers in the farmer training program visited Paul Quinn College's We Over Me farm in April 2018 to learn about their production-based small farm using sustainable practices. Moreover, two Youth Food Justice Interns traveled to New York to attend the Rooted in Community Summit, a youth led food justice conference. There, the interns shared with youth from around the country the food justice work in Dallas and learn from other communities. They were also able to meet refugee youth from other IRC New Roots programs. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Formative evaluation conducted by the outside evaluator, Dr. Manuel Piña Jr., for the Cultivating Community Food Capacity project has been shared quarterly to New Roots staff based on surveys, four observations, and interviews staff and participants. Dr. Piña was involved from the beginning of the project to help analyze workflow processes, identify appropriate data tracking tools for the objectives and goals, and analyze participant surveys, interviews, and staff reflections of the project activities. Analysis of the Youth Food Justice Internship program conducted by a Masters in Social Work intern was presented to the cohort of social work interns, the preceptor, and New Roots Staff. Additionally, analysis of community food access data collected over the past five years of the New Roots program conducted by a Master's in Public Health student was presented to her cohort and New Roots staff. As participant surveying, focus groups, and conclusive analysis of the impact of the project is complete for FY2018, New Roots is prepared to share the information to key stakeholders including community members, community partners, and to potential new funding opportunities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For Goal 1, in Year 2 the IRC will focus on tracking direct sales of farmers within their neighborhood, rather than only tracking the produce yield sold at the Good Local Markets farm stand. This will more accurately capture the pounds of produce harvested through access to New Roots Programs. In addition, new community markets within the Vickery Meadow neighborhood will increase farmers' sales within their neighborhood. Additional farmer training will be provided to build farmer capacity to track sales and produce yields on their own. The IRC will establish the Vickery Meadow farm stand in Year 2 with community partner, Texas Health Resources, and begin the Fresh Fund program. At the same time, the IRC will engage in continued outreach for SNAP accessible markets and fresh, local produce for the Vickery Meadow neighborhood. IRC New Roots has identified successful low-income markets in the Dallas area that can be a model for the Vickery Meadow farm stand. In Year 2, Goal 2 will continue to engage and support current farmers enrolled in the Micro-Producer Academy. Five additional farmers will be trained as micro-producers and placed at the newly finished Central Lutheran community garden. The IRC will increase education and network of local food through small businesses, restaurant, and other farms through trainings and farm visits for the farmers enrolled in the Micro-Producer Academy. At the newly established Central Lutheran community garden, the in-ground garden beds will be completed in Year 2. They will serve as production beds for micro-producer farmers at Central Lutheran garden. The IRC will also continue to develop new partnerships and opportunities for increased land use for future community gardens across Dallas. For Goal 3, Year 2 will focus on engaging at least four more student interns in the Youth Food Justice program. Once the Vickery Meadow farm stand has been established, youth interns will play a pivotal role in conducting outreach for the market by leading farmer's market tours for community members. The IRC plans to establish new partnerships with social service organizations that specialize in SNAP reapplications, and will coordinate with partner organizations to assist with SNAP reapplication at the farm stand or at a nearby community center. In Year 2 the IRC will build farmers' leadership capacity within New Roots programs, working from the foundation of shared knowledge, rapport, and community established in the past. In Year 2, six people involved in New Roots programs will participate in a Training of Trainers (ToT) leadership workshop. The IRC plans to deliver the ToT workshop to at least one community leader at each New Roots garden, empowering the ToT trained leaders to facilitate specialized farm workshops and community meetings quarterly. ToT trained leaders will co-facilitate trainings with New Roots staff during the Year 2 seasonal Micro-Producer Academy training program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the first year of the project, New Roots focused on capacity building by hiring staff and recruiting volunteers, creating a base of curriculumand trainings, and increasing critical partnerships to strengthen the local food system. Addressing these issues with a holistic approach, New Roots had 68 participants enrolled in the program. Of this, 51 of them were growing for family consumption and 17 were growing for production to sell at market outlets. The farmers received five trainings through the IRC's Micro-Producer Academy (MPA)curriculum, which helped bridge the gap in understanding regional seasonality, best practices in sustainable agriculture, and beginner marketing and sales skills. A total of 555 pounds of produce was sold at Good Local Market's White Rock Market,a SNAP-accessible market located six miles from the Vickery Meadow community. Additionally, two critical partnerships were established: 1. with a local church with one-third of an acre for increasing produce production for Year 2 and 2. a local hospital system, which owns the property that will host a farm stand in the Vickery Meadow community. Refugees by nature are extremely resourceful, and one way this is expressed is in how refugee farmers sell directly within their own communities. New Roots farmers have practiced this form of marketing in their neighborhood of Vickery Meadow for years. IRC's Micro-Producer Academy instruction intends not to eradicate these traditional customs of food sharing, but to enhance them by introducing farmers to market sales concepts. In this way, IRC is honoring the cultural practices of refugee farmers while equipping them with job skills to increase their earning power. High school-aged youth are also participating in the project through the Youth Food Justice (YFJ) internship. Six youth were engaged this summer in farm work, sustainable agriculture lessons, kitchen skills, and soft skills while assessing the community food needs. The curriculum was designed to engage underserved youth during the summer months in hands-on work projects, soft skills building, and social justice awareness, all while building valuable social bonds with other Dallas school district students and the greater Dallas community. Goal 1 Outcome 1.1 IRC participated in a partner's Good Local Markets White Rock Market during the 2018 seasons. As a non-profit market working towards similar goals of food access, Good Local Market was a natural partnership as they are a SNAP-accessible market. New Roots participated in 14 market weeks. During the growing season, significant gains in fostering relationships with farmers and trainings on seasonality and timely planting was executed to ensure farmers have the skills to grow year around. The skills and network built among the refugee community was also realized this year as IRC discovered that farmers were selling produce directly within their communities and apartments. New Roots is planning to capture more data on this in the coming years. Outcome 1.2 At the end of the first year, IRC had reached 118 individuals, with a focus on disseminating information about the New Roots program and the Good Local Market White Rock Market at nutrition and health workshops, a World Refugee Day event, and flyers and posters at key organizations in the neighborhood. This data was collected by tallying participant numbers at these events. Outcome 1.3 555 pounds of produce were harvested and sold at the White Rock Market in Year 1. New Roots participated in fourteen markets and generated $1,482 in sales. Through aggregate sales, 100% of the sales went back to the farmers who grew the produce. As farmers also sell directly within their neighborhoods, New Roots hopes to capture this data in the coming year. Due to slow start up and fewer markets than expected there was we were short on this outcome but are hopeful with increasing land, partnerships, and tracking systems, we will reach this outcome for Year 2. Outcome 1.4 The Fresh Fund program did not start this year, partially because the primary market stand at White Rock Local Market is frequented mostly by shoppers not utilizing SNAP. However, with the new plan being forged with Texas Health Resources to establish a market stand at the Northwest Community Center in Vickery Meadow, SNAP shoppers will soon gain access to a New Roots market within walking distance from their homes. Outcome 1.5 In tandem with Outcome 1.4 listed above, New Roots plans to purchase its own SNAP machine using funds from another private grant. Currently, New Roots is borrowing the SNAP machine owned by Good Local Markets, the entity that runs the White Rock Local Market. Owning its own SNAP machine and bringing it to the new market site in Vickery Meadow will give New Roots the agency to cater to SNAP shoppers more easily. Goal 2 Outcome 2.1 In the first year, 5 farmers were enrolled and 17 farmers completed the 5-week workshop series, totaling 20 hours of classroom training per farmer and meeting this outcome. Outcome 2.2 IRC will report on this outcome in Year 3. Outcome 2.3 Live Oak Community Garden, in partnership with GICD was used for production in Year 1. Seventeen farmers each received 384 square feet to use and 555 pounds of produce was taken to market in the 2018 growing season. Outcome 2.4 A new partnership for production farm space has been established as an alternative to Our Lady of Charity Parish. The IRC maintains a strong working partnership to operate the community garden existing on the property, but the new partner, Central Lutheran Church, offers a much closer and more accessible space for gardeners from the Vickery Meadow community. This will also allow for a more production-based space. Outcome 2.5 Outcome to be addressed in Year 3 and 4. Goal 3 Outcome 3.1 Six Youth Food Justice student interns engaged in and completed a six-week internship in June and July of 2018. They increased their knowledge of healthy foods and sustainable agriculture, gained soft skills, and built social capital within the greater Dallas community by networking with local food justice organizations and companies. Outcome 3.2 IRC was delayed in launching its market tours due to building a partnership with Texas Health Resources to establish a market within Vickery Meadow. Market tours will be a focus for 2019 as a farm stand is established in the Vickery Meadow communitywhere 200 households will receive market tours by the end of Year 4. Outcome 3.3 As noted above, IRC was delayed in launching its market tours.Once market tours begin in 2019, IRC will increase engagement with individuals in the Vickery Meadow community who receive assistance. Outcome 3.4 IRC exceeded its Year 1 goal for Outcome 3.4, as 118 people were informed of New Roots Program and White Rock Market. Outcome 3.5 IRC reached more than 1,500 individuals through the World Refugee Day Celebration in June 2018, where New Roots participants sold produce. Outcome 3.6 IRC will begin to address this outcome in Year 2. Training of Trainers in leadership will be conducted in Year 2 with New Roots farmers and community gardeners. A participant from each of the five gardener cohorts will be trained to facilitate future meetings and workshops.
Publications
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