Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:During this grant period our efforts have reached immigrant and refugee farmers, teenaged youth with new American backgrounds, and food-insecure families, in the greater areas of Concord and Manchester, NH. The farmers and youth in our program represent various countries of origin including Somalia, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Mexico, Nepal, and Bhutan. Within this group of refugee and immigrant farmers, we separated participants into three target audiences: 1) teenaged youth, 2) beginning farmers with 0-2 years of experience, 3) advanced farmers with 3-8 years of experience farming with the program and are ready to launch an independent farm enterprise. Activities over the grant period were directed towardss each group based on their level of experience, with some activities involving multiple groups in different capacities. Low-income and socially disadvantaged families suffering from food insecurity were a particular target audience for our efforts to increase the affordable availability of culturally appropriate, locally-grown produce, particularly for the portions of the project which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased need for affordable and donated culturally appropriate, locally-grown produce. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?17 Beginning Farmer Workshops were hosted by ORIS, delivered through a mixture of in-person and virtual formats. We found that Agricultural ESL curriculum is best delivered in small amounts over a longer timeframe. Thus, rather than including Workshops dedicated specifically to Agricultural ESL, this was incorporated throughout each workshop taught. Agricultural ESL topics covered vegetable names, units of sale (by the pound, bunch, unit), and conversational English for farmers market sales. The workshop topics overall included: market opportunities/overview, season preparation and ordering seeds, financial literacy, customer acquisition and retention, farm planning, business planning, integrated pest management, starting the season, food safety, farm policies, small fruit production, post-harvest handling, food safety, season extension, record keeping, crop scheduling, and quality, sizing and pricing. Some of these topics are repeated year over year to keep the learnings fresh in farmers' minds and to allow incremental growth in skills over time. 16 Advanced Farmer Workshops were hosted by ORIS, delivered through a mixture of in-person and virtual formats. ORIS staff, project partners, and industry professionals collaborated throughout the term of the project to deliver comprehensive learning on agricultural practices, marketing, financial literacy, and business panning. All workshops incorporated and/or focused on ethnic crops. Topics included pest and disease management, greenhouse seedling production, whole farm planning, wholesale best practices, financial literacy, food safety and cold storage, marketing and customer service, technology, land lease agreements, irrigation management, post-harvest handling, and farm budgets. Some topics were repeated year over year to maximize farmers' knowledge retention and growth. Over the course of the project, participating farmers received more than 5,700 hours of technical assistance from ORIS staff and project partners to support the application of workshop curriculum to real-life farming practices. For both Beginning and Advanced curriculum, a combination of materials adapted from ISED Solutions Refugee Farmer Teaching Handbook and custom materials that were designed by ORIS and/or the workshop facilitator to meet the needs of the farmers. An example includes the Farmer Notebook, a custom record-keeping tool provided to farmers. Farmer to Farmer Mentoring: ORIS piloted a new, more formalized version of peer-to-peer mentoring. Although this has occurred informally in the past, in 2019 staff trained and facilitated Advanced farmers (3-8 years experience) to deliver and keep records on the following Technical Assistance topics to Beginning farmers (0-2 years experience) over 13 market days, 8 hours each day for a total of 104 hours: Key Topics: timeliness, pricing, customer engagement, agricultural English, record-keeping, farmer's market sales, farmer's market displays, wholesale distribution, mobile market.? How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Grow Nashua, Manchester Grows, Amoskeag Health, Welcoming NHEvaluation: ORIS received a detailed program evaluation from an independent consultant with 10+ years experience with farmer training. The details of his evaluation and recommendations were synthesized and disseminated to the farmers. ? What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
?IMPACT STATEMENT:New American communitiesin New Hampshire draw food security, cultural identity, and business opportunity from growing ethnic crops. This CFP award enabled our incubator farming program, in conjunction with partner organizations, to assist more than 200 refugee and immigrant farmers to successfully grow ethnic crops for subsistence and for market. Over the project period, ORIS facilitated culturally & linguistically appropriate outreach, training, business planning, peer-to-peer mentoring, & access to 12 farmer's markets, 7 farm stands, & 23 Mobile Market sites. Objective 1 Major activities Land Access & tenure: Expanded from 11 acres to 14. Secured 10 year agreement on new plot in Concord. Community Gardens: Supported 180 community gardeners to grow ethnic crops from around the world at multiple community gardens. Ethnic Crop Production: Farmers saw high demand for ethnic crops & utilized infrastructure updates to help mitigate weather and pest challenges to ethnic crops. Ethnic Food Donations: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many new Americans faced significant challenges with food access. Leveraged private donations and partnered with local organizations, such as Centro Latino and the NH Food Bank, to donate ethnic crops grown in its program. Summary statistics: • 92 hours at 37 separate workshops delivered to 30 market farmers • 5,738 hours of technical assistance delivered to 30 market farmers • 30 farmers growing ethnic crops for sale • 180 community gardeners subsistence growing • 43,928 pounds of ethnic crops grown and distributed • 234,428 pounds of food grown • 15 ethnic crop varieties grown, with 9grown from seed &sold as seedlings Key outcomes: • Increased access to culturally appropriate foods for 268 families • Ethnic crop production training, marketing & distribution increased ethnic crop productivity for each participating grower. • COVID-19 increased demand for ethnic crops, increasing sales and donations. • Farmers have honed production plans to include the exact amount of subsistence crops needed to last their families throughout winter. Participants estimated average savings of $2,000 on annually (about 45%). Objective 2 Major activities: Markets: Farmers attended 12 farmer's markets, 7 farm stands, & 23 Mobile Market sites (cumulative unique sites), which accepted SNAP/EBT. Demand increased during the pandemic and remained high. ORIS also opened its brick-and-mortar Fresh Start Market, the only Double Up Food Bucks retailer in Manchester. Senior Shares and Training: Advanced farmers participated in the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) throughout the project. Trained beginning farmers through a "Community Shares" program. 10 project participants made about 25 boxes of food per week for 6 weeks to be donated to new American families in need. Customer Evaluation and Engagement: Evaluated relationships between 30 new American farmers and their customers. Specific targeting of immigrant consumers was invaluable to the success of the roadside stand operated at a low-income housing development in Concord Summary statistics: • $410,269 total sales for all farmers • $110,769 of vegetables sold via SNAP, SFMNP • 234,428 pounds of food grown total (43,928 pounds of ethnic crops) • 17,241 pounds of food donated • 30 farmers participating at SNAP/EBT accessible markets • 809 SFMNP bundles (8,719.5 lbs) • Increased income for 30 refugee farmers from sales to low-income households Key outcomes: • Feedback collected from consumer surveys led to plans for new markets and focus on products that best suited customers. • Farmersencouraged by increased sales &eager to access larger plots of land • Community members & farmers rely on the program to access crops that are central to their diets - fresh, frozen & preserved. Objective 3 Major activities: New American Youth Garden: ¼ acre plot tended by 16 youth participants, including soil improvement, raised bed construction, row planning, planting, & harvesting. Farm & Food Leader (FFL) Program Development: Lesson plans created & updated;field trips/speakers coordinated. Outreach to youth at 4 public high schools. Nutrition internships: 5 interns developed recipes & nutritional information for ethnic crops. Multigenerational Farming: at least 14 children of the farmers were actively engaged on the farms, includestechnical assistance & workshop training alongside their family members. Summary statistics: • 38 youth learned new agricultural skills &improved job readiness • 500 lbs of food grown by FFL youth & taken home • 480 lbs of food grown, harvested & served in the Sununu cafeteria Key outcomes: • Adult refugee farmers were instrumental in mentoring youth on farm, & assisted them to successfully gain the skills of growing their own food • Youth developed understanding of farming practices & importance of growing food. Objective 4 Major activities: Food Access Specialist hired to support integration of season extension/food preservation into farmer business plans Staff obtained certification as trainers for the ServSafe. 1 farmer completed ServSafe food handlers certification. Entered intolease-to-own agreement to open a food hub in Manchester. This has contributed significantly to efforts to preserve harvests and extend growing seasons. Worked with farmers & local partners to pilot creation of tomato sauce from preserved tomatoes. It proved an effective add-on product for CSA customers. Summary statistics: • 20 farmers preserving seasonal surplus • 30 farmers & 32 youth contributing to family income through food production • 23 farmers received TA on succession planting of fall crops to extend their season • 9 received additional TA on extending the season using green houses for late-fall production Key outcomes: • Farmers incorporated season extension and available cold storage capacity at the Food Hub to sell crops for a total of 37 weeks in the last year of the project • Training & experience with season extension has encouraged many farmers. 17 of the participating farmers are planning to construct a hoophouse in 2022. Objective 5 Major activities: Cross-cultural food systems events: 2 cooking classes, 8 volunteer events, and Mobile Market and Fresh Start Market launch events coordinated and widely publicized. 2020 Census & Voter Registration: Ensured that farmers participated in two key democratic activities in 2020. Staff provided translation services and support for filling out the census form for all farmers. For eligible farmers, ORIS also supported voter registration. Food access: Fresh Start Farmers were able to donate unprecedented amounts of food through community food systems during the pandemic. Much of this donated produce was ethnic crops for new American communities. This positioned the Fresh Start Farmers at the center of the emergency food access work done around the region. Farmer Advisory Board: Farmers called for the establishment of an Advisory Board that creates a more formal system for feedback about the program, including farmers' needs & interests, & the work done on their behalf. Summary statistics: • 20 cooking class attendees, 178 volunteers, 65 Mobile Market launch event attendees • 80+ farmer interactions with media outlets & live events featuring 25 farmers • 6 Farmers formed an Advisory Board to strengthen the program Key outcomes: • Interactions with the media served as opportunities for farmers to learn communication skills & to use media as a tool for sharing resources, best practices, and stories. • Community members now have a brick-and-mortar example of how refugees and immigrants are supporting their communities.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:During this grant period our efforts have reached immigrant and refugee farmers, teenaged youth with new American backgrounds, and food-insecure families, in the greater areas of Concord and Manchester, NH.The farmers and youth in our program represent various countries of origin including Somalia, Burundi, the DemocraticRepublic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Bhutan.Low-income and socially disadvantaged families suffering from food insecurity were a particular target audience for ourefforts during this period due to the continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased need for affordable and donated culturallyappropriate, locally-grown produce. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?4 Beginning Farmer Workshops Small Fruit Production Post Harvest Handling Pest and weed management Food Safety Season extension Crops to try (remote) New Ways to sell Record Keeping Crop Scheduling for Wholesale Groups Quality, Sizing & Pricing 4 Advanced Farmer Workshops Irrigation management Post Harvest Handling Food Safety Crops to Try New Ways to sell Record Keeping Crop Scheduling for Wholesale Groups Farm Budgets & Land Leases How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Partner Outreach/Resource Sharing: • This year ORIS collaborated with the following organizations to conduct culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach about the CFP Project: Grow Nashua, Manchester Grows, Centro Latino, Amoskeag Health, Welcoming NH • Resource sharing of specific technical resources and tools with refugee farms including Cultivating Community and New Entry (other refugee farms in our region) continued to be highly valuable. Conferences: ORIS staff attended (remotely) the NH Food Alliance Annual Meeting, and the Mobile Market Summit, informally sharing the impacts of our project and learning from other organizations operating related programs. Outreach at Markets: 12 farmers markets, 2 farm stands, 20 Mobile Market sites are incredible opportunities for demonstrating to the community how successful the economic opportunity of small-scale farming can be. It is noted that there is a certain pride that farmers carry to market by showing their products and exacting compensation for their efforts. This is not lost on community members, who observe this and regard ORIS farmers as leaders in the community. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
IMPACT STATEMENT: New American communities resettled in New Hampshire draw food security, cultural identity, and business opportunity from growing ethnic crops. In 2021, this award enabled our incubator training program, to assist 35 refugee and immigrant farmers to successfully grow ethnic crops for subsistence and for market. In 2021, through 1,756 hours of training and technical assistance on 2 incubator farms, ORIS facilitated culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach, training, business planning, peer-to-peer mentoring, and access to 12 farmer's markets, 2 farm stands, and 20 Mobile Market sites. Objective 1) Increase the capacity of new Americans living in Concord and Manchester togrow culturally appropriate food. Major activities: Farm Tenure: Anew plot for our Concord farm that will allow the refugee farmers on our current plot to farm for at least ten years into the future. The long-term security allows farmers to make long-term investments (financial, physical, and emotional) in this work, increasing the retention of farmers who grow ethnic crops. In-Person Training: ORIS was able to offer in-person training (outdoors, masked, and with other precautions) for farmers in the program. We did also offer remote workshops; however the in person learning wascritical tobuilding skills around ethnic crop production. Ethnic Crop Production: Farmers faced weather and pest challenges to ethnic crop production in 2021, however demand for these crops remained high. ORIS plans on expanding the availabilityin 2022 to meet the demand. Food Donations: ORIS leveraged donations from private sources to supply ethnic and conventional crops free of charge to hundreds of families. Summary Statistics: 17 workshop hours through 13 workshops delivered to 23 market farmers 1756 hours of technical assistance delivered to 23 market farmers 23 farmers growing ethnic crops for sale 8676 pounds of ethnic crops grown and distributed 67347 pounds of food grown total 15 ethnic crop varieties grown 9 ethnic crop varieties grown from seeds and sold as seedlings Key Outcomes: Increased access to culturally appropriate foods for 268 families Farmers have honed their production plans to include the exact amount of subsistence crops needed to last their families throughout winter. Participants estimated that their subsistence growing saved them an average of nearly $2,000 on groceries during the reporting period (approximately a 45% savings on average). Objective 2) Expand direct market opportunities for 15 refugee farmers participating in theFresh Start Farms collective, including increased participation in federal nutrition benefitprograms. Major Activities: Markets: Farmers attended 12 farmer's markets, 2 farm stands, and 20 Mobile Market sites, which accepted SNAP/EBT. Demand remained high, though sales were hindered by: weather conditions ; continued dimpacts of COVID-19; andstaffing shortages at ORIS. ORIS opened its brick-and-mortar Fresh Start Market, the only Double Up Food Bucks retailer in Manchester. Senior Shares and Training:Advanced farmers participated in the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program.ORIS trained beginning farmers through a"Community Shares" program. 10 project participants made about 25boxes of food per week for 6 weeks which were donated to new American families in need.15 student volunteers worked with the farmers to prepare invoices and deliver the boxes. The farmers that participated feel confident in their ability to participate in the SFMNP next year. Summary Statistics: $156,241 total sales for all farmers $42,703 of vegetables sold by 23 farmers via SNAP, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program and Share a Share 67,347 lbs food grown by Fresh Start Farmers (8676 pounds of ethnic crops; 5992 lbs donated) 175 Senior's Farmers Market Nutrition Program bundles (2625 lbs) Key Outcomes: Sales were approximately consistent with last year's for participating farmers. Farmers want to farm larger plots and ORIS is working to establish additional farmland to meet demands. Community members farmers rely on the program to access crops that are central to their diets - during the growing season, and frozen or otherwise preserved for the colder months. On average, farmers report45% savings on groceries. Objective 3) Coordinate internship programs that provide opportunities for immigrantadolescents to understand the food system and grow, harvest, distribute, and take homehealthy, culturally appropriate food. Major activities: Nutrition Internships: ORIS hosted 3 interns that produced recipes, answered customer questions, and worked alongside the Mobile Market. Multigenerational Farming: at least 14 children of the 23 farmers in our program were actively engaged on the farms this year with their parents. This includes receiving technical assistance and workshop training alongside their family members. Summary Statistics: 3 internships strengthened community outreach efforts 14 youth learned about all aspects of farming 16 youth supported the Community Share training Key Outcomes: Youth developed understanding of farming practices and importance of growing food. Youth felt ownership of the agricultural process and system they worked within. Objective 4) Build capacity of Refugee Farmers and Teen Interns to preserve the harvest anddevelop value added enterprises. Major activities: ServSafe: ORIS staff are certified as trainers for the ServSafe training. Staff is positioned to train farmersgoing forward. Value Added Pilots: ORIS worked with farmers and local partners to pilot creation oftomato sauce from preserved tomatoes. It proved an effective add-on product for CSA customers. Summary statistics: 23 farmers preserving seasonal surplus 23 farmers and 14 youth contributing to family income through food production 23 farmers received technical assistance on succession planting of fall crops and greenhouse use to extend the season Key Outcomes: Farmers incorporated season extension and available cold storage capacity to to sell crops for a total of 37 weeks Training and experience with season extension has encouraged many farmers. 17 of the participating farmers are planning to construct a hoophouse in 2022. Objective 5) Foster democratic participation and leadership of refugee farmers and teenagedyouth in community food systems work. Major activities: Community Building: ORIS farmers are excited to participate in donation programs that support the health of our whole communities, including SFMNPand partnerships withcommunity organizations. Farmer Advisory Board:Farmers called for the establishment of an Advisory Board this year that creates a more formal system for feedback about the program, including farmers' needs and interests, and the work that ORIS does on their behalf. This Board consists of six members. They met 3 times this season. Fresh Start Market Grand Opening: ORIS openned a retail space for the public in its new food hub building. A grand opening wasattended by the ManchesterMayor, funders, community leaders, and our farmers. Summary Statistics: 23 Farmers engaged in programs to support their communities' food access needs 6 Farmers formed an Advisory Board to strengthen the program Key Outcomes: Farmers increased their ownership of the program and their small farm businesses throughout this year. Community members now have a brick-and-mortar example of how refugees and immigrants are supporting their communities.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:During this grant period our efforts have reached immigrant and refugee farmers, teenaged youth interested in farming and nutrition, and food-insecure families, in the greater areas of Concord and Manchester, NH. The farmers and youth in our program represent various countries of origin including Somalia, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Mexico, Nepal and Bhutan. Within this group of refugee and immigrant farmers, we separated participants into three target audiences: 1) teenaged youth, 2) beginning farmers with 0-3 years of experience, 3) advanced farmers with less than 10 years of experience farming with the program who are ready to launch an independent farm enterprise. Activities held in this grant period were directed towards each group based on their level of experience, with some activities involving multiple groups in different capacities. Low-income and socially disadvantaged families suffering from food insecurity were a particular target audience for our efforts during this period due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased need for affordable and donated culturally appropriate, locally-grown produce. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? 3 Beginning Farmer Workshops: were hosted by ORIS staff. All beginning farmer workshops were delivered at the New American Africans conference room and the Center Point Church in Concord, NH. All workshops incorporated and/or focused on ethnic crops. More workshops were planned for the 2020 season, but could not be convened due to COVID-19. Extensive one-on-one technical assistance supplanted the remaining workshops (more than 1,900 hours in total for beginning farmers). Each of these workshops incorporated agricultural ESL. 4 Advanced Farmer Workshops: ORIS staff, and industry professionals hosted an advanced curriculum of four 2-3 hour workshops on technology, seedling production, land lease agreements, and wholesale growing plans. All workshops incorporated and/or focused on ethnic crops. All Advanced farmer workshops were delivered at the ORIS conference room in Manchester, NH. More workshops were planned for the 2020 season, but could not be convened due to COVID-19. Extensive one-on-one technical assistance supplanted the remaining workshops (more than 1,200 hours in total for advanced farmers). Each of these workshops incorporated agricultural ESL. Key topics: Since farmers were learning a new system and schedule around the new food hub in operation, a lot of focus was spent on helping farmers understand the weekly ordering and harvest process to fill CSA, Mobile Market, donation, and wholesale orders. This provided each farmer with significant learning on how to work with wholesale vendors, product standards (e.g. size of a bunch of beets or radishes; correct ripeness of tomatoes; harvesting lettuce before bolting, etc.), and the fair cost of each product. Internships:ORIS hosted two interns in the Farm and Food Leaders program throughout summer 2020. This internship provides youth with hands-on opportunities to learn about farming (preparing soil, nurturing plants, and harvesting) and selling produce (preparing crops for sale, setting up farm stands/markets, customer service, and operating cash registers). ORIS also host a group of interns focused on nutrition in the early months of 2020. This group helped produce a set of recipes for utilizing the ethnic crops that farmers in the program bring to market. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This year ORIS collaborated with the following organizations to conduct culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach about the CFP Project: Sycamore Community Gardens, My Turn, Inc., Centro Latino Resource sharing of specific technical resources and tools with refugee farms including Cultivating Community and Grow Nashua (other refugee farms in our region) continued to be highly valuable. These partnerships have deepened throughout 2020. Conferences: Sharing of project progress and resources by ORIS staff occurred at the NH Food Alliance Annual Meeting, and the Mobile Market Summit. Outreach at Markets: 11 farmers markets, 1 farm stand, 20 Mobile Market sites are incredible opportunities for demonstrating to the community how successful the economic opportunity of small-scale farming can be. It is noted that there is a certain pride that farmers carry to market by showing their products and exacting compensation for their efforts. This is not lost on community members, who observe this and regard ORIS farmers as leaders in the community. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In addition to continuing training and technical assistance for our farmers and youth in land- and market-based skill development, and business planning, ORIS believes that the following steps will be essential to fully accomplish the goals set out in our CFP proposal: Complete ethnic seedling production facility Facilitate purchase of ethnic crops seedlings via SNAP/EBT Continue to identify additional land for ethnic crop production Expand Share-a-Share outreach and donations to support food distribution to food insecure refugee families Increase number of farmers completing Serv Safe certification and/or identify any barriers to doing so Identify and implement value-added technical training beyond freezing of produce Analyze how integration of value-added products into business plans is affecting sales and make projections for 2021 Identify opportunities for youth and adult farmers to attend conferences and/or identify and overcome any barriers to their participation in travel to these events
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1 Major activities: Fencing:ORIS expanded fencing at its Concord farm and secured funding for its Dunbarton farm. Predation of deer and raccoons severely impacted African corn during 2020 - the most valued ethnic crop grown in the program. The fencing improvements will help prevent such losses. Community Gardening: 168 community gardeners from Bhutan, Nepal, Congo, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Syria grew ethnic crops at Sycamore Community Gardens. Donation of ethic crops: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many new Americans that do not farm faced significant challenges with food access due to loss of employment and/or health concerns. ORIS partnered with local organizations, such as Centro Latino and the NH Food Bank, to donate ethnic crops grown in its program. Statistics: 21 workshop hours through 6 workshops delivered to 23 market farmers 2054 hours of technical assistance delivered to 23 market farmers 23 farmers sold ethnic crops 168 community gardeners subsistence growing 9,757 pounds of ethnic crops grown and distributed 96,719 pounds of food grown total 14 ethnic crop varieties grown 5 ethnic crop varieties grown from seeds and sold as seedlings Key outcomes: Increased access to culturally appropriate foods for 200 families (168 community gardeners, 23 farmers, 4 youth) COVID-19 increased demand for ethnic crops, increasing sales as well as donations through several local organizations. Conversely, it halted progress with ethnic crop-focused workshops particularly for community gardeners. It also impacted data collection with that group. ORIS recognized early on that the growers it supports are in high-risk groups for COVID-19 and prioritized their safety. This meant there was limited in-person interaction with growers throughout the season, particularly in group settings. One-on-one TA was the primary focus of efforts this year. Objective 2 Major activities: Markets: Fresh Start Farmers attended 11 farmers markets, 1 roadside stand, and supported 20 Mobile Market sites. All locations accepted SNAP/EBT, leading to a substantial increase in sales and customers. Part of this increase is due to COVID-19, which caused grocery supply chain disruptions, and encouraged focus on outdoor and small-scale markets over busy grocery chains. Customer Evaluation: Mobile Market and CSA customers completed evaluations throughout the season. These surveys will be used to improve these services next year. Consumer Engagement:Specific targeting of immigrant consumers was invaluable to the success of the roadside stand operated at a low-income housing development in Concord. It was also key to the expansion of food donations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistics: $155,271 total sales for all farmers $44,340 of vegetables sold via SNAP & Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) 96,719 pounds of food grown by Fresh Start Farmers (9,757 pounds of ethnic crops) 7,879 pounds of food donated 23 farmers participating at SNAP/EBT accessible markets 353 SFMNP bundles (3,530 lbs) Increased income for 23 refugee farmers from sales to low-income households Key outcomes: Refugee farmers are encouraged by increased sales; many are interested in expanding their land. Farmers utilized learnings from last year's activities to provide the products that best suited their customers, particularly at the farm stand they operated. Objective 3 Major activities: New American Youth Garden: 2 youth cultivated the plot, limiting the group that engaged with the older market farmers due to COVID-19. Farm and Food Leader (FFL) Program Delivery. 2 youth interns training on specialty crops, marketing, and SNAP-enabled food access. Unfortunately, the Sununu Youth Detention Center was closed to visitors for the growing season due to COVID-19. ORIS connected with Sununu staff, confirming that Center youth grew on site, and the kitchen utilized their produce. But, ORIS was unable to track participation. Nutrition internships:2 interns spent the winter & spring developing recipes and nutritional information for ethnic crops. They were going to table at Mobile Market stops but COVID-19 ended the internships in March. Statistics: 2 youth learned agricultural skills and improved job readiness with an unknown number learning through doing at the Sununu Center. 100 lbs (estimated) of food grown by FFL youth and taken home Key outcomes: Adult refugee farmers mentored youth on farm, building their skills FFL youth had a much deeper experience of the food system than previous years. They were instrumental to the success of the Mobile Market effort, allowing it to operate safely. Objective 4 Major activities: ORIS entered into a lease-to-own agreement with Neighborworks to open a food hub in downtown Manchester. This has contributed significantly to efforts to preserve harvests and extend growing seasons. There have also been pilot efforts with value-added processing in partnership with wholesale vendors. Summary statistics: 20 farmers preserving seasonal surplus 23 farmers and 4 youth contributing to family income through food production 23 farmers received TA on succession planting of fall crops to extend their season 9 received additional TA on extending the season using green houses for late-fall production Key outcomes: Adult and teen refugee farmers received first-hand learning on food preservation to extend the sales season. Due to the food hub, farmers had the opportunity to sell crops through ORIS's CSA program for an additional 13 weeks in 2020 (season started four weeks earlier and ended nine weeks later). With the facility in place for creating value-added goods, farmers are eager to begin exploring this option more extensively in the next year. Objective 5 Major activities: 2020 Census and Voter Registration: ORIS ensured that farmers participated in two key democratic activities in 2020. Staff provided translation services and support for filling out the census form for all farmers. For eligible farmers, ORIS also supported voter registration. Media Exposure: The opening of the food hub in downtown Manchester was the main press focus for ORIS in 2020. It is an exciting opportunity to strengthen the local food system, and is bringing a vital service to the neighborhood where there was previously an empty building. Food access: Fresh Start Farmers were able to donate unprecedented amounts of food through community food systems in Manchester and Concord. Much of this donated produce was ethnic crops for new American communities. This positioned the Fresh Start Farmers at the center of the emergency food access work done around the region. Grower profiles that tell the stories of Fresh Start Farmers were distributed with all CSA shares. These profiles gave customers a visual representation of the importance of refugee farmers in the food system. Summary statistics: 6 grower profiles distributed in 490 CSA shares throughout the season 7 media articles featuring Fresh Start Farms and its refugee farmers. Key outcomes: In 2020, refugee farmers and teens took particular pride in their work since it allowed them to not only provide food and income for their own families, but also to help their broader community at a time of high-need. Grower profile distribution deepened the connection between refugee farmers and their customers during a season that necessitated limited interaction in-person. COVID-19 restrictions and safety concerns prevented farmers from leading cooking demonstrations, working with volunteers or providing other typical activities that would support this objective. Farmers were disappointed to miss these opportunities and are looking forward to picking them up once it is safe to do so.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:During this grant period our efforts have reached immigrant and refugee farmers, teenaged youth interested in farming and nutrition, and food-insecure families, in the greater areas of Concord and Manchester, NH. The farmers and youth in our program represent various countries of origin including Somalia, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Mexico, Nepal and Bhutan. Within this group of refugee and immigrant farmers, we separated participants into three target audiences: 1) teenaged youth, 2) beginning farmers with 0-2 years of experience, 3) advanced farmers with 3-8 years of experience farming with the program and are ready to launch an independent farm enterprise. Activities held in this grant period were directed towards each group based on their level of experience, with some activities involving multiple groups in different capacities. Low-income and socially disadvantaged families suffering from food insecurity were a target audience for our efforts to increase the affordable availability of culturally appropriate, locally-grown produce. Additional target audiences for this grant period included other refugee farmers in the region, and participants and staff at other refugee training programs in New England. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?10 Beginning Farmer Workshops: were hosted by ORIS staff. All beginning farmer workshops were delivered at the New American Africans conference room and the Center Point Church in Concord, NH. All workshops incorporated and/or focused on ethnic crops. Schedule: Date Beginning Workshops 1/18/2019 Markets Overview 1/25/2019 Season Preparation (seed orders) 2/8/2019 Financial Literacy 2/22/2019 5 Ways to Increase Traffic to your Ag Business + Retain Customers 3/1/2019 Farm Planning 3/15/2019 Business Planning 3/22/2019 Integrated Pest Management 4/5/2019 Starting the Season 4/12/2019 Food Safety 4/12/2019 Farm Policy Review and Leadership Elections In 2018 it was found that an Agricultural ESL curriculum is best delivered in small amounts, over a longer time frame. Therefore, in 2019 rather than to teach ESL for an hour at the beginning of the workshop, it was refined to be interspersed throughout the workshops. Key topics for Agricultural ESL included: Vegetable names Units of sale: by the pound, by the bunch, one by one Conversational practice for selling at farmers markets Markets lingo Using a calendar to keep records of planting dates 8 Advanced Farmer Workshops: ORIS staff, and industry professionals hosted an advanced curriculum of eight 3 hour agricultural, marketing, financial literacy and business planning. All workshops incorporated and/or focused on ethnic crops. All Advanced farmer workshops were delivered at the ORIS conference room in Manchester, NH. In October 2018, ORIS staff held a series of end-of-season farmer meetings for Advanced farmers to review their training and technical assistance needs for 2019. Schedule: Date Advanced Workshops 2/1/2019 Pest and Disease Management 2/15/2019 Greenhouse seedling production 2/22/2019 Whole farm planning 3/8/2019 Wholesale best practices 3/22/2019 Financial Literacy 3/29/2019 Food Safety and Cold Storage 4/26/2019 Marketing and Customer Service 5/3/2019 Food Safety Workshop Curriculum: For both Beginning and Advanced curriculum, a combination of materials adapted from ISED Solutions Refugee Farmer Teaching Handbook and custom materials that were designed by ORIS and/or the workshop facilitator to meet the needs of the farmers. An example includes the Farmer Notebook, a custom record-keeping tool provided to farmers. Technical Assistance: All farmers received a total of 1981 hours of individualized technical assistance from ORIS staff, partner organizations, or industry professionals throughout the season. Key Topics: plot preparation, planting, irrigation, succession planning, Food Safety demonstration, greenhouse preparation, fertility management, weed control measures, water management, pest management, produce packing, harvest techniques, crop spacing, record-keeping, farmer's market sales, farmer's market displays, wholesale distribution, mobile market operations, customer service, marketing materials. Farmer to Farmer Mentoring: ORIS piloted a new, more formalized version of peer-to-peer mentoring. Although this has occurred informally in the past, in 2019 staff trained and facilitated Advanced farmers (3-8 years experience) to deliver and keep records on the following Technical Assistance topics to Beginning farmers (0-2 years experience) over 13 market days, 8 hours each day for a total of 104 hours: Key Topics: timeliness, pricing, customer engagement, agricultural English, record-keeping, farmer's market sales, farmer's market displays, wholesale distribution, mobile market. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Partner Outreach/Resource Sharing: From September 2018-February 2019, ORIS collaborated with the following organizations to conduct culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach about the CFP Project: Sycamore Community Gardens, New American Africans, My Turn, Inc. Resource sharing of specific technical resources and tools with refugee farms including Cultivating Community and Grow Nashua (other refugee farms in our region) proved to be highly valuable and easily facilitated due to the high interest in learning from peer-to-peer partners. Orientation/Intake: In December 2018 and January 2019, ORIS conducted orientation for 4 new farmers who were referred to the program from partner organizations. Orientation included informational meeting about the program, detailing what the program offers, and the requirements for participation. Of the 4 attendees, 4 signed up to complete a participant intake for admission into the program. Conferences: Sharing of project progress and resources by farmers and ORIS staff occurred at the NH Food Alliance Annual Meeting, the Mobile Market Summit, and the CFP PD meeting. Outreach at Markets: 7 farmers markets, 7 farm stands, 6 Mobile Market sites are incredible opportunities for demonstrating to the community how successful the economic opportunity of small-scale farming can be. It is noted that there is a certain pride that farmers carry to market by showing their products and exacting compensation for their efforts. This is not lost on community members, who observe this and regard ORIS farmers as leaders in the community. Furthermore, this has led to a waiting list of potential farmers eager to join the program. Media Exposure: In 61 separate interactions with magazines, news teams, radio stations, newspapers, online publications, and during live events, 25 ORIS farmers shared stories and learnings with the public. These publications were specifically shared with other refugee farm programs so they could gain exposure to the farmer program. Evaluation: ORIS received a detailed program evaluation from an independent consultant with 10+ years experience with farmer training. The details of his evaluation and recommendations are currently being synthesized for dissemination to the farmers. Social Media: ORIS maintains a newsletter for over 500 supporters and CSA customers, as well as social media followings of over 1,000 followers. ORIS has and will continue to share results of this project through these means. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In addition to continuing training and technical assistance for our farmers and youth in land- and market-based skill development, and business planning, ORIS believes that the following steps will be essential to fully accomplish the goals set out in our CFP proposal: Implement recommendations from 2019 Evaluation Complete ethnic seedling production facility Facilitate purchase of ethnic crops seedlings via SNAP/EBT Continue to identify additional land for ethnic crop production Expand Share-a-Share outreach and donations to support food distribution to food insecure refugee families Increase number of farmers completing Serv Safe certification and/or identify any barriers to doing so Identify and implement value-added technical training beyond freezing of produce Analyze how integration of value-added products into business plans is affecting sales and make projections for 2021 Identify opportunities for youth and adult farmers to attend conferences and/or identify and overcome any barriers to their participation in travel to these events Convene annual steering committee meetings with stakeholders
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
IMPACT STATEMENT: New American communities resettled in New Hampshire draw significant food security, cultural identity, and business opportunity from groing ethnic crops. In 2019, this CFP award has enabled our incubator training program, in conjunction with partner organizations and technical service providers, to assist 191 refugee and immigrant farmers to successfully grow ethnic crops for subsistence and for market. In 2019, through 2,072 hours of training and technical assistance on 3 incubator farms, ORIS facilitated culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach, training, business planning, peer-to-peer mentoring, and access to 7 farmer's markets, 7 farm stands, and 6 Mobile Market sites. Objective 1)Increase the capacity of new Americans living in Concord and Manchester to grow culturally appropriate food. Major activities: Land Access: Expanded from 11 acres to 14 acres in production. Electricity Installed. Expanded Community Gardens: In 2019, ORIS supported 161 community gardeners to grow ethnic crops from Bhutan, Nepal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Syria, at Sycamore Community Gardens. Program Evaluation: An outside consultant was contracted to evaluate our CFP progress. Data was gathered and a report is forthcoming. Summary statistics: 54 hours through 18 separate workshops delivered to 30 market farmers 1927.5 hours of technical assistance delivered to 30 market farmers 30 farmers growing ethnic crops for sale 161 community gardeners subsistence growing 25,495 pounds of ethnic crops grown and distributed 70,362pounds of food grown total 12 number of ethnic crop varieties grown Key outcomes: Increased access to culturally appropriate foods for 2015 families (161 community gardeners, 30 farmers, 14 youth) Training and technical assistance targeted around ethnic crop production, marketing and distribution. For example, many farmers increased the number of ethnic crops direct seeded into the ground, based on a more informed soil and climate information, projecting the optimal timing for direct seeding. Although the greenhouse for seedling production was not completed, the first major step was installing electricity on farm, which allowed for farmers to learn how to manage electricity usage, and operate a breaker box, well pump, and water regulator. By 2020, we anticipate this deliverable to be complete. It is observed that the health benefits to farmers and their families is cumulative over the years from consumption of nutritious, culturally-appropriate foods. Farmers have honed their production plans to include the exact amount of subsistence crops needed to last their families throughout winter. Objective 2): Expand direct market opportunities for 15 refugee farmers participating in the Fresh Start Farms collective, including increased participation in federal nutrition benefit programs. Major activities: Farm Stands/Mobile Market: The development and expansion of 7 farmers markets, 7 roadside stands and a new Mobile Market was a substantial reason for the increase in # of farmers participating, # of consumers reached, # of dollars of sales through low-income food programs, such as SNAP. Customer Evaluation: ORIS evaluated relationships between 30 new American farmers and their customers. Surveys were developed and delivered at 4 different market sites to 200 customers, either filled out by hand or translated by an interpreter. Culturally Targeted Consumer Engagement: Specific targeting of immigrant consumers was invaluable to the success of 2 particular roadside stands at low-income housing developments in Concord. Summary statistics: $98,757 total sales for all farmers $23,726 of vegetables sold via SNAP, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program and Share a Share 70,362pounds of food grown total (25,495pounds of ethnic crops) 3,370 pounds of food donated 30 farmers participating at SNAP/EBT accessible markets= 7 farmers markets, 7 farm stands, and 6 Mobile Market sites 281 Senior's Farmers Market Nutrition Program bundles (2564.5 lbs) Increased income for 30 refugee farmers from sales to low-income households Key outcomes: Valuable feedback collected from consumer surveys led farmers to plan a new on-farm farm stand. Farmers and ORIS are now currently developing plans for a parking lot and farm stand. At the 2 farm stands that received targeted consumer engagement, through careful analysis of preferred ethnic products, farmers were able to identify, produce, market and sell highest number of all SNAP sales at any of our markets Objective 3) Coordinate internship programs that provide opportunities for immigrant adolescents togrow, harvest,and take home culturally appropriate food. Major activities: New American Youth Garden: New site for the ¼ acre plot developed by 14 youth participants, including soil improvements, raised bed construction, row planning, planting, and harvesting. Farm and Food Leader (FFL) Program Development: Lesson plans updated and field trips/speakers coordinated. Outreach to youth at 4 local public high schools. FFL Program Delivery. 14 youth interns completed FFL program, receiving training on specialty crop production, direct marketing, and SNAP-enabled food access. Additionally, 8 youth at the Sununu Youth Detention Center also received an adapted curriculum and learned to grow food within their facility. Summary statistics: 22 youth learned new agricultural skills and improved job readiness (14 graduated FFL and 8 additional youth received adapted curriculum at Sununu Center) 400 lbs of food grown by FFL youth and taken home 480 lbs of food grown, harvested and served in the Sununu cafeteria Key outcomes: 2 Sununu youth entered FFL program after release from incarceration Adult refugee farmers were instrumental in mentoring youth on farm, and assisted them to successfully gain the skills of growing their own food Objective 4)Build capacity of Refugee Farmers and Teen Interns to preserve the harvest and develop value added enterprises. Major activities: Food Access Specialist hired to support integration of season extension/food preservation into farmer business plans ServSafe food handlers certification training completed by 1 farmer Training and technical assistance on safe and effective freezing of produce Summary statistics: 20 farmers preserving seasonal surplus 30 farmers and 14 youth contributing to family income through food production Stats on how much preserved Key outcomes: With a short growing season in New Hampshire, the skills of food preservation were in high demand and through simple technical assistance to empower farmers and youth's families to purchase their own chest freezers Objective 5) Foster democratic participation and leadership of refugee farmers and teenaged youth in community food systems work. Major activities: Cross-cultural food systems events: 2019 events were divided into 3 categories and coordinated to highlight and foster community participation in ORIS farmer's sustainable food and farming program. 2 cooking classes, 8 volunteer events, and a Mobile Market launch event were coordinated and widely publicized. Conferences: The Chair of the New American Farmers Cooperative attended the NH Food Alliance statewide gathering. At least 8 regional farm programs and agencies which serve new Americans in attendance, learned about NASAP's cooperative enterprise model from him. Summary statistics: 20 cooking class attendees, 178 volunteers, 65 Mobile Market launch event attendees During 61 farmer interactions with magazines, news teams, radio stations, newspapers, and during live events, 25 farmers shared stories and learnings with the public Key outcomes: In 2019, interactions with the media served as opportunities for our farmers to a) learn communication skills and b) how to utilize the media as a tool for sharing resources, best practices, and stories around the country.
Publications
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