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Front End Fundraiser: New Farms For New Americans

This month we are supporting New Farms for New Americans with our Front End Fundraiser.  New Farms for New Americans (NFNA) is a food access program of Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV) Inc. Its mission is to help refugees grow more of their own food that is fresh, culturally appropriate and free from harmful chemicals, while also recognizing the social, psychological and physical benefits associated with gardening. NFNA currently works with participants from Vietnam, Burma, Bhutan, Congo, Burundi and Somalia.

New Farms for New Americans serves over 100 farmers and gardeners, most of who have been farming their whole lives. The program operates at two primary sites: at the Ethan Allen Homestead in the bottom land owned by the Winooski Valley Park District and at the Intervale Center.

NFNA is trying to assist in the beginning stages of a Bhutanese community-led initiative to grow rice in Vermont. The group has a quarter acre of rice in a paddy at Ethan Allen and plans are to expand production to five acres next year. NFNA is also ensuring that the Burundian Collective Farm and several individual Somali Bantu women selling prepared food—all of whom have ventured out on their own—be able to access appropriate referral services, and other available resources they need to succeed in Vermont.

Now through the end of August, just ask your cashier and donate whatever amount you would like. Each donation gets posted up in the Front End of the store and goes directly to  the NFNA to help continue providing assistance to our local farmers.  Supporting these farmers is crucial now as many of their fields were flooded, thus preventing them from selling their produce for the remainder of the season.

Thank you for supporting New Farms for New Americans!