Food, Farming & Futures: Economic Empowerment at IRC NY New Roots

Help the IRC in NY bring back one of our most impactful programs: the Immigrant Urban Agriculture Training Program.  

There is currently a high demand for food and farm workers across the United States. The IRC in NY has a demonstrated history of helping immigrants in New York City with career readiness and professional development, and our Immigrant Urban Agriculture Training Program exemplified our commitment to the economic empowerment of the city’s immigrant communities. The Program, originally funded through the USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), gave a total of 40 community members across three years an opportunity to acquire urban farming skills and career readiness in the food and farming sector; however, due to lapse in federal funding, the IRC in NY had to pause our program in 2024. Now, we’re looking to raise community supportto bring this program back. 

Rose at IRC New York's New Roots Harvest Fair

Photo: IRC in NYC

Around 75% of participants in the Urban Agriculture Training Program stated they earned significant career readiness. Local communities thrived as a result of our participants cultivation of our Bronx Farm and Queens’ garden local food production as a result of this practicum—and more importantly, the IRC in NY found that this program was key to strengthening participants’ self-confidence, with many of our community leaders subsequently going on to pursue other employment opportunities outside of agriculture. 

Our Immigrant Urban Agriculture Training Program helped immigrant communities in the South Bronx access agricultural employment by training as Farm Stewards. To reduce barriers to participation, stewards-in-training received a modest stipend as supplemental income. Their path to certification combined professional development workshops, hands-on agricultural training, and apprenticeships with New York City partner farms. A few of the workshop topics were:  

• Crop Planning and Benefits of Cover Crops for Food Security
• Composting to Reduce Food and Ecological Waste
• Irrigation & Water Conservation
• Supporting Tree Health to Combat Air Pollution
• Growing Native Vegetables & Perennials: Food for People, Pollinators, Birds and More
• Beekeeping for Biodiversity and Environmental Health
• Improving Soil Health
• Messy Gardens - Garden Management for an Ecological Garden
• Managing City Weeds Responsibly

For many participants, completing this process and becoming a certified Farm Steward marked a significant step toward secure employment. 

Please consider donating here to help us bring back the Urban Agriculture Training Program and train a new cohort of students! 

To learn more about our active campaign, please reach out to Malin Evertsz Mendez at malin.evertszmendez@rescue.org.