Emily Tomsick, the IRC in Silver Spring's summer anti-trafficking intern describes her experience.

Summer Learning in the Time of COVID

Together with community partners, the New Roots program at IRC is expanding into the Kent Valley.

IRC offices across the nation have offered New Roots programs for many years, providing opportunities for refugees to participate in sustainable agricultural practices and receive nutrition education. Yet in the heart of California’s Central Valley—the agricultural hub of the state—no such program had existed.

That all changed May 8, as four Afghan families helped launch a new sustainable agriculture program for the IRC in Turlock/Modesto. Participants gathered at Turlock Community Gardens to plant crops typically grown in their home country such as okra, muskmelons and Persian cucumbers as well as fruits and vegetables more commonly grown such as tomatoes, strawberries and bell peppers.

Abdelgabar Mohamdian is a farmer at heart. He grew crops and raised livestock in Sudan. Now, 17 years after he came to the United States, he is growing vegetables and making them available to the community through the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Phoenix’s New Roots weekly produce box program.