Help us reach our goal! So far we have received 118 donations totaling over $83,000. Thank you!

Join Cultivating Community, New Roots Cooperative, and Somali Bantu Community Association’s Liberation Farms in planning for a safe growing season that meets the growing need for food and support for immigrant communities. 

Last year, the $83,000 raised by the Immigrant Farmer Fund partially replaced a $225,000 multi-year federal grant that was cut, helping more than 50 immigrant and refugee farmers build livelihoods and food sovereignty by delivering over 40,000 lbs of fresh, culturally familiar vegetables to neighbors in need. 

Now, with thousands of families impacted by immigration enforcement actions targeting already vulnerable communities, we anticipate a need for increased food production and alternative livelihood creation through our farming programs.

Your early-season support of the Immigrant Farmer Fund would mean:

• Over 100,000 lbs of local, fresh vegetables will be delivered directly to thousands of immigrant neighbors
• More people will have access to culturally familiar foods, like amaranth greens, flint corn, roselle, African eggplants, and moroho
• All funds raised will go directly to immigrant and refugee farmers to compensate them fairly for produce grown here in Maine by families who are experts in raising traditional crops 

Together, we’re seeking donations so our farms can make it through the growing season, continue to provide vital food access to impacted communities, and pay immigrant farmers fair wages for their produce. Your support is critical to continuing work that connects immigrant farmers with people who recognize, value, and need the produce they grow – providing connection and continuity in a time of unprecedented disruption. 

Maine has the highest hunger rate in New England at over 13%, but for immigrants of color, the rate of hunger is over 50%. Without local community support, more people will be hungry, and our farms may not make it through the season. As benefits for low-income families are threatened and farmers begin planting the upcoming season, the loss of this program will hurt thousands of Mainers who receive our produce.