05 Sep 2012 - The International Rescue Committee has launched a multi-channel campaign to support New Roots, a dynamic community gardening and nutrition program that enables refugees to grow, harvest and sell fresh and affordable produce while integrating into their new communities across the United States.
“We want newly arrived refugees to have a healthy start here, but in many communities where they can afford to live, finding healthy and affordable produce is not easy,” says Ellee Igoe, the IRC’s U.S. advisor for food security and agriculture. “The New Roots program is changing that.”
Working with community partners, the IRC has established New Roots gardens or farms in nine of the 22 cities where it resettles refugees. What once were abandoned lots in cities like San Diego and Phoenix have become thriving community farms where refugees from some of the world’s worst conflict zones find solace in the land, return to the farming traditions they left behind and make locally grown fruits and vegetables available to their families and neighbors.
“The IRC’s New Roots program is transforming lives and communities,” says Igoe, “It’s truly ‘growing good from the ground up,’” which is the campaign’s tagline.
The New Roots campaign seeks to engage the public through webisodes that tell the stories of refugee farmers planting new roots in the Bronx and favorite recipes shared by New Roots farmers from Sudan, Zimbabwe and Myanmar. It also features a social action pledge to stand with refugees as they rebuild their lives in the United States and ways to support the expansion of New Roots and other IRC refugee resettlement programs. Donations will be matched by Newman’s Own Foundation and Starr International Foundation.
Joining the IRC in promoting the New Roots campaign are award-winning chefs and restaurateurs David Burke and Michel Nischan and culinary adventurer Eden Grinshpan. Burke is an author, entrepreneur, philanthropist and owner of eight restaurants, including David Burke Townhouse and David Burke Kitchen at the James Hotel in New York. Michel Nischan is the founder and president of the nonprofit organization Wholesome Wave, which is committed to increasing access to affordable and locally grown produce. He also owns Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant in Westport, Conn. Grinshpan is the host of Eden Eats on The Cooking Channel.
“Many refugees still have that wisdom of the land,” says Nischan, who has met with many refugees who were farmers before being forced to flee. “When they can share that wisdom with their neighbors and exchange ideas about farming, they can contribute to the restoration of communities across this country.”
In New Roots cities, refugees are growing a diverse array of produce. Amaranth, bok choy, shisho and mizuna are sprouting up alongside African eggplant, Asian mustards, Malabar spinach and okra.
“It’s a real cornucopia,” says Burke, whose restaurant David Burke Garden has served produce from the IRC’s New Roots garden in the Bronx. “These gardens show how small spaces, used in this way, can have a real and positive impact on the diets of refugees and local residents in urban food deserts across the United States.”
To find out more about the International Rescue Committee’s New Roots Campaign, social action pledge and other ways to get involved, visit http://www.rescue.org/newroots.
For information about the phone briefing, coverage of the New Roots campaign, interviews or visits to New Roots programs, contact Lucy Carrigan, 212 551-0969, Lucy.Carrigan@rescue.org or Melissa Winkler, 212-551-0972, Melissa.Winkler@rescue.org.
Share this page
IRC on Facebook
IRC on Twitter
IRC on YouTube
IRC Careers
Log In
Set Your Location:
USA
United Kingdom
Belgium
International Rescue Committee
122 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10168 USA
Phone: +1 212 551 3000
Donate: +1 855 9RESCUE
The American Institute of Philanthropy gives the IRC an A+.
Charity Navigator gave the IRC its highest rating of four stars.
IRC meets all 20 of BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s accountability standards.
PROGRAMS
Emergency Response
Crisis in the Sahel
Syria Crisis
Drought in East Africa
Japan Tsunami
Africa
Burundi
Central African Republic
Chad
Democratic Republic of Congo
Ethiopia
Ivory Coast / Cote d’Ivoire
Kenya
Liberia
Rwanda
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Sudan
Tanzania
Uganda
Zimbabwe
Asia
Afghanistan
Myanmar
Pakistan
Thailand
Caribbean
Haiti
Caucasus
Northern Caucasus
Middle East
Iraq
Jordan
United States
Atlanta, GA
Baltimore, MD
Boise, ID
Charlottesville, VA
Dallas, TX / Abilene
Los Angeles, CA
Miami, FL
New York, NY / Elizabeth, NJ
Northern California, CA
Phoenix, AZ
Salt Lake City, UT
San Diego, CA
Seattle, WA / SeaTac
Silver Spring, MD
Tucson, AZ
Wichita, KS
ISSUES IN FOCUS
Advocacy
Anti-trafficking
Child Soldiers
Child Survival
Domestic Violence
Economic Recovery
Education
Emergency Response
Ending Violence against Women
Governance & Rights
Humanitarian Aid
Immigration
Humanitarian Aid
Iraqis in Crisis
New Roots Refugee Gardening
Organizations Assisting Refugees
Overseas Processing
Post Conflict Development
Protecting Children
Reproductive Health Care
Resettling Refugees
Water and Sanitation
OTHER IRC SITES
IRC Blog: Voices from the Field
Rescue Gifts
IRC-UK
Women's Refugee Commission
“We want newly arrived refugees to have a healthy start here, but in many communities where they can afford to live, finding healthy and affordable produce is not easy,” says Ellee Igoe, the IRC’s U.S. advisor for food security and agriculture. “The New Roots program is changing that.”
Working with community partners, the IRC has established New Roots gardens or farms in nine of the 22 cities where it resettles refugees. What once were abandoned lots in cities like San Diego and Phoenix have become thriving community farms where refugees from some of the world’s worst conflict zones find solace in the land, return to the farming traditions they left behind and make locally grown fruits and vegetables available to their families and neighbors.
“The IRC’s New Roots program is transforming lives and communities,” says Igoe, “It’s truly ‘growing good from the ground up,’” which is the campaign’s tagline.
The New Roots campaign seeks to engage the public through webisodes that tell the stories of refugee farmers planting new roots in the Bronx and favorite recipes shared by New Roots farmers from Sudan, Zimbabwe and Myanmar. It also features a social action pledge to stand with refugees as they rebuild their lives in the United States and ways to support the expansion of New Roots and other IRC refugee resettlement programs. Donations will be matched by Newman’s Own Foundation and Starr International Foundation.
Joining the IRC in promoting the New Roots campaign are award-winning chefs and restaurateurs David Burke and Michel Nischan and culinary adventurer Eden Grinshpan. Burke is an author, entrepreneur, philanthropist and owner of eight restaurants, including David Burke Townhouse and David Burke Kitchen at the James Hotel in New York. Michel Nischan is the founder and president of the nonprofit organization Wholesome Wave, which is committed to increasing access to affordable and locally grown produce. He also owns Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant in Westport, Conn. Grinshpan is the host of Eden Eats on The Cooking Channel.
“Many refugees still have that wisdom of the land,” says Nischan, who has met with many refugees who were farmers before being forced to flee. “When they can share that wisdom with their neighbors and exchange ideas about farming, they can contribute to the restoration of communities across this country.”
In New Roots cities, refugees are growing a diverse array of produce. Amaranth, bok choy, shisho and mizuna are sprouting up alongside African eggplant, Asian mustards, Malabar spinach and okra.
“It’s a real cornucopia,” says Burke, whose restaurant David Burke Garden has served produce from the IRC’s New Roots garden in the Bronx. “These gardens show how small spaces, used in this way, can have a real and positive impact on the diets of refugees and local residents in urban food deserts across the United States.”
To find out more about the International Rescue Committee’s New Roots Campaign, social action pledge and other ways to get involved, visit http://www.rescue.org/newroots.
For information about the phone briefing, coverage of the New Roots campaign, interviews or visits to New Roots programs, contact Lucy Carrigan, 212 551-0969, Lucy.Carrigan@rescue.org or Melissa Winkler, 212-551-0972, Melissa.Winkler@rescue.org.
Share this page
IRC on Facebook
IRC on Twitter
IRC on YouTube
IRC Careers
Log In
Set Your Location:
USA
United Kingdom
Belgium
International Rescue Committee
122 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10168 USA
Phone: +1 212 551 3000
Donate: +1 855 9RESCUE
The American Institute of Philanthropy gives the IRC an A+.
Charity Navigator gave the IRC its highest rating of four stars.
IRC meets all 20 of BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s accountability standards.
PROGRAMS
Emergency Response
Crisis in the Sahel
Syria Crisis
Drought in East Africa
Japan Tsunami
Africa
Burundi
Central African Republic
Chad
Democratic Republic of Congo
Ethiopia
Ivory Coast / Cote d’Ivoire
Kenya
Liberia
Rwanda
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Sudan
Tanzania
Uganda
Zimbabwe
Asia
Afghanistan
Myanmar
Pakistan
Thailand
Caribbean
Haiti
Caucasus
Northern Caucasus
Middle East
Iraq
Jordan
United States
Atlanta, GA
Baltimore, MD
Boise, ID
Charlottesville, VA
Dallas, TX / Abilene
Los Angeles, CA
Miami, FL
New York, NY / Elizabeth, NJ
Northern California, CA
Phoenix, AZ
Salt Lake City, UT
San Diego, CA
Seattle, WA / SeaTac
Silver Spring, MD
Tucson, AZ
Wichita, KS
ISSUES IN FOCUS
Advocacy
Anti-trafficking
Child Soldiers
Child Survival
Domestic Violence
Economic Recovery
Education
Emergency Response
Ending Violence against Women
Governance & Rights
Humanitarian Aid
Immigration
Humanitarian Aid
Iraqis in Crisis
New Roots Refugee Gardening
Organizations Assisting Refugees
Overseas Processing
Post Conflict Development
Protecting Children
Reproductive Health Care
Resettling Refugees
Water and Sanitation
OTHER IRC SITES
IRC Blog: Voices from the Field
Rescue Gifts
IRC-UK
Women's Refugee Commission
No comments:
Post a Comment