Initiatives

Springfield Community Gardens (SCG) in Springfield, Missouri has been successfully operating and growing since 2010 with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 2501 Program.

The Tri-Faith Unity Garden and Hope Orchard, a USDA People’s Garden in Omaha, Nebraska, is a natural healing space where people of three faiths gather through the Tri-Faith Initiative. This unique interfaith project —including a synagogue, church, and mosque along with the garden— is a space where people can practice their faith while connecting, learning, and growing through the vision of “a world in which differences are honored, similarities are built upon, and everyone belongs.”

This summer 14 students (PDF, 1.4 MB) from agricultural migrant and farmworker backgrounds will take part in paid 10-week internships with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.

For basketball great Ralph Sampson, farming is his new game of choice. The new and beginning farmer is looking to resurrect his family’s farm and spur new economic growth on the ancestral land.

Just outside of Fayetteville, North Carolina, veteran farmer Jim Hartman embodies the resilience and resourcefulness of the honeybees he tends to. His success in building his honey business stems from his proactive approach of seeking out government funds, a trait that has been instrumental in his journey.

USDA kicked off National Small Business Month with the Midwest “Path to Prosperity" event at the Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, MO on April 24^th and 25^th. This was the 19^th event, since 2022, to provide regional business and economic development workshops that featured experts from the financial industry, federal government, community partners and stakeholders.

Yimmuaj Yang, community director of the Wisconsin-based nonprofit and community organization Groundswell Conservancy, explains its mission in the simplest terms: “We protect special places forever.”

For Equity Commission (EC) Rural Community Economic Development (RCED) subcommittee member Shonterria (“Terri”) Charleston, what began as a pursuit to bridge a gap between those in need and the Department of Agriculture turned into the fulfillment of a prophecy set by her mother.

“Aquaculture is agriculture,” said Simon Ellis, executive director of The Marine and Environmental Research Institute of Pohnpei (MERIP) based in Kolonia, a city on the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. For the last 20 years, this humanitarian, not-for-profit organization has provided less advantaged Micronesian communities with environmentally sustainable and economically viable skills to produce agricultural products for international markets. The underlying objective of teaching Micronesian and Hawaiian farmers effective techniques and business practices is to allow for self-sustenance as a primary goal, with aspirations of economic advancement as a small business. MERIP also helps farmers in securing start-up financing, small business development, marketing training, and access to international buyers.

Guam is often called “where America’s day begins” as the sun rises 14 hours earlier than the nation’s capital. USDA Program Coordinator Lihan Wei recently traveled to Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to visit these underserved communities and engage in outreach and partnerships.