Farmer Training

New American Sustainable Agriculture Project

A farmer training program since 2008

The New American Sustainable Agriculture Project (NASAP) assists new Americans to build sustainable farm enterprises. ORIS believes that income opportunities which honor the skills, culture, and business experiences that refugees and immigrants bring to this county are vital for their economic integration. ORIS supports the adaptation of their skills and ambition to the New Hampshire landscape and markets. NASAP farmers strive not only to be successful farmers but also to be leaders in strengthening sustainable food systems throughout New Hampshire.

More than 40 New American farmers and self-sustainable gardeners farm on ORIS-owned and leased land in Dunbarton, Boscawen, and Concord, New Hampshire, as well as several smaller-scale community gardeners. NASAP participants sell their produce under the Fresh Start Farms NH collective brand. Learn more about Fresh Start Farms and ways to purchase produce at www.freshstartfarmsnh.com

Farmers handling produce
New American working on the farm

“I like to farm because it helps me physically and emotionally. I usually can’t wait when the snow is over so I can start working in the garden. I also eat well when I have fresh organic vegetables and make money when I sell some of my crops.”

Food Access

Bringing food to communities that need it most

ORIS serves a broad range of new American and low-income families throughout the Manchester and Concord regions through its food access initiatives, which bring affordable, locally grown ethnic and “mainstream” crops to “food deserts” in the cities. Food deserts are areas that do not have ready access to fresh, nutritious food within a half mile of the neighborhood. ORIS drives a solar-powered mobile farmers market into these neighborhoods, and in 2021 opened its own store for produce in a downtown Manchester food desert – the only “Double Up Food Bucks” store in the city. Every season, ORIS also donates several thousand pounds worth of fresh, local food to families in need through various outlets and arrangements with partners in our network.

ORIS’s food access work demonstrates just one of the real, positive impacts that new Americans can have on their communities over time. While ORIS targets new American populations as beneficiaries of its food access work, it is also improving the health and well-being of neighbors as well. And the farmers in ORIS’s program are providing the crops that make it happen. ORIS is proud to play a role in helping new American farmers improve the overall health of their communities.

two mixed culture women smiling at a farmers market with two young boys
a man and woman refugee selling eggs and produce at a farmers market

“I can’t get to the store regularly, I can get the vegetables and things that I need when they come here, and I know that they are fresh and I know that they haven’t been shipped from wherever.”

Donate to ORIS

1AMOUNT
2DETAILS
3REVIEW
4PAYMENT
Donation Amount
Hidden
Contributions

The generosity of our individual donors is measured in the laughter heard from our youth, in the successful job interview, in the nutrition of our farmer’s children, and in the warmth and resilience of our new American community.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts and the top of our minds.

Partner with ORIS

If you are interested in connecting with us about available farmland and/or a new American interested in farming, please complete the form below.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.