Wild Root Market partners with Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas for this weekly food market on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City Missouri. Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas resettles refugees in the Kansas City area, offering case management, job development, English classes, and hope for those who have suffered for too long. New Roots for Refugees, a program started by Catholic Cha
rities in partnership with Cultivate KC, helps refugee women put down new roots by helping them to start their own small farm businesses growing and selling vegetables. Farming is a familiar livelihood that offers them some measure of self-determination and self-sufficiency, healthy food for their families, extra income, and a context for settling into their new communities. Agriculture allows them to put down new roots, metaphorically and literally, and to become citizens who produce and give to their new communities. In the New Roots Program, participants start farming with significant training and support from Catholic Charities and Cultivate KC staff. As their farm businesses become established and they develop more skills, they move to greater financial and managerial independence. Eventually they are able to move onto their own land and operate independently. This program is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 2010-4940021725
