Growing More Food on Main St | Taking Root Community Garden

Being able to feed our working class families right now is more crucial than ever. Back in September 2018 we funded Taking Root Community Garden to build garden beds for refugees and Highland Park residents at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Main St. Consider this months grant phase 2, two years later. Our $3,000 went to build out more beds and add a rainwater cistern that are already being used for Fall planting. Growing familiar foods as well as the non judgmental, social interaction in a garden cannot be reproduced anywhere else. Making sure refugees who are new to our area can make a successful transition and become contributing members of the community will benefit Chattanooga as a whole.

First Christmas | Bridge Refugee Services

Bridge Refugee Services is a nonprofit agency that is committed to supporting refugees as they rebuild their lives and become successful and integrated members of our community. In addition to providing access to training and support for refugees so that they can enhance diversity and community richness, they are also dedicated to education, advocacy, and open conversation. 

December 2019 will be the first inaugural event in Chattanooga: First Christmas at Bridge Refugee Services. This special evening is an opportunity for the families of recently resettled refugees and Bridge volunteers to celebrate an American holiday with an international twist. At this potluck-style event, Bridge staff and volunteers provided traditional American holiday cuisine, while newly resettled refugees are encouraged to bring dishes from their home countries. Bridge also provided activities for refugee children, entrees, and beverages for all attendees. UNFoundation $1,000 funded the entirety of the event.

Soil Resources | NEEMA Community Garden

We have a saint among us. Her name is Charlene Nash. Read about her work helping farmers in Africa here. After a recent trip to Madagascar, Charlene will be assisting Father Peter Kanyi build out the community garden of NEEMA, the Kiswahili name for grace. NEEMA promotes self-sufficiency for refugee and immigrant individuals and families by providing advocacy, support and education in the Chattanooga area. The community garden on Main St is in need of building materials to make it more productive and a more comfortable gathering place, while still remaining mobile if it needed to move, for the immigrant farmers growing foods familiar to them in their home country.

This $3,000 grant benefits all refugees who garden at NEEMA as well as those in the neighborhood with beds of their own. With all the services NEEMA provides (culture counseling, housing, medical care, pastoral care, transportation, translation, ESL classes, etc), the garden just adds another human, friendly dimension to an already confusing transition for many refugees/immigrants. Growing familiar foods as well as the non judgmental, social interaction in a garden cannot be reproduced anywhere else. Making sure these people who are new to our area can make a successful transition and become contributing members of the community will benefit Chattanooga as a whole.

Refugee Coffee: Mad Priest Coffee Roasters

The mission of Mad Priest Coffee is “craft excellent coffee, educate the curious, and champion the displaced.” Though they believe in producing the best product, they equally believe in creating a business that educates and empowers. Our $1,000 January grant helps with a coffee subscription program with an educational component designed to teach coffee drinkers about conflict zones and displaced peoples as well as tools to teach employees English.

Subscription Program: 3x5 cards will go out with each subscription plan (did you know you can have coffee delivered right to your door here in Chattanooga?) that have a featured country of the month. The cards will be educational material on both the conflict in that country, and the coffee being grown.

Job Training Program: Resources for the staff to utilize, such as language materials (mastering English through a platform like Rosetta Stone) and espresso/coffee training are needed to do this right. Bridge Refugee Services helps find the right people to come and work for Mad Priest Coffee. Mad Priest Coffee does the rest.