November 9, 2026
Two interconnected, community-rooted organizations are making fresh, culturally meaningful produce more accessible to BIPOC, refugee, immigrant, and other vulnerable families across Chittenden County. In 2025, Mama’s Farm in Williston and The People’s Farmstand in Burlington received a joint Resilience Grant from NOFA-VT to help strengthen their efforts for the long haul.
The People’s Farmstand brings fresh, local produce into Burlington neighborhoods through a weekly, farmers-market-style pop-up, offering families no-cost access to nourishing foods, including hard-to-find produce that may be familiar and culturally significant to refugees and recent immigrants in the area. Through their partnership with local farms, they also provide a dependable market for the harvest from farms like Mama’s Farm, creating a reliable source of weekly income.
As a refugee-led farm, Mama’s Farm is not only stewarding land, raising animals, and growing culturally important crops, but also creating opportunities to feed and connect with their community. The partnership with The People’s Farmstand helps ensure that 65 New American families can access fresh, meaningful produce each week, while strengthening Mama’s Farm's ability to sustain and grow its farming operation.
Grant funds helped cover the cost of cover crops and other growing supplies to support weed suppression, water conservation, and season extension. These investments help strengthen the farm's growing practices and build its capacity to keep producing food for the community in the seasons ahead.
This collaboration is a wonderful example of how investing in farm resilience can have ripple effects well beyond an individual farm. By supporting both the people growing the food and the community connections that help get it where it needs to go, this partnership is building a more connected, accessible, and resilient local food system.
Interested in applying? Applications for NOFA-VT’s Farmer Resilience Grants are open through December 15. Find the online application and scoring rubric on our website, and reach out to Avery at [email protected] with any questions.