On-going Bilingual Training

In 2025, it is a pleasure to focus on the work of Emily Holmes, PhD, who is the project director developing the Resilient Urban Farming Project at COCD. We are very excited to have her on board to support the mission of Cross Over Community Development in helping to connect beginning or small farmers and refugees and immigrants who are New American farmers to the tools that they need to succeed. 

Training has commenced in November with bilingual peer educators that are helping New Americans. The project has also created a curriculum of online farming instruction that will be available in the Spring across Ohio and the nation. Both face-to-face and online training helps farmers interested in food safety, marketing, sustainable agriculture, and understanding how to mitigate risks in farming. Cross Over Community Development, Central State University Extension and Community Economic Development staff, Miami Valley Small Business Development Center leadership, the University of Dayton’s Urban Research Initiative and Faculty Fellows at the Fitz Center, Agraria Center for Regenerative Practice, and the Ross and Ruth Downing Family Foundation worked together to create the curriculum.

Dr. Holmes brings to this training effort her extensive experience working with growers in the mid-south and Mississippi Delta region. She served on the board of organizations such as Grow Memphis, an association of urban growers, and Memphis Tilth, which advocated for sustainable farming and organized the Bring It Food Hub, offering a weekly community supported agriculture (CSA) subscription that was aggregated from local farms. She is also an adjunct instructor at the University of Dayton.

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