DES MOINES, Iowa — Lutheran Services in Iowa runs a program called Global Greens which teaches refugees how to farm in Iowa and provides them with land to do so.

Jennie Irwin, the Manager of the Global Greens Program and a local farmer, said they help refugees develop a variety of skills.

“It’s an incubator farm for refugees and new Americans where we teach climate-smart ag we teach ag business practices and try to get them familiar with how we grow in America,” Irwin said.

Irwin said that lots of the skills are transferable, but the weather poses the biggest challenge to farmers.

Irwin works with the refugee farmers to provide food from their homelands that you can’t get in Iowa.

“You can’t go to an Earl May and get Fatalii peppers or I have some over here for the Bhutanese gardeners…,” Irwin said. “So they work with me in the winter they bring me their seeds and then we make a plan.”

Refugee farmers in the Global Greens program earn money by selling the produce they grow at farmers’ markets as well as through subscription box services. Customers can choose to get monthly or weekly boxes of fresh produce.

To learn more about the Global Greens program visit Luther Services in Iowa’s website.