On a 70-acre river bottom parcel of land in Lancaster, Massachusetts, small farmers of diverse ethnic backgrounds work the land, supported by the infrastructure and assistance needed to promote and sustain their successful farming enterprises. At Flats Mentor Farm, the universe can be found in a field, and that universe has been created and sustained through the tenacity, commitment, and passion of its founder Maria Moreira—she made a difference.

An Azorean immigrant who arrived in America with her family at the age of twelve, Maria married a dairy farmer from Lancaster and started a small business making Portuguese cheese to supplement their family income. When an immigrant from Laos inquired about using a small space on their farm to grow crops, she agreed. What began as one plot, grew to incorporate more than 300 farmers from diverse communities, representing Africa and Southeast Asia. Almost two-thirds of the farmers are women.

Founded in 1984, Flats Mentor Farm provides the space and infrastructure for the small immigrants and refugee farmers to get started. World Farmers, co-founded by Moreira and two colleagues in 2010, provides mentoring, training and hands-on assistance working with individual farmers to build capacity to operate individual farming enterprises.

The farmers at Flats Mentor Farm have evolved from growing enough for their immediate and extended families to selling their produce at farmers’ markets and throughout cooperative wholesalers across the state. Support has been garnered by national and international organizations and in 1999, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) identified the program as a national model for what a farmer training program should be.

Moreira’s passion for farming and uplifting the farmers’ voices remains a driving force in support of the mission and vision of Flats Mentor Farm and World Farmers. She serves as a Board Member of Rural Coalition and the Worcester Regional Food Hub, and a Steering Committee member for the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative.

In 2014, Fabiola Nizigiyimana was honored as a Future of American Agriculture Champion of Change by President Barrack Obama.  In 2010 she started farming at Flats Mentor Farm with a single plot of land, expanding it to two acres. In 2012 Nizigiyimana applied to the USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program as a new farmer under the guidance of Moreira, becoming the first African woman refugee farmer at Flats Mentor Farm to own a high tunnel.

The high tunnel allows her to grow produce earlier and later in the season, expanding the time-frame in which she can sell crops wholesale providing additional income and food security to her family of five children. “Here, as in Burundi, I farm to help both my family and my community,” writes Nizigiyimana. “I tell my friends that through farming and its learning opportunities, they will be able to support themselves and our community in terms of food security. I currently have two other jobs to provide for my family, but farming is my favorite job.”

For almost 40 years, Moreira has nurtured community through farming, building upon the legacy that ties people to the land and each other. She has made a difference in the lives of countless immigrants and refugees.  Her work will continue to shape community in the spirit of the women who preceded her.

Photo courtesy of Steve Lanava, Telegram & Gazette