Plant It Forward Farms

When refugee families arrive in a new country, they arrive with almost nothing visible — no property, no financial history, no network. What's invisible is harder to count: decades of agricultural knowledge, an understanding of soil and season and seed that no classroom teaches. Plant It Forward was founded in 2011 on a straightforward observation: that Houston had underutilized land, and that refugee farmers had everything needed to work it.

The model is simple in concept and complex in practice. Plant It Forward secures land across Houston, trains farmers in sustainable and regenerative practices, mentors them through the business side of selling produce, and connects them to markets. The farmers run their own enterprises under the Plant It Forward brand. Over 40 new American farmers have been trained since the program began. Today, 13 farmers operate 8 independent businesses, farming 6 acres of urban Houston and providing fresh produce to over 500 families a week.

What makes the produce remarkable is what the farmers bring with them: knowledge of crops that most Houston shoppers have never seen. Bitter melon. Yard-long beans. Thai eggplant. Lemongrass varieties native to Southeast Asia and East Africa. These are ingredients with deep culinary traditions, grown by farmers who know exactly what they're doing with them.

You'll find Plant It Forward at markets across Houston including the Urban Harvest Farmers Market on Saturdays. Farmer family members have earned 10 high school and post-secondary degrees through the program. Five more are currently pursuing degrees, including four active members of the US military. This is what a farmers market can be at its best — not just a place to buy vegetables, but a place where new Americans and longtime Houstonians find, in food, a language they share.