Nuestras Raices Inc

"Founded in 1992, Nuestras Raíces (Our Roots) is a grassroots urban agriculture organization based in Holyoke, MA. Our mission is to create healthy environments, celebrate “agri-culture,” harness our collective energy, and to advance our vision of a just and sustainable future. 

Focusing on addressing the root causes of food insecurity and inequity, Nuestras Raíces is a community development corporation serving the large, growing Latinx population of Holyoke and Hampden County, MA through programs and social investments that build community strength, leverage our collective power, support our traditions and culture, and create a more resilient urban environment in which to raise our families. We focus on community entrepreneurship and business development; agriculture, food skills, and nutrition education; community food security initiatives; and youth/community leadership development. 

Nuestras Raíces manages a network of 8 community gardens, providing several dozen families with space to grow their own food. Our 30-acre urban farm hosts a variety of farming and food business trainings, supported in part through the USDA and MDAR (MA Department of Agricultural Resources), as well as a farm business incubator program that supports 9 small Latinx-owned farming businesses, which form the backbone of a culturally soveregin local food system. Our seasonal weekly farmers markets, farm store, mobile produce markets, CSA program, and Food is Medicine initiatives all create market opportunities for the farming businesses we support while providing access to fresh produce directly to the most food insecure neighborhoods in Holyoke, which residents can purchase with SNAP, WIC, and Market Vouchers we and our community partners provide through various funding programs. Our Empresarios Comunitarios (Community Entrepreneurs) workshops and business technical assistance programs along with our youth/community leadership development programs and dedicated environmental justice initiatives have been instrumental over the past 3+ decades in transforming the socio-economic fabric and physical environments of our community, creating more representation of our community among business leaders, institutional governance, and elected representatives.

Currently, we are implementing an anaerobic digester project at our farm that will collect food waste from the community and convert it into compost and renewable energy that will allow us to grow year round in our greenhouses. We are also working on designs for a new Sustainability Hub at our farm which will include more storage, processing, and packing space; a conference and education space, and a multi-vendor market space. We are also working on rebuilding our Farm to School programs now that Holyoke Public Schools are going out of receivership, and we will be launching some exciting policy and environmental justice initiatives in 2025.

Thank you for your support!  **************Gracias!************"