The Big Garden teaches young adults to grow and distribute produce to Omahans in need through Siembra Raíces program

Juli Oberlander • September 30, 2021

The Big Garden teaches young adults to grow and distribute produce to Omahans in need through Siembra Raíces program

Photos courtesy of Jaimee Trobough

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, local nonprofit Big Garden has risen to the challenge to distribute food to the community.

Jaimee Trobough, director of communications, says the Big Garden has hired teams of young interns throughout the pandemic to carry out garden work and provide produce to Omahans in need.

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have trained and supervised more than 50 young adults through the Siembra Raíces program," she says, "teaching them how to grow food and distribute it to our community members who need it most."

The Siembra Raíces program is a partnership between The Big Garden and the Latino Center of the Midlands that focuses on growing and distributing fresh, local produce to people in need across the Omaha area. The program provides training on gardening, cooking, nutrition and food preservation, giving interns the opportunity to learn and apply gardening skills at various sites throughout Omaha. The team of interns is led by a coordinator and five team leads who train the interns on safety, garden practices and local food systems.

While the 2020 season yielded many positive results, Trobough says 2021 has been even more successful for the Big Garden.

"The 2021 growing season was even bigger than last year," Trobough says. "This year, we had 33 wonderful interns who worked three days each week under the supervision of our staff."

During the program, Trobough says the interns were divided into five teams that planted and maintained gardens at the Big Garden's main campus and 13 sites across North and South Omaha. In partnership with the Kroc Center, the Big Garden has also instructed interns on preserving locally grown produce in commercial kitchens.

Trobough says the results have been plentiful.

"These amazing young people harvested more than 2,000 pounds of fresh garden produce that was distributed through various markets, pantries and other food distribution programs to neighbors in need," Trobough says. "Much more produce will be harvested in the coming weeks."

She says the Big Garden staff has been pleased with the interns' efforts to help feed the community.

"We couldn't be more proud of their hard work," she says. "Way to go, team."

Learn about how the Big Garden helped feed the community in 2020 by reading their story here. Visit the Big Garden website to read more about their programs, volunteer and donation opportunities.

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