According to the PEW research center, there are over 299,000 (FY 2015) hmong americans living in the united states (U.S.) and many of them farm

In fact, many metropolitan areas where hmong people concentrate, also have vibrant farmers markets because hmong farmers are such great growers. But the problem is that hmong farmers are working hard, and barely making IT. The PEW research center also found that while only 15% of all americans lived in poverty in 2015, in the hmong community, that rate was almost double (28%). How can we help hmong farming families stay farming and build intergenerational and community wealth?the overarching goal of this proposed project is to build the capacity of hmong farmers around food safety so that they can comply with the food safety modernization act and the produce safety rules (fsma), stay in farming, and ultimately, leave behind a strong legacy for their family members and community. We hope to accomplish that by achieving the following sub-goalsor objectives: introduce hmong farmers from multiple states and regions to fsma and its significance; train hmong farmers on the rules and regulations outlined in the new law; decrease any misunderstandings, fears or anxiety associated with fsma compliance; improve relationships between hmong farmers and fsma governing or inspection entities in the respective states; build a national pipeline of BI-lingual and BI-cultural hmong fsma trainers; support the creation of local community based organizations or cooperatives led by hmong farmers; and support the creation of a robust national network of organizations that work with hmong farmers. In order to accomplish these sub-goals, the hmong american farmers association (hafa) and our partners (fondy food center in milwaukee, WI; north carolina state university in taylorsville, NC; herr's little farm in hillsboro, or; and pike place market in seattle, WA) are seeking support from the food safety outreach competitive grants program (fsop), specifically within the collaborative education and training projects, to adapt and enhance existing food safety curricula for hmong farmers (many of whom do not read or write hmong or english); conduct BI-lingual and BI-cultural food safety training workshops for hundreds of hmong farmers in minnesota, wisconsin, north carolina, oregon and washington state; and increase the pool of hmong speaking food safety trainers by recruiting and supporting hmong BI-lingual and BI-cultural agricultural staff members across the country. This proposed project is aligned with the goals of the fsop program because IT seeks to support local and community based efforts and IT is committed to serving the educational needs of hmong farmers across multiple regions of the country, and especially in our respective states.