Global Food Project

Global Food Project is a nonprofit community garden program based at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm in Iowa City that was founded in 2016 to connect newly arrived immigrants and refugee families with established residents through shared gardening spaces. Operating under the nonprofit IC Compassion since 2020, the project provides both family and market garden plots where predominantly immigrant and refugee families cultivate vegetables from their native countries alongside local crops, all grown organically. The program has grown significantly since its reestablishment in 2021, expanding from 35 plots to over 90 plots, and hosts a weekly farmers market while also serving as an incubator farm supporting gardeners in transitioning to independent farming operations.