Bitwayiki received a letter from the USDA this month confirming the termination of its contract funding with her nonprofit. Her letter followed the Trump administration approving steep budget cuts at the USDA.
“The federal government does not live locally to see the impact of this, in this city,” she said.
Bitwayiki said the project can’t move forward, for now, without the USDA grant.
The project’s pause not only delays job skills development for immigrants making a home in Dayton, but its also defers a vision to address hunger in Montgomery County, Bitwayiki said.
Cross Over Community Development, located at the Ahiska Turkish Community Center in Dayton, has provided services like English classes, job skills training and more to immigrants and refugees from multiple nations since 2016.
Credit: contributed
Credit: contributed
Bitwayiki said many immigrants coming to the Dayton area already know how to farm — a skillset necessary in their home countries. The farming resilience program, which would have partnered with the Ohio State University Extension Office and Central State University, aimed to build on that existing knowledge in immigrant communities, providing a job opportunity through food cultivation and vending.
A partnership with Dayton Public Schools, Bitwayiki said, would have also allowed refugee workers to teach farming skills to student interns. Produce cultivated by these trained farmers could also benefit the local economy and increase access to local, nutritional food, Bitwayiki said.
“Immigrants work hard, and they have to,” Bitwayiki said. “And they’re more likely to become entrepreneurs. We wanted to serve as a training hub, an incubator for immigrants and refugees and their success. Our grant was supposed to bridge the gap, build bridges.”
Cross Over Community Development estimates that roughly 40% of Dayton’s refugees — immigrants fleeing from persecution or violence who have been granted that government-issued status — come from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Bitwayiki said she feels federal actions around immigration go beyond cause for concern, with families who work with her organization reporting they fear for their futures in the United States.
She said her organization wants to see the urban farming project move forward.
“I believe now is a crucial time for the community to step in and help save this project —those we serve understand the importance of this work better than anyone,” Bitwayiki said.
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