This initiative addresses the needs of villages by supporting the planting, monitoring, and long-term care of trees in parks, school grounds, vacant lots, and food forests. By encouraging local nursery production, wood utilization, and the cultivation of resilient vegetation, we help communities adapt to challenges such as droughts, floods, storms, and pests. Our approach centers on community forestry, empowering residents to take part in decisions that improve their local environment. Through these efforts, we aim to create and sustain living-wage jobs in green industries, opening new career pathways in community forestry and arboriculture for both youth and adults. This long-term commitment fosters local ownership and strengthens community resilience.

This program meets people where they are, supporting individuals and communities. It offers practical steps: choose and prepare a site (sunlight, drainage), size to goals, ensure water, build soil, orient beds, pick tools, protect crops, compost, and grow food confidently.

COMING IN OCTOBER 2026
Interested in working with the USDA’s Farm Service Agency? Start by setting up your FSA customer and farm records. Most FSA programs require these records. Your FSA 'farm number' is actually your farm’s ZIP code. This number puts your land on the USDA’s map and lets you access programs and funding.

Having complete FSA records means you can get disaster assistance and conservation support, and qualify for various programs. With your records on file, FSA and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) can easily confirm your identity, your fields, and your crops. If a flood or freeze happens, you can quickly ask for help without needing to prove your farm exists. These records also make you eligible for cost-share on conservation practices, certain loans, and important updates about signups and deadlines that matter for your business.

This seven-course composting program meets the needs of gardeners, community organizers, and educators who want to build resilient home and community systems. The modules guide participants from foundational composting concepts through to planning, building, and maintaining effective compost systems that address real-world challenges. Each course focuses on practical skills, such as selecting the right materials, managing different composting methods, troubleshooting common issues, and applying finished compost to support local food production. By including checklists and resources that encourage participants to create a complete compost plan, the program fosters confidence and ownership. The flexible structure lets learners engage with the material at their own pace, ensuring the program can adapt to each community's unique needs.

This program is built to meet people where they are, supporting both individuals and communities as they take their first steps into home or community gardening. We focus on practical, locally relevant steps for choosing and preparing a garden site, considering sunlight, drainage, and how the space fits into daily life. Our guide helps you match your garden’s size to your goals, make sure water is within reach, and build healthy soil for strong growth. We share straight forward ways to orient garden beds, choose tools that work for your situation, protect crops from pests and unpredictable weather, and compost organic waste to strengthen your soil over time. Our approach is hands-on and rooted in real experience, offering clear, supportive guidance so that gardeners at any level can confidently grow food that supports their community’s needs.