Our Mission
Our latest news
ABIRC and UCCE PSA Certify 10+ SEA Farmers
We held a PSA Grower Training workshop on Tuesday, June 7, 2022 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at Self-Help Federal Credit Union. The workshop was led by trainers from the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE). To meet the language needs of our farmer clients, we provided Hmong interpretation services and contracted a Lao[…]
ABIRC Distributes CUSP Checks to BIMPOC Farmers Once Again!
Our grant application for the California Underserved and Small Producers (CUSP) program opened in January and closed in April. We received a large number of applications, but, unfortunately, we could not select all to be grant recipients. This past month, in June, we distributed checks, totaling $500,000.00, to our 160 grant recipients within Fresno,[…]
ABIRC Attends “Meet & Greet” Event with Keng Yang/Nattaphone Suepsakwong
ABIRC had the wonderful opportunity to attend the “Meet and Greet” event with Keng Yang/Nattaphone Suepsakwong. We were able to hear some encouraging words, as well as his experiences as the first elected Hmong member of the Royal Thai Parliament, which is a huge accomplishment. We want to thank Keng Yang/Nattaphone Suepsakwong for traveling to[…]
ABIRC Attends “Hmong Veteran’s Memorial Day”
On Sunday, May 15, 2022, we attended our longtime partner’s, Lao Veterans of American, event, “Hmong Veteran’s Memorial Day.” This was an event where the Hmong veterans who fiught in the Vietnam War were honored. We are truly blessed to have been in such a resilient and empowering space. We appreciate our Hmong veterans and[…]
ABIRC’s Crop Distribution Manager, Keng Vang, Picks Up N95 Masks For Farmers
On Friday, January 21, 2022, ABIRC’s very own Crop Distribution Manager, Keng Vang, picked up N95 masks to help support and nurture the health of our farmers. In the video, which can you find by clicking here, Keng states, “A lot of the farmers we work with are BIPOC farmers, and they don’t really[…]
ABIRC’s Executive Director, Blong Xiong, Appointed as a State Executive Director with the USDA
On Thursday, January 13, 2022, the U.S. president, Joe Biden, announced the appointment of several individuals who will be taking on a leadership role with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). One of those individuals is ABIRC’s very own Executive Director, Blong Xiong. From the linked article (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/01/13/president-biden-announces-key-regional-appointments-for-usda-and-hud/): “As the Executive Director for Asian[…]
Recap: Weekly “CSA Food Boxes Distribution” Events
Wednesday, December 30th, 2021 marked the end of our weekly “CSA Food Boxes Distribution” events, which were made possible through funding provided by Growing the Table and Kat Taylor. Through these weekly events, we were able to package fresh and locally grown produce (e.g., bok choy, carrots, cilantro, chicken eggs, green beans, green onion, lemons,[…]
ABIRC Distributes CUSP Funds to Farmers
In December 2021, ABIRC staff distributed CDFA-California Underserved Small Producers Program (CUSP) checks to small, disadvantaged BIPOC farmers in Fresno County, Merced County, and Sacramento County. There was a total of 70 small farmers who were approved for funding, 35 in Fresno County, 18 in Merced County, and 17 in Sacramento County. The grant amount[…]
ABIRC Attends the SCORE Banquet
On Wednesday, December 8, 2021, ABIRC was invited by our partner at PAC West Bank to attend a banquet hosted by SCORE. The purpose of the SCORE Banquet was to appreciate and acknowledge all their hard-working volunteers who have stepped up to help small businesses during these tough times that the COVID-19 pandemic created. We’d[…]
Kat Taylor Visits Fresno for ABIRC’s Weekly “Food Boxes Distribution” Event
On Wednesday, November 17, 2021, we welcomed Kat Taylor and her wonderful team, Growing the Table (GTT), to Fresno, CA. On behalf of ABIRC, we’d like to thank Kat Taylor and GTT for providing funding to support this program to serve our underserved communities. During this visit, Kat and her team were able to see how[…]