Tapestry Farms has big plans for growing. The nonprofit organization that helps refugees resettle in the Quad Cities and operates an urban farm system to grow food in the area, has a long-term goal of buying a building in downtown Davenport and turning it into Tapestry Farms’ new headquarters. The project could take five years […]
Tapestry Farms has big plans for growing.The nonprofit organization that helps refugees resettle in the Quad Cities and operates an urban farm system to grow food in the area, has a long-term goal of buying a building in downtown Davenport and turning it into Tapestry Farms’ new headquarters.The project could take five years and cost $2 million. Ann McGlynn, the founder and executive director of Tapestry Farms, said it will take a lot of work and fundraising but she firmly believes “it will happen.”“For us, to continue our growth, it will be lovely to be in one space,” she told the QCBJ.The ultimate goal is to buy and renovate the vacant building at 814 W. Third St. that could house Tapestry Farms offices, its farm operations center and have an apartment on the second floor. Currently, many of those group functions now are spread across the community, and group members have even done Tapestry Farms work out of their homes, Ms. McGlynn said. That old red brick building in downtown Davenport is near the intersection of Third and Brown streets. Once home to a dry cleaning business, it is next to King’s Harvest Ministries on one side and a Tapestry Farms garden plot on the other. The structure has “No Trespassing” and “No Loitering” signs posted in one of its windows, and appears to be in need of significant upgrades and repairs. Ivy nearly covers one side of the building. The original portion of the building was built in the 1800s, said Ms. McGlynn.That property and the 6,975-foot building have an assessed value of $71,810 as of this year. The property is owned by RKJ Properties of Bettendorf, according to the Scott County Auditor’s Office.A woman shows onions grown on a Tapestry Farms garden lot. CREDIT TAPESTRY FARMSThe Tapestry Farms founder added that fundraising and planning efforts are at the “beginning stages,” but she hopes the organization will be in its new downtown headquarters in less than five years.“We are going through the process now, as an organization, to see the feasibility of this. … We’ve never done anything like this before. We don’t know what to expect,” she said.While the downtown building is a long-term goal, Tapestry Farms is moving into a new home that might be a short-term solution for its needs. The group is moving into a historic stone and brick building on the Annie Wittenmyer campus, located in the 2800 block of Davenport’s Eastern Avenue.The group is working with Humble Dwellings, a nonprofit that provides housing to people in need, on the project.On Saturday, Aug. 27, Tapestry Farms hosted a “Party at the Cottage” to get its new home cleaned up and ready for the organization.“Come help make our new space into a home for our staff, clients and partners. We will be painting, cleaning and moving things from our old office about 100 yards away,” Tapestry Farms said on its Facebook page.Ms. McGlynn said Tapestry Farms is “very excited” to have its own space that will be used for office space, conference meeting space and storage for donated items.“We can do lots of things well, but creating an entire office space is not one of those things. Humble Dwellings’ nonprofit mission is to furnish apartments and houses for people who need a beautiful space to heal in. We’ve all personally witnessed what their work does for some really dear human beings,” the Facebook post said.Tapestry Farms hopes to be fully moved into that building by October.But Tapestry Farms is much more than buildings. The nonprofit organization was started five years ago to help refugees build a good life in the Quad Cities. Along the way, people in the organization discovered that many of those people they are helping have “tremendous skills in growing food,” said Ms. McGlynn.So, as part of its mission, the group has set up an urban farming system to grow and share food in the community. It now has seven garden plots in Davenport and Rock Island and among the items grown in the urban gardens include: potatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, onions, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini and African eggplant, also called intoryi in Swahili.On a recent hot summer day, Ms. McGlynn and two urban farm specialists – Evangelina Ndagijimana and Aline Niyokwizera – were busy working at the Tapestry Farms garden plot at 2005 N. Main St., Davenport. Ms. McGlynn said it has been a pretty good year for the garden, with one exception – the corn. The corn grew great, but the raccoons got to the ears before the gardeners and appeared to have eaten almost every kernel.Ms. Ndagijimana, who has seven children and has been living in Davenport about a year, said she loves the gardening work and being in the community.“We love it here. We really like it,” she said through an interrupter service that was provided through Ms. McGlynn’s cell phone. (Ms. Ndagijimana and Ms. Niyokwizera both speak Swahili and are from Burundi.)
History of Tapestry Farms
Tapestry Farms’ traces its history back five years – celebrating its fifth anniversary on Tuesday, June 21.That history began in 2016 when Ms. McGlynn, who was then working as director of communication at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, heard a senior pastor at St. Paul urging the church to do more to help refugees in the community. There were concerns about gaps in the community in welcoming and helping refugees. And there was a need to offer a “long welcome” to the refugees. That is, offer them help as long as they welcomed the help.All this was done with a simple goal – helping refugees coming to the region build a good life in the Quad Cities.The inspiration for forming Tapestry Farms began with the church welcoming a refugee family – a woman and her six children from the Democratic Republic of Congo – in September 2016, she recalled. In 2020, Ms. McGlynn stepped away from the communication job at the church to devote more time to Tapestry Farms.The group’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/tapestryfarms – chronicles much of the history over the past few years. It tells of the grants received, the food grown around the community, and the need for donations and volunteers. It tells of success stories, such as people getting jobs and school degrees. And it tells of setbacks, such as a furnace going out in an apartment in the middle of winter, and a refugee’s car catching on fire.Today, the organization helps dozens of families. Ms. McGlynn classified the group’s help this way: Tapestry Farms helps families in different tiers. The first tier is for families that are in crisis and perhaps need the most help. This is often families initially arriving to the community. This group has about eight to 10 families. The second tier, with about 10 to 15 families, is for families who don’t need as much immediate help. The organization may connect with these families once a month. And the third tier consists of families who might need help once a year. There are about 20 to 30 families in this group.Those families in need arrive from many parts of the world. In its latest annual report, Tapestry Farms states that this year the group could help resettle a record number of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar as well as refugees evacuated from Afghanistan.The people in need of help face many challenges and barriers including education, language barriers, medical needs, transportation, housing and many are single parents. Ms. McGlynn listed some of that work by staff and volunteers as: “Emergency room visits, being there for the birth of babies, ensuring kids are registered and ready for school, holding babies when daycare falls through, traveling to Chicago and Des Moines for immigration appointments, getting kids’ birthday cake if they are struggling on their day of birth, going on job interviews, seeking advanced medical care, teaching teens and adults how to drive, navigating systems that don’t yet have the tools and understanding to assist refugees as well as possible.”“We want to make sure every person thrives in our community,” she added.The Tapestry Farms founder – along with the help of staff members like community navigators and others – helps the family members find jobs, get into schools, receive medical help, find places to live and much more.The process of helping people find their ways in the community is a long, often tough one. Ms. McGlynn calls it the “long welcome.”But, it’s a “welcome” she continues to do for many years to come. “I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life,” she added.
Tapestry Farms: At a Glance
Tapestry Farms invests in the lives of refugees who resettle in the Quad Cities. It works to eliminate barriers that refugees experience to housing, education, medical and mental health care, work, food, transportation, community and citizenship.
Tapestry Farms urban farm system reclaims underutilized local land to grow fresh vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers in Quad Cities “food deserts.” Refugees are employed to put their agricultural experience, skills and talents to work, benefiting their new community and their families. Produce is distributed using an income-based Community Supported Agriculture model – people with limited income pay little to nothing for shares, while people with more income pay more to support the work of Tapestry Farms, according to the group’s website.
Tapestry Farms has seven garden lots – six in Davenport and one in Rock Island.
Among its accomplishments are: 43 families served in the past four years; $180,000 investment in lives of QC refugees; 82 boxes of produce delivered; five plots gardened; and one farm truck purchased, according to the group’s 2021 annual report.
Last year’s annual report also states that the group in 2022 could resettle a record number of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Afghanistan.
Staff continues to grow. Tapestry Farms now has five community navigators, three people on the growing crew as well as workers to help with bookkeeping and database work.
Tapestry Farms is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. All donations are tax-deductible. Its address is P.O. Box 2332, Davenport, Iowa 52809.
