CFFPI - Farmland Protection Partnership Program:
Hispanic Grower/Farmers’ Market Project
Project Title:
Hispanic Grower/Farmers’ Market Project
This page contains useful information about the Lake County Soil and Water
Conservation District partner project, Hispanic Grower/Farmers’ Market Project,
including a brief project description, project updates, locator map, and
relevant links. Please check this page in the future for updates and further
details of the project.
Project Description:
This project, jointly funded by CFFPI and the Ohio Department of
Agriculture’s Rural Rehabilitation Grant Program, aims to recruit, train, and
support local Hispanic farmers in developing successful farm to market
businesses. Lake SWCD is collaborating with Western Reserve Resource
Conservation and Development Council, Hispanas Organizadas de Lake y Ashtabula (HOLA),
the Lake Erie College Center for Entrepreneurship, and local food advocates.
While many farmed in their native countries, nearly all of Lake County’s
8,000 Hispanics work in industrial jobs. Many of them lack the financial ability
to purchase arable land and the legal know-how to start a farming operation in
this country. Additionally, many culturally-appropriate foods for Hispanic
residents are not available at local grocers, and those for sale have been
shipped long distances to market.
Under this pilot project, Lake SWCD and its partners will recruit ten farmers
and will connect them with land suitable for growing produce. Project organizers
will provide training in business management and record keeping, and will assist
growers in identifying potential markets, including Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA) programs, Farmers’ Markets, and restaurants.
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Project Leader:
Maurine Orndorff
Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District
125 E. Erie Street
Painesville, OH 44077
Maurine.Orndorff@lakecountyohio.gov
Project Updates:
These photos were taken July 9, 2009 by the project leader, Maurine Orndorff,
during a showcase of the project:
 
Left: Razo family plot. Right: Aricelli Razo (center)
addressing the Western Reserve RC&D group at the summer Council meeting.
Aricelli is describing her experiences with the project. Veronica Dahlberg,
Director of HOLA (Hispanas Organizadas de Lake y Ashtabula) (to the right of
Aricelli in the photo) is translating for the group. Also in the photo is
Michelle Lohstroh, Assistant State Conservationist for Special Projects (left of
Aricelli).
Locator Map:
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