A new farm on Oʻahu’s North Shore is working to employ refugees, immigrants and survivors of human trafficking while strengthening Hawaiʻi’s food resilience and security.
Pacific Gateway Center, a partner affiliate of the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, started its farming program in 2012 after a group of workers from Southeast Asia were brought to Hawaiʻi under false pretenses and were allegedly exploited for their labor.
PGC Farms worked to rescue them and introduce a path toward independence, where they could have access to land, resources, and education on starting their own businesses.
“One of the easiest or most obvious beginning touch points for someone coming to a new country is food, and that really has been an integral part of the connections that we make,” said PGC Executive Director Matt Johnson said to HPR. “That’s part of the relationship building and trust, but also the economic opportunities.”…