One result of the community farm is that people are learning about foods from other people's homelands. First lady Michelle Obama -- who has her own vegetable garden at the White House -- visited the farm in San Diego last year, where Dadiri Nuro grows crops.

A group called the Somali Bantu Zigua Community has operated a farm for several years near Boise, Idaho. Dadiri Nuro is the group's president.

DADIRI NURO: "We are farming people. We like to farm. We need fresh food. We have two kinds of corn. We have African corn, we have American corn. Americans, they like soft corn, and the Bantu, we like hard corn."

Mr. Nuru came to the United States in two thousand four. He and his family had been living in a

refugee camp

in Kenya.

He says more than fifteen crops are grown without

pesticides

at the farm.

DADIRI NURO: "We have potatoes, we have tomatoes, we have kale, lettuce, cabbage, onion, shallots … "

The community group sells some of its produce at a farmers market and has now bought storage freezers. The group has also donated food to other communities.

The Idaho state Office for Refugees has advice on its website about starting a community garden. You can find a link at voaspecialenglish.com.

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Our programs help people learn English while learning about different subjects. Go to voaspecialenglish.com or the VOA Learning English Channel on YouTube. I'm Bob Doughty.