Central: Kansas City's New Roots

One of the most exciting things happening in America's Bread Basket is occurring not in its swaying fields of wheat and corn but on neighborhood blocks and vacant lots within Kansas City. And much of it is thanks to the efforts of Cultivate Kansas City. By supporting urban immigrant growers like the New Roots for Refugees farm, this grassroots organization is creating a small market base for city growers of all backgrounds.

At Kansas City's original organic market at Brookside, you'll find Burmese, Somalian, Bhutanese, and Burundian immigrant farmers selling kale, chard, broccoli, carrots, and beets in vivid colors matched only by the vendors' traditional dress. Along the way, they've succeeded in expanding the locavore spectrum—as well as the internationally spiced palate—of the entire community. —David Hanson