From our executive director: Beauty, love, and peace
Dear friends,
One of the tasks that occasionally makes my to-do list is a close examination of local zoning rules. This *super-fun* reading is to ensure that what we want to do is lined up with what we are allowed to do at any one of our farm sites.
A little more than a year ago, as we started to seriously consider moving Tapestry Farms into the ground floor of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, I cracked open the zoning rules for the city of Davenport. Two words stood out from the use matrix table for Trinity’s zoning classification—community center.
All that has transpired in our new space is simply quite beautiful. Tapestry Farms has grown a lot in our new home at Trinity, and community is at the center of it all. As we face the challenges that await in 2026—including federal directives issued last week that threatens the immigration status of families we serve—we hope to continue to have you by our side.
ENGLISH CLASS: We started one adult English class with free child care this spring—and then doubled the effort this fall (!). Students who speak six different languages from seven different countries come to Tapestry Farms twice a week—with their babies, toddlers, and preschoolers in tow. The class is led by four gifted volunteer teachers. A team of baby cuddlers and toddler/preschooler corrallers lovingly care for the children in nearby classrooms. A devoted team of drivers ensures transportation is not a barrier for those who do not have a driver’s license or a car. Families can shop in Karibu Market, which offers culturally specific food, toiletries, and now, clothing, household items, and toys, all for free.
LEGAL CLINIC: Since we opened our doors to our immigration legal services a year ago, 108 of our clients have received assistance with green cards, citizenship, or work authorization cards. We celebrated our first green card approval, for a family of six from Syria, in October. This is important work. And now, due to federal legislation enacted in July, it is absolutely vital. Refugees who do not yet have their green cards are no longer eligible for food stamps and will not be eligible for Medicaid in fall 2026. Once they have their green cards (the approval process can take up to three years after their arrival) they will be eligible again. Needless to say, we are filing green card cases as carefully and quickly as possible, despite news last week that the federal government is now putting a halt to processing the applications.
VEGGIE LOVE: Our seasonal farm and hydroponics container, led by gifted staff growers and a crew of more than 300 volunteers, produced 13,000 pounds of fresh veggies this year—a new record. A lot of those veggies and herbs were given away; some were sold at the Quad-Cities Farmers’ Market in Rock Island and through a monthly subscription that dozens of people participated in. We officially partnered with a 1.2-acre garden in north Davenport that grew more than 56,000 pounds and gave it all away. We bought our first piece of land—a half-acre orchard in west Rock Island that we are beyond excited about. And, we launched GIFT Gardens—a community-wide effort to encourage home gardeners and organizations to grow and give away produce to food pantries. Together, we grew 64,063 pounds of produce and gave it all away to neighbors in need!
BAKLAVA AND FLOWERS AND VEGGIES: As we seek to continue to expand and diversify our funding, we are very excited to announce that we are now offering homemade baklava and flower bouquets through our social enterprise, in addition to our fresh produce. Fatima Hussein, a colleague who has been with Tapestry Farms for more than a year, was promoted to bakery and floral manager in October. Monthly subscriptions are available, as are one-time purchases. You can find out more about this delicious and joy-filled adventure on our website, just in time for holiday gift-giving.
CARE: Dozens of people from St. Paul Lutheran Church gathered several times since August to package up fresh fruits, vegetables, rice, beans, juice, diapers, wipes, and a special surprise each time for 31 refugee families. Another crew loaded those groceries into the cars of fellow volunteers who delivered them to apartments and houses in Moline, Davenport, Bettendorf, and Rock Island. This effort helps Tapestry Farms families stay fed despite the loss of food stamps. It is just one of the ways that our volunteers and colleagues care for our people—from navigating complex medical challenges and special needs to ensuring that families stay housed to answering questions about all sorts of unfamiliar systems.
As we look toward 2026, we have significant challenges ahead. The most notable is the current administration's moves to require 233,000 refugees resettled between 2021 and 2025, as well as countless Afghans evacuated to the U.S. after their country fell to the Taliban, to be subjected to yet another round of vetting, with threats of deportation added in. This is in addition to halting processing of green card and asylum applications. Families no longer have an assurance they will be allowed to stay, safely, in the United States. The possibility of being sent back to war-torn homelands has emerged, to countries where they faced violence and persecution.
Last year’s end-of-year letter noted that we are built for such as a time as this - those words remain so very true. We are built to walk alongside families through difficult times, so that is exactly what we will continue to do. I hope you will consider a financial gift to support this work. You can send a donation online at www.tapestryfarms.org/give. We also happily accept gifts of securities, qualified charitable distributions from IRAs, and donations from donor advised funds. We would consider it an honor for Tapestry Farms to be named in your estate planning.
I hope you have an occasion to stop by our community center. When you do, you will likely notice one specific piece of artwork, created by one of the kids who comes to English class with her mom. Briana is so very bright—and she loves art. The drawing is pictured below, alongside a photo capturing all of the people involved in our first session of English class. The canvas features flowers, the word love, and a peace symbol. I think you’ll agree—beauty, love, and peace are three ideals we all aspire to, especially in challenging times.
Grateful for you,
Ann McGlynn, founder and executive director, ann@tapestryfarms.org, 563-370-0004
