Founder wins Iowa SHARES humanitarian award
Des Moines, Iowa - Ann McGlynn, the founder and executive director of Tapestry Farms, has been awarded the World Food Prize Foundation’s Robert D. Ray Iowa SHARES Humanitarian Award. in 2013 to honor the former Iowa Governor on his 85th birthday. The award recognizes an Iowan who has provided significant leadership in confronting hunger and alleviating human suffering either at home or abroad, much as Governor Ray did on behalf of Asian refugees during his time in office.
The following are Ann’s remarks at the award ceremony on Wednesday, July 16, at the Iowa Hunger Summit.
When I was 1 year old, I lived in a 12-foot-wide trailer on my grandparents’ farm in Clinton County - south of Charlotte, northeast of DeWitt on rural route 2. If you know Clinton County, it’s the first farm south of the s curve near the old Villa Nova Church.
It was 1975 - the year Robert Ray said to his friends in federal leadership: Iowa wants to welcome refugees from southeast Asia. Please, let them come to safety here, in this beautiful state. Let them rebuild their lives here.
He said: “I didn’t think we could just sit here idly and say, ‘Let those people die. We wouldn’t want the rest of the world to say that about us if we were in the same situation.”
When I was almost 5 years old, my grandparents moved into town, and my brother, parents and I moved into their house on what is now a century farm.
That was in 1979, when Robert Ray and Kenneth Quinn visited refugee camps overseas. They saw a map of Iowa hanging on the wall of one of the huts, filled with pins where refugees had settled in the state. That visit led to the formation of Iowa SHARES, an effort that gave our state the opportunity to welcome refugees escaping violence as first-generation immigrants.
If you are the descendant of immigrants - most of you in this room are - do you know the survival story of your ancestors?
One of my first-generation immigrant ancestors, Peter McGlynn, came to the United States from Ireland in 1848 during the potato famine. He hauled dirt in wheelbarrows to help build railroads. He eventually came to Iowa and bought a piece of farmland in Boone County. That land is still farmed by McGlynns.
Today, I am 51 years old. I live in a small brick house in Davenport. For those who know Davenport, my home is near the historic Annie Wittenmyer campus. As you can probably tell, the idea of home is quite important to me. I am the founder and executive director of Tapestry Farms, a nonprofit urban farm system that invests in refugees seeking safety and hoping to find home again.
We grow vegetables - more than 11,000 pounds in 2024. We offer social services support to refugees from countries that include Afghanistan, Syria, and Democratic Republic of Congo.
I get to do this work today because of Robert Ray. Some of the most important people in my life are Iowans because of Robert Ray. That means I consider this award one of the greatest honors of my life.
I would be seriously remiss if I did not acknowledge that government policy changes are significantly impacting our collective work right now. The resettlement program inspired by Governor Ray, which has brought more than 3 million refugees to safety in the U.S., is indefinitely paused. Government-funded food programs - including SNAP and the incredible Local Food Purchasing Agreement that fed people with locally grown and nutrient-dense foods - are being slashed.
But since I only have a few moments with you, in the spirit of Robert Ray, here are the things I would like to ask of you.
Be a friend to an immigrant or refugee.
Plant a garden, no matter how small, in our rich Iowa soil. Give the produce to someone facing nutrition insecurity. We are absolutely surrounded by food-growing potential.
Lend your time and talent to a food assistance or refugee-serving organization.
Reach out to your elected leaders and share what you believe about what is happening at the state and federal level.
Iowa has been home almost my entire life. From north of DeWitt to Iowa City to Waterloo to Davenport. One of my greatest hopes is that every single person who lives here can settle in and thrive, without even a hint of fear.
When you need a little bit of hope, I’d like you to think of Tapestry Farms’ very first client. A refugee from Burundi, she is now an American citizen. After a two-decade-long journey as refugees, she and her family found their new home here in Iowa. A few years back, the purchased a gray split-level a stone’s throw away from their children’s school in Davenport.
For a little inspiration, I would like to leave you with this passage. It’s from a speech Governor Ray gave after he returned home from the refugee camp visit in 1979.
“Don't tell me of your concerns for the poor, the disenfranchised, the underprivileged, the unemployed, show me. Don't tell me of your concerns for the rejected, the prisoner, the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless; show me. Don't tell me of your concerns for these people; you have a chance to save their lives; show me.”