Refugees help turn lenga lenga into Iowa's new crop

• The refugee nonprofit recently received a $15,000 grant from the Iowa Department of Agriculture to expand lenga lenga as "Iowa's new superfood."

How it works: LSI's Global Greens gardening program gives refugees access to farmland where they can grow their favorite produce from their home countries.

• And it's steadily growing. This year, the program sold $550,000 worth of vegetables, says Natalie Estrem, who helps manage the Global Greens program. In 2020, they sold $400,000.
• The program runs a 8.5-acre incubator farm at the Valley Community Center for farmers interested in building their own business, and they have 20 community gardens for families who want to grow their own food near their homes.

Zoom in: Many LSI farmers are from Burundi, an eastern African country where lenga lenga is a popular vegetable.

• It's ended up being a "cash crop" at the nonprofit's weekly farmers market outside the Polk County Health Department, Estrem says.
• Families purchase large quantities of it to process and freeze so they can have it year-round.

What's next: Using the grant funds, Estrem says, they plan on teaching more farmers how to grow lenga lenga and save its seeds.

• They're also planning a lenga lenga festival next year to encourage more Iowans to try it.

The intrigue: The vegetable tastes like a nuttier version of spinach and is typically cooked down.

• Families will often cook it with African eggplants, meat and other vegetables.
• Estrem used it to make a lenga lenga and artichoke dip instead of using spinach.

The latest: LSI's Global Greens program is growing, and the nonprofit recently purchased the greenhouses at Dogpatch Urban Gardens.

• They hope to earn around $40,000 from plant sales in 2026, Estrem says.
• They'll plant the lenga lenga seeds in early spring in the greenhouse.

What's next: Estrem says they also face uncertainties due to federal funding. SNAP benefits are often used at their farmers' market in conjunction with Double Up Food Bucks.

• LSI hopes that 2026 will be the program's largest year yet.