Farm Team

Gracie Cavnar believes that you can do anything you put your mind to, and she’s spent a lifetime proving it.

In 1998, following careers in architecture, hospitality and public relations, Gracie retired to write and travel. But, after she learned about the childhood obesity epidemic and its astounding effect on American lives and wallets, she spent years researching best practices around the world and then launched Recipe for Success Foundation in 2005 to change the way children understand, appreciate and eat their food. Her vision of Hope Farms has always been a critical part of the solution – making it easier for all Houstonians to feed their children healthy food.  After nearly a decade of fundraising and planning she led the Hope Farms groundbreaking on Earth Day 2016. 

“There is nothing more hopeful than planting a seed,” she likes to say.  You can find Gracie at the farm nearly every day with her hands in the dirt, leading a farm walk, teaching a cooking or gardening class, or leading the Vet trainees through their business planning classes—planting seeds everywhere she goes.

When she not working, she’s-latin in the gardening kitchen with her 7 grandkids undoing her best to convince them that they love beets as much as she does.

 Not only a certified Master Gardener and a 20+ year veteran of growing food in urban environments, Dany is also recognized as one of the best Gardening Educators in the country.  Dany loves all peppers and is particularly fond of Chilitepins, which bring back many childhood memories from summers spent on his grandparent’s ranch in South Texas.

“By showing the path of food from farm to table, I believe Hope Farms helps build a more deeply rooted connection to our environment and a foundation of sustainable living for future generations.”

Native Houstonian, Delvrick lives in our Sunnyside community with his wife and a rambunctious set of twins.  Chef turned farmer, Delvrick operated his own vegetable farm north of Houston for many years before joing our team. He is thrilled to be grwoing food for his family and neighbors in the neighborhood.

As Recipe for Success Foundation’s Culinary Director, Alyssa Dole teaches the organization’s signature Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ curriculum to student so fall ages from the Peg Lee Culinary Classroom at Hope Farms.

She also manages relationships with our robust Chef  Brigade of professionals who volunteer their time to help teach, empower and inspire healthy eating in an effort to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity in Houston and beyond.

Alyssa’s culinary journey led from training at Cook Street in Denver to kitchens around the world, before she first joined the Foundation in 2008 to teach our award-winning healthy eating curriculum during its design and testing phase. Alyssa then devoted 10-years to leading pastry programs in several of the city’s finest restaurants where her specialty breads and pastries attracted professional recognition including 2015 Best Pastry Chef in Houston.  In 2023, Alyssa rejoined the Foundation, like coming home she says. 

Charles manages 6,000 square feet of pollinator gardens that are woven through the fields at Hope Farms. He is also a member of our Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ team, teaching camps and Scouts, leading field trips and giving free gardening classes on Saturdays.

He focuses his efforts on maintaining colorful, four-season floral displays that attract beneficial wild life to our farm and creating engaging experiences to teach visitors about growing flowers and food. Charlie discovered his passion for farming early in life. His enthusiasm for community outreach and early exposure to healthy eating is what drives his passion for sharing the benefits of connecting to the earth and growing food.

Before joining the Recipe for Success Foundation team, the Houston native farmed and ran farmers markets in West Virginia.  You can join Charlie on the first Saturday of each month for free, hands-on gardening workshops at Hope Farms. 

Jai and Primadonna are both graduates of our Growing Urban Farmers program and neighbors to the farm.  Their enthusiasm and dedication to making healthy affordable food available to more Houstonians is infectious. 

Every Saturday they are up bright and early to welcome neighbors from near and far to our weekly market. You will find them there enthusiastically talking about their favorite seasonal produce on the shelves and sharing tips for cooking it.  Stop by any Saturday to meet them!