Hurricane Beryl Hits Hope Farms
Hurricane Beryl cut a devastating path through the Greater Houston area on Monday, leaving millions of residents to pick up the pieces of their lives. Four days later, a million of our neighbors are still left without power as the temperatures soar above 100 degrees.
Though we are happy to report that our power came back on Thursday, Hope Farms was right in the path of Beryl and was not spared the destruction that impacted so many of our neighbors.
Surveying the damage, Dany Millikin, VP Operations, reported, “There is a lot of debris, and of course we lost everything in our coolers, which were off for days. But the crops in the field are fine. Honestly, our laser focus on building healthy soil is what saved things–the crops were resilient because they are deeply rooted in our great soil.”
He went on to say, “Beryl ripped the covers off all our hoop houses and left the frames mangled. Until we get them repaired, our seed starting and transplant operations, which fuel our ongoing crop production, are stalled. So even though we are producing from the existing crops in our fields, rebuilding those structures is critical to our ongoing operation–especially our fall crops.”
Our staff sprang into action bright and early Tuesday morning, but even after a week of clean up, there is still a lot to do. Most critically–rebuilding the hoop houses. Delvrick Boykin, our Lead Farmer, believes that we can get them finished by next week if we can recruit volunteers to lend a hand. So, if you have gotten your power back and resolved things on the home front, consider coming out to help.
Teyza Thomas, our Volunteer Coordinator has created an online sign-up for those interested in lending a hand any morning over the next several weeks. Just make sure to wear sunscreen and close toed shoes and bring a water bottle! CLICK TO SIGN UP.
On the bright side, the news is good for our weekly farm share subscribers, according to Culinary Director, Alyssa Dole. “We were able to deliver freshly harvested produce and eggs to each of our customers on Thursday, including fulfilling the orders to area chefs who get weekly boxes.” So if you can’t volunteer, a delicious way to support our efforts is to become a Farm Share Subscriber–we will deliver our farm-fresh goodness right to your door every Thursday. We heard that next week’s deliveries will include watermelon! Just click “Buy Our Produce” here on our website–see BUY OUR PRODUCE.
Whether it’s rolling up your sleeves to help us rebuild Hope Farms, becoming a Farm Share Subscribers or making a donation to the Recipe for Success Foundation annual fund, we appreciate all that you do to keep us teaching, empowering and inspiring healthy eating! We couldn’t do it without you!
