Reap Sow Grow-A Hope Farms Update
The vision for Hope Farms, our urban agricultural project, came into sharper focus during December 2015 as Professor Susan Rogers’ students at The University of Houston Gerald Hines College of Architecture unveiled their cutting-edge designs for a space that would empower a community and bring generations together.
Multi-use spaces, placement of entries, presentation to the street and neighbors, thoughtful resource use and building materials, solar panels and water capture, interesting people and project flow and integration of agriculture and community areas were all on display in beautifully handcrafted models showing the full potential of the farm woven into the fabric of its surrounding community. Students presented their ideas, models and reasoning to Recipe for Success Founder & CEO, Gracie Cavnar and Professors Danny Samuels and Nonya Grenader, project advisors from Rice University whose Design Build Lab students hope to construct the final project.
The architecture designs all highlighted a great sense of community, ranging from welcoming signs and scenic rows or crops to retention ponds that double as soccer fields and pavilions that can be used for gatherings for the whole community. Bringing people together is a key theme for Hope Farms, which seeks to unite the community, veterans, families and farmers as it produces affordable produce for neighbors marooned in one of Houston’s largest food deserts.
One University of Houston Architecture Student, Alejandra Cervantes, joined Gracie on air on Sunday, December 13 on KTRK’s Viva Houston to discuss the developments and the issue of food deserts and how Hope Farms aims to address that critical issue and more in the Sunnyside community of Houston.
Recipe for Success received more good news recently from the USDA. We are thrilled to announce a $100,000 grant from the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) for Hope Farms and its Rolling Green Market to increase domestic consumption of and access to locally and regionally produced agricultural products, and to develop new market opportunities for farm and ranch operations. Hope Farms will be using the Rolling Green Market to bring fresh produce straight from the farm to the underserved community and training and educating the community about farming and agriculture.