HAP participant Carl Crisp with Brandon Allen, Be A B.O.S.S. & Jim Sherman, Seeds of the Soil
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HAP is a collaboration of organizations and individuals that produce food across Houston to address food insecurity in low-income communities. to create substantive change in them through agriculture. The collaboration consists of agricultural professionals and community members from across Houston that see agriculture as a way to create substantive change. Through this collaboration we seek to increase the amount of locally produced food and provide job training to residents in communities where gardens and farms are located, leading to healthier people, healthier homes and healthier communities.
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Current HAP Projects
While 2020 has been full of ups and downs, we have stayed focused on our mission of providing resources to local growers in Houston and providing job training related to food production, processing and distribution. Through partnerships with elected officials (Council Member Letitia Plummer, State Rep Jarvis Johnson and State Rep Harold Dutton), City of Houston Departments (Complete Communities, Mayor’s Office of Education) HAP is poised to have an impact on the Houston area in 2021. Check out some of our current projects:
#ShrineUrbanFarmHub
This is a partnership with The Shrine of the Black Madonna, RST BioScience and Fresh Life Organic. The #ShrineUrbanFarmHub was designed to be a self-sustaining food production system. The hub will provide training for soil-less vegetable production utilizing hydroponics, aquaponics, processing and preserving vegetables and serve as a location where locally grown produce can be purchased. Currently we are working to raise $40,000 to have an aquaponics grow space, solar panels, 2 greenhouses and food processing equipment.
#SeedTheNeed
In March once Harris County shut down, we began working with Council Member Letitia Plummer and State Representative Harold Dutton and State Representative Jarvis Johnson to expand our work of addressing food insecurity in Acres Homes and Fifth Ward & Kashmere Gardens. Through this collaboration we are supporting local growers in Acres Homes and developing a 5 acre site that will provide fresh food for the community and serve as a job training and food distribution location. In Fifth Ward and Acres Homes, we are working with Seeds of the Soil to keep their Jim Sherman Oasis Garden as a resource to the community and with Inspired Learning Institute to rehab the garden at the Kashmere Multi-Service Center.