Plenty of HOPE for community farming in the RGV

HARLINGEN, Texas – There is plenty of hope for the future of community farming in the Rio Grande Valley.

A $7.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been awarded to a non-profit organization to address the needs for acquiring agricultural land and training for small farming operations.

The grant was announced during a check presentation held Wednesday, May 22, at the Harlingen-based HOPE – a small farm owned by Diana and Saul Padilla.

The grant is to address the lack of available farm land plots gobbled up by subdivisions and skyrocketing prices.

“We can encourage people to farm and grow their own food, but we keep hearing the same complaint that land was too expensive,” Diana Padilla said. “We also see how land with farming potential is being eaten up by urban growth and housing developments.”

She said they repeatedly have explained the situation to USDA officials and applauded their positive response by providing grants over the years.

But the $7.4 million grant awarded earlier this month came as a huge surprise considering previous allocations.

Joshua Coleman, state outreach coordinator with the Farm Service Agency, said the USDA awarded 50 grants across the country.

“This is the only one in Texas,” he said. “This grant is going to address a lot of areas.”

That includes farmland acquisition here in the Valley and in Central Texas as well education and training for people interested in small farming opportunities.

Padilla said in addition to growing food they also are going to work on a marketing plan to help farmers sell their produce.

She said a complaint they often hear from small farmers is about not being able to sell some of the food they grow.

“We can change the local food system,” she said. “This project is also about entrepreneurship.”

Solomon Torres, a consultant and grant writer, said he has been working for HOPE for a number of years.

“We have been able to secure grants in the neighborhood of $200,000,” he said. “But a $7.4 million one?” This is a first!

Under the specifications of the project, HOPE will partner with four community-based farming operations each of them located here in Harlingen, Donna, Santa Rosa and Mission.

One of the project goals is to motivate people to become financially independent by growing and selling sustainable and healthier food stuffs.

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