Yahweh's Garden and H.O.P.E. Farm

Diana Garcia-Padilla, Founder of  H.O.P.E. Small Farms for Sustainability, Before being full-time operator/co-owner of Yahweh's All-Natural Farm and Garden, Mrs. Padilla worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security She currently serves as grant administrator and is responsible for maintaining the new and beginning  farmers. She serves as community outreach coordinator and as instructional training coordinator for these farmers and the youth program. She is an experienced chef in the use of diverse plants in the preparation of culturally traditional dishes and has coordinated with Texas AgriLife Extension Service in developing a cooking training and nutrition program. As an entrepreneur, she recognizes that the development of a multi-farm cooperative of local organic producers can serve existing and new markets, and has recently established the “Valley Green Growers Coop” with previous years’ the new and begging farmers who have completed the HOPE organic farm training program. Through HOPE, Mrs. Padilla created three projects: (a) An Organic Farming Course that offered to train those with limited access to land on how to grow enough organic vegetables to feed their families and have a little extra to sell. For those Socio Economic Status (SES)  families taking the classes without land they were provided a plots at little or no charge; (b) an approved Commercial Kitchen for shared use in providing nutritional meals and as a classroom for instructing food sanitation, food safety and food preparation and as a research lab for creating value-added products; and (c) an Organic Farmer’s Market for providing the community organically grown products.