We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Risha Broom a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Risha , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?

Initially, beginning as a volunteer, I am now fortunate to serve as a full-time employee for a non-profit, called Harvest for the Hungry in Freeport, TX. Harvest for the Hungry cultivates food for individuals struggling with food insecurity, as well as serves opportunity for agriculture enrichment in our area. A big part of our success is through the support of our volunteers. One of my most heartwarming stories is when I had a group of high schoolers out for a volunteer workday at our farm. We had a first time visiting young volunteer named Kayla. Kayla had not been far from the school or her apartment in Freeport, with little opportunity for enrichment beyond core instruction and home experiences. Kayla was pulling pomegranate and okra that morning with the rest of the group. Centipedes creeped from the ground, mosquitos nagged us all, and the September humidity was heavy. Kayla’s white converse shoes would never be the same treading through the clay soil and tilled debris. I imagined as I walked over to check on her, she would offer some adolescent complaint and a plea for a break. However, to my delight, she shared with a wild smile, as she turned towards me, “Mrs. Broom, I feel like I can breathe for the first time.” It is incredible to see and know that sometimes the smallest opportunities in the real world can inhabit a child in powerful ways.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I began contributing to non-profit work through teaching high school agriculture science. As an educator, I was largely inspired by agriculture appreciation and environmental conservation. In order to increase external literacy, I was able to find the most influential places in our community for my students to volunteer at. The most impactful experience for myself and the students was Harvest for the Hungry. Here, volunteers not only contribute to agronomic production, but gain perspective and authority in their food origins and their impact to help others. Our routine consisted of harvesting, digging new fruit tree holes, filling compost bins, and other related crop maintenance. At the closure of each morning, we share a meal that highlights a food from our harvest. I have had the privilege to create and demonstrate a healthy recipe each time to model how to enjoy fruits and vegetables in new, simple ways.

This has currently led me to taking a leadership position at Harvest for the Hungry. I am now responsible for coordinating and generating volunteer shifts, grant writing, fundraising, and operations for the farm. I am proud to be directly involved in the daily functions of Harvest and to be under the leadership of our Founder and President, David Huang. The mission of Harvest for the Hungry is to provide fresh and healthy farm to table food for those in need. Harvest provides fruits, vegetables, farm raised eggs and honey to our local food pantries, extending from Freeport through the Houston area, refuge groups, identified school children, church and community members. We are set apart from other food giving non-profits because we partner donation with real life experience and engagement at our farm. Visitors can pick their food from the source, clean the dirt from its roots, and prepare it in a way that can serve and nourish families beyond its gift.

I am also empowered by the freedom to nurture my growing interest in further developing platforms that enrich our community and its youth with new experiences and leverage in their personal wellbeing and health.
Harvest is able to diversify its outreach by partnering with many other community partners. In fact, we are now a central location for other non-profits, a bold illustration of unified effort to support those that struggle most in our area. Just this week, we opened our doors to a brand new 4,000 square foot Education Center. Here we will build a calendar of events that fulfill needs beyond hunger.

An example, of problem solving for Harvest, lives in this building’s construction. We once served a large number of rotating volunteers in a small red shed that is seen from the south window of the Education Center. The red shed also shelters our seedlings, fruit trees during storms and farming supplies. We also have a small half kitchen, tables, and chairs inside. Here, we staged our growing projects, as well as hosted visitors and volunteers for cooking and agriculture support. This little red shed became quickly overwhelmed. Our founder, David Huang advanced our organization by building powerful grant work and community collaboration to make our new Education Center a reality.

Our greatest challenges are not isolated, as we are interconnected with the economy and environment. We are at constant work to find shared solutions in funding, supply issues, weather setbacks, limitations in manpower and access to heavy equipment, as well as, the dynamics of the soil, living plants and animals. As we progress into 2023, with a buzzing and intimate team of volunteers, stakeholders, two part time farmers, one office manager and its founder, hunger remains a core and vital priority of Harvest.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

As an employee and advocate of a non-profit, other than training and knowledge, networking is the most helpful in succeeding. Our performance is increased through the support and promotion of other non-profits, mentors, financial partners, and volunteers that come from our community.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

If I could go back, I would absolutely choose the same profession. I would not have known, starting out, that my professional goals and skills would so profoundly align with my placement now at Harvest for the Hungry. My education in biology led me to teaching science. My interest in extensions to core science instruction, brought me to agriculture science. As an established and active agriculture teacher, I was able to animate interest in elevating my students’ stewardship, citizenship, and literacy in their community along with my own. I now see how each step in my journey transfers to a new challenging and fulfilling career in non-profit and agriculture management.

Contact Info:

• Website: harvestforthehungry.org
• Instagram: harvestforthehungrytexas
• Facebook: harvest for the hungry-texas
• Twitter: @h4thtx