Authority Magazine

Steven Hoffen Of Growing Peace: Urban Farming and Community Supported Agriculture; Why It’s Important and Why You Should Get Involved

April 18, 2022
By Martita Mestey

You don’t need space to grow produce — I am from New York City and never thought I’d be able to get involved with gardening. I thought you needed a large outdoor space in the country to be able to grow crops. Hydroponics have changed all this, allowing people to grow healthy vegetables anywhere, anytime.

The recent growth of Urban Farming and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has been a modern revolution in the agriculture sector. What exactly are the benefits of Urban and Community Farming? How is this better for the environment or our health? What are the drawbacks? How can one get involved? To address these questions, we are talking to leaders of Urban and Community Agriculture who can share insights based on their experience.

As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Steven Hoffen, Founder Growing Peace, Inc.

Fourteen-year-old Steven Hoffen is an award-winning documentarian who is especially interested in building a better future for humanity through hydroponics. In 2021, Steven founded Growing Peace Inc., a non-profit organization that is working to help people around the world access food and become self-sufficient. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, the eighth-grader also made an award-winning film, Growing Peace in the Middle East, which documents the amazing story of Jewish and Arab women being brought together through hydroponic farming and sustainability.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

When I went to Israel with my family a few summers ago I visited an organization called Sindyanna of Galilee, a non-profit that that is bringing Arab and Jewish communities in Israel together through urban gardening, specifically hydroponic gardening. It was there that I was inspired to make a documentary film Growing Peace in the Middle East. I’m very interested in human rights and the director of Sinyanna’s hydroponics project, Yoav Tamir, explained the ongoing problem of unemployment of Arab women in Israel due to factories. I saw that this urban farming project, growing produce with hydroponics, was not only helping to feed that community but bringing together different cultures who are working together for one goal.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?

It was my trip to Sindyanna that really inspired me to get involved with hydroponics and urban farming. I really enjoyed speaking to all of the participants in the hydroponics project. I was able to learn about hydroponics and growing, but also the people involved, their families, their children, and their backstories. It was this group of people that really got the entire Growing Peace movement going! They explained how with hydroponics there is less physical labor than traditional farming, which made the work much more comfortable to everyone involved. The women explained how their lives have been changed the hydroponics project, how they could support their family by growing food and generating income from the food that they didn’t eat.

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

1. Perseverance — Despite being only 12 years old at the time and having never made a film, I was able to make a documentary that is making a difference and creating a movement!

2. Caring — When I met the Arab and Israeli women, heard their stories, and learned about their situation, I wanted to help. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do this in the beginning, but worked it through and today both the film and the non-profit are helping a variety of individuals and communities in need, from refugees and asylum seekers to those with food insecurity.

3. Listening & Learning — Asking questions and listening to what people have to say, meeting different people and hearing their stories and perspectives. That is what allows me to understand what is going on and then we can figure out how Growing Peace Inc. can help.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“The earth is what we all have in common” — Wendell Berry. This is actually the quote that I used at the beginning of my film. I think that this quote is relevant to my documentary because according to Mr. Berry, the earth is what unites us, and it’s what makes our differences less important.

Can you share something about your work that makes you most proud? Is there a particular story or incident that you found most uplifting?

I’m very proud of my documentary but right now I’m very excited about all the things that Growing Peace Inc., the non-profit I founded at the beginning of this year, is getting involved in like the Mesila Lasova Food Bank project. The main goal was to provide healthier and fresher food to the clients of the Food Bank by installing a hydroponics system there. What really excited me was the numbers that I saw. The team at the Food Bank told me that the system would be able to produce 25,000 servings of fresh produce per year. Thinking about how many people this will help, I was very proud of what everyone in on the project was able to accomplish.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about Urban Farming and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Let’s begin with a basic definition so that all of us are on the same page. Can you help explain to our readers what Urban Farming and Community Supported Agriculture is?

Urban farming, or urban gardening, is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas where there is lack of fresh produce and food insecurity.

I’m very involved specifically with hydroponic farming. Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture that involves growing plants without soil by using mineral nutrient solutions in an aqueous solvent. Put simply, hydroponics is a way to skip the soil, sub in a different material to support the roots of the plant, and grow crops directly in nutrient rich water. There are many approaches to designing hydroponic systems but the core elements are essentially the same.

Can you help articulate a few reasons why Urban Farming and Community Supported Agriculture is better for the environment?

There are many benefits of using hydroponic growing over the traditional soil method. Hydroponics is, in fact, good for the environment because it offers a higher-yield alternative to soil food production, it uses a lot less water, and limits the usage of pesticides and herbicides.

The benefits of hydroponics are many and include: 1) higher yield of produce, 2) uses less water and takes up less space, 3) allows for less land erosion, 4) reduces the use of pesticides, and 5) works in any climate.

Additionally, gardening helps folks save money on groceries and if you grow your own, you know your food doesn’t have harmful pesticides on it. Gardening roots people to the earth and creates a sense of place and provides a boost to physical, mental and emotional well-being.

Can you help articulate a few reasons why Urban Farming and Community Supported Agriculture is better for our health?

With hydroponics, nutrients are more easily available for the plant to absorb. The grower can control light, heat, nutrients, hydration, pests, and all other aspects of the growing process. This means the whole cycle can be streamlined for larger, faster-growing plants with a higher yield. Not only are hydroponic vegetables virtually indistinguishable from those conventionally grown, but they also offer a number of advantages that add to their appeal both for eating and for the planet.

Keeping “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about Urban Farming and Community Supported Agriculture that people should think more deeply about? What can be done to address that?

Like everything, there are always pros and cons, and urban agriculture is no different. There are a lot of challenges concerning urban agriculture practices and potential problems with its impact if it is not carried out properly. Things like lack of space and crops being susceptible to damage by various birds and pests, pollution, lack of water and good soil and are just a few of the issues for traditional urban gardeners. Many of these can be avoided with hydroponics, which can be grown without sun, soil or space! The crops can flourish anywhere and can even be grown vertically!

Where should someone start if they would like to “get into” urban farming?

You can start by having a hydroponics system in your home or you can get involved with a community program or food bank. There are ways to build a working hydroponic system at home, which is a good way to get things started, or you can find an out-of-the-box option that will allow you to see how easy it is.

I recommend finding a local urban farming initiative that will allow you to work with others, share produce, and help those in the community who are food insecure. There are many of these, whether it is a community group, nonprofit or food bank, that are helping to increase food production in communities all around the world. Both urban and suburban areas are filled with unused lots and neglected plots of land. Once you get permission, it is easy to transform these spaces into gardens that help support and feed those in need.

Whether you’re growing vegetables hydroponically at home or in the soil in a community plot, the benefits are amazing. Gardening provides an abundance of healthy fresh food that is especially important in communities that lack local grocery stores or other sources of produce. Gardening can help create food equality and justice and brings communities together, connecting neighbors and creating green spaces throughout the city.

Additionally, gardening helps folks save money on groceries. If you grow your own, you know your food doesn’t have harmful pesticides on it.

Gardens of all types are also scenes of self-sufficiency and collective empowerment. They are among the oldest forms of mutual aid and food justice. “food insecure,” meaning they were unable to consistently access adequate food. Growers are stepping up to help address the increased need for fresh fruits and vegetables at local food pantries and through their own produce distributions.

How does inflation affect Urban Farming? What steps have you taken to keep costs down?

There are many ways to keep costs down in both a hydroponics garden and a traditional garden, from repurposing and recycling materials to bartering for the supplies that you need for the next harvest. By becoming a part of a community currency, you truly help create a self-sustaining community. Getting support from the local business community is essential to establishing and maintaining a low-cost community garden. In addition to corporate outreach, there are foundations and organizations in your area that help build and enrich communities. It all comes down to spreading the word about your urban farming project.

Can you please share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Got Involved With Urban Farming and Community Supported Agriculture”? If you can, please share a story or example for each.

1. Growing creates community — Before I went to Sindyanna, I didn’t know that something as simple as growing food together could bring conflicting cultures together, like the Arab and Israeli women who were working together for the benefit of all.

2. You don’t need space to grow produce — I am from New York City and never thought I’d be able to get involved with gardening. I thought you needed a large outdoor space in the country to be able to grow crops. Hydroponics have changed all this, allowing people to grow healthy vegetables anywhere, anytime.

3. No green thumb/experience needed — With hydroponics, anyone can grow salads, herbs, veggies, microgreens and more. Before visiting Sindyanna I had no experience with gardening, not even a house plant.

4. Start small and build — When I first went to Israel and learned about the hydroponics program, I didn’t know that it would become such a driving force in my life. I started with the film and doing interviews with the participants via Zoom. What started as a small idea led to me having an award-winning documentary, founding the non-profit Growing Peace, now funding and putting in a hydroponic gardening system to help refugees in Tel Aviv, with plans to do this in the United States.

5. There is always a solution — When I decided to make my film Growing Peace in the Middle East, it was at the height of the pandemic. We were in lockdown, travel restricted and borders closed. I had never done a film before, but found a way to do interviews and create a documentary about hydroponic growing despite the challenges. The same with hydroponics offers to a solution to many of the issues that come with traditional gardening!

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

For me, a really inspiring social activist is Greta Thunberg. I admire her persistence and the effort that she puts into making sure that climate change is recognized as a serious issue. Although I mainly focus on human rights and she works on climate action, I hope to maybe someday introduce her to hydroponic farming as a means of climate change mitigation.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can follow me through my socials: Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/growingpeaceinc, Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/growingpeaceinc/, linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/company/growingpeaceinc/, or through my website at https://www.growingpeaceinc.org/.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much, and we wish you only continued success.