How to Find Hope in the Dirt

Urban Roots Farm story

Last week I found hope where I wasn’t expecting it... in the dirt.

Over the past few weeks, most of us have probably felt extra tension in the air. Pressure is mounting from the election, wars around the world, friends going through hard times, and a lot of disappointments and frustrations with humanity.

At the same time, the weather is finally nice in Texas, I’m feeling extra grateful for my little house in Austin, and the community of friends and family around me.

Life is a giant contradiction. How can so much good and how much evil happen under the same sky at the same time?

Arriving At The Farm

It was a Saturday morning and I was running late. Typical. Weeks ago a friend had invited me to volunteer at a local farm, and when the day arrived, I’d lost track of time doomscrolling the news, and suddenly had to scramble to get ready.

Despite running late, I wanted fresh air in my lungs so I hopped on my bike and pedaled to the farm instead of driving the car. Within the first 10 seconds, there was a smile on my face. The morning sky was bright blue without a single cloud. A warm breeze brushed my face, and I felt the energy return to my body with every pedaling stroke.

As I biked and followed the GPS route, I realized it was taking me on Govalle Trail, the trail I have biked on for years. Turns out the farm is tucked next to the trail and I had never noticed it. Funny how despite living in a city for almost a decade, I didn’t know the farm was there.

When we move to a new place we are fascinated with exploring it, but over time, the newness wears off and we stop discovering it. It’s a reminder to never stop being curious about what’s around us, even if we have lived a city for a long time.

I arrived at the farm and spotted my friend Bri, who had invited me to volunteer at the farm. She was leading the group and there were already about 15 other volunteers gathering beneath a big oak tree.

First we all stood in a circle and introduced ourselves while playing an icebreaker led by Bri. It made me incredibly happy seeing my friend in this leadership role and be in her element. It’s easy to see she loves bringing people together and doing so at a farm where we could interact with one another and also with the land, soil, and plants.

Getting our Hands Dirty

As the morning went on, we were split into groups, each tasked with a different farming activity. My sister and my friend Sara and I found ourselves kneeling next to the beds of basil, using clippers to clip bunches of basil and tie them up with rubber bands.

I smiled as I took in the scene: Knees in the dirt, hands on the plants, and picking basil next to old friends and making new ones. My head and body were immersed in nature and good conversation. It felt therapeutic.

Next, our little team assembled veggie packages. We rounded up crates of squash, bok choi, collard greens, bell peppers, jalapeños, radishes, and basil. Our mission was to put a bit of each into large bags and assemble 100 packages of fresh produce.

These fresh veggies were then delivered to 100 families who face barriers to accessing fresh nutritious food. While we worked, Farmer Jacob told us about farming the land, dealing with drought, extreme summers, and the challenges the farm is facing.

He shared Urban Roots Farm only has three full-time farmers, and the rest of the work is done by volunteers like us. Every week they deliver fresh produce through different access partners in the city including community kitchens, food pantries, and directly to families.

I also talked with a younger volunteer who shared she’s volunteered at Urban Roots since elementary school. Turns out the farm regularly involves kids and youth, involving them in the farm and community at a young age.

A Farm that Gives Back

The farm is fully sustained by the community. Everything from planting seedlings to harvesting and packing fresh produce. It’s a place where people of all types of backgrounds and ages can gather, find common ground, and give back.

I found it healing being out in nature, surrounded by greenery. It is satisfying knowing that people are being consuming fresh food that comes directly from the land around us instead of traveling thousands of miles away on refrigerated trucks.

It made me think about where our food comes from. How many people have never seen a potato grow in the ground or how squash grow on vines. I even learned it takes 2 to 3 years for a pineapple plant to grow and produce a single fruit.

We are accustomed to going to the grocery store and at any time of year finding all the produce we could want. It’s brought in from other states or even other countries, over land and sea. It looks perfect and shiny with no imperfections.

At the farm though, we see peppers that are half purple half red. They have dents and imperfections. They look far different than the perfect peppers we can find at the grocery store at traveled thousands of miles to get to us. There’s nothing like eating seasonal food straight from the land where you are living, packed with nutrients.

Hope in the Dirt

I hadn’t expected the 3 hours spent at the farm picking vegetables, creating parcels of fresh veggies, washing the crates, and chatting with other people, would be so soul-satisfying.

It made me think about our chaotic world that so often seems inescapable. Where there is so much indifference, hate, and prejudice. But there is also so much good, joy, and beautify.

It dawned on me that the cocktail of human emotions can be tamed by putting our hands in the dirt and doing something good for our local community. We might feel like one small human can’t stop a war or make a dent in political leadership change, but we CAN make a difference in small ways.

But perhaps the best way we can take care of ourselves and others is by giving back. By volunteering and getting involved with places like Urban Roots.

I hadn’t expected my morning volunteering at a farm to give me such peace of mind. Not only did we learn about food farming, but it was a great way to meet other like-hearted people. Turns out contributing our time and energy into something positive for our neighbors and community also gives us hope for humanity and fills our soul. It’s truly a win-win.

Win-Win

Life is too harsh not to do our best to lift one another up. Volunteering is a way to do this. Not only does it lift our spirits as individuals, but it lifts everyone around us a little bit higher. It makes the sky seem more blue and trees more green. Small positive efforts compounded over time turn into big changes toward a better world for all of us. A world where there is better health, stronger leaders, improved quality of life, more compassion and empathy, and a lot more love.

It was incredible how much my mood changed after just three hours at the farm. It’s like we planted little seedlings of hope in the dirt that sunny Saturday morning and now the work begins of watering them and nurturing them until they sprout. Sure we will all encounter weeds we have to get rid of, and challenges along the way. But slowly, day after day, if we take care of ourselves and each other, the little seedlings grow into tall strong plants and trees. We do this knowing that we may not get to sit under the shade of the tree we planted or eat from its fruit, but that future people will. That’s the seed of hope that I found in the dirt at the farm.

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I hope this inspires all of us to find spots in our community where we can volunteer our time. You might surprise yourself on how much it lifts your spirits.

Click here to learn more about Urban Roots Farm or volunteering there.