Steven Hoffen hasn’t graduated high school yet, but he is already contributing to a more sustainable future through his nonprofit, Growing Peace. With the $80,000 he’s raised since launching the organization, he’s brought hydroponic growing systems to populations in need around the world.
Leafy greens such as kale and collard greens, and herbs, including cilantro and basil, along with strawberries and cherry tomatoes, are the yield of Steven’s labor and have provided more than 33,500 yearly servings of healthy and nutritious produce to asylum seekers, elderly and vulnerable populations, communities that face general food insecurity issues, and people who are currently or were incarcerated. Working with partners in New York City and Israel, Growing Peace has installed a half-dozen growing systems in a variety of settings, including a food bank, a community center and a facility that serves low-income and disabled seniors.
“I hope to play my part in improving the world by providing healthy and nutritional food where it is less available and sharing a platform that can help teach others to become more aware of the benefits of farming techniques that improve our climate,” Steven stated.
Hydroponics is an energy-efficient farming technique that uses a nutrient-rich water solution, rather than soil, to grow and cultivate plants. Organizations such as the United Nations and World Resources Institute have sounded the alarm that a growing global population—expected to near 10 billion by 2050—teamed with the impacts of climate change will require more sustainable and less resource-intensive farming methods. Hydroponics systems, which can be built into vertical towers, require less water and land, providing communities around the world with a way to grow more food with less land.
Most recently, Steven hopes to bring a hydroponic tower installation to the Queensboro Correctional Facility in Long Island City by the end of this summer. This follows another recent installation that brought eight towers of hydroponic greens to the Edgecombe Residential Treatment Facility, which assists formerly incarcerated individuals who are reentering their communities. Those towers will yield 720-960 pounds (2,520 to 3,320 servings) of fresh, healthy produce each year, supplementing the diet of individuals served by the facility, as well as the staff.
Steven launched his organization in 2021 with a mission of utilizing advanced hydroponic farming as a means to educate, empower and help others overcome food insecurity. His work has already earned him several accolades including CNN Heroes 2023 Young Wonder, the 2023 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award and a 2023 International Eco-Hero Award from Action For Nature, an international nonprofit that supports and honors young environmental activists.
Steven is equally recognized for his filmmaking. An award-winning documentarian, it was his debut film, Growing Peace in the Middle East, which he created during the COVID-19 pandemic while in seventh grade, that inspired his nonprofit. In it, he documents the story of the hydroponics project run by the Israeli nonprofit Sindyanna of Galilee. The organization brings Jewish and Arab women together to focus on sustainability, economic opportunities and social change. Through the sale of olive oil and other products in the international marketplace, the organization supports efforts to create economic and educational opportunities for women.
Other Growing Peace projects include:
- A hydroponics system at a food pantry in Tel Aviv, which serves healthy and free food to those who are food insecure, to refugees and asylum seekers from Africa. It significantly increases the amount of fresh food available to these communities.
- Seven towers of leafy greens and herbs at the YM&YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood (the Y), which nourish low-income and disabled seniors and serve as a teaching garden for young students.
- Six towers at the community resource organization MMCC, which serves Bronx and Manhattan.
- Eight towers at the Hope House in the Bronx, which provides supportive services to formerly incarcerated women who are reentering their communities.