Promise of Peace Gardens

Sunshine Acres Youth and Community Farm

Sunshine Acres is a 14-acre youth and community farm in Mineola, Texas, established in January 2025 by the Promise of Peace (P.O.P.) Gardens nonprofit. In its first year, the farm has become a hands-on learning environment for over 300 students who participate in weekly programming — planting, harvesting, and preparing chemical-free, nutrient-dense food grown on three acres of active growing space.

The farm's award-winning Soup It Forward food sharing program has placed over 100 soup kits into the homes of families across the region. Each kit contains fresh produce grown by youth interns along with a recipe designed to bring families around the table to cook and eat together. It is a simple model with a meaningful outcome: families learning to prepare nutritious meals with food their own children helped grow.

Promise of Peace founder Elizabeth Dry has been named one of KETK's Remarkable Women of the Year for East Texas — and was then selected as one of just five Remarkable Women in the entire United States. Out of every nominee across every market in the country, Elizabeth was recognized for what she has built through Promise of Peace Gardens and Sunshine Acres.

Testimonials

"Promise of Peace grows food that is nutritious and delicious. I tasted cauliflower three ways in the school cafeteria I had never tasted cauliflower and now I bring it for a snack. My brain lasts longer at school" - Jeremy , Age 14

"I want my food to come from the farm because it's more nutritious and not super processed. I want to feel more energized."  Tierany - Age 17

"When I'm with my friends on the farm and we have our hands in the soil learning new things - we make positive memories and take new recipes home with fresh ingredients." - Aide, Age 16

Impact

Youth interns and volunteers work side by side on the farm each week, gaining direct experience in every stage of food production — from soil preparation to harvest to cooking. The results extend well beyond the garden rows. Students in the program have shown measurable improvement in school attendance, focus, communication skills, and positive behavior.

This model has a proven track record. At a previous P.O.P. farm in Dallas, 34 youth interns — every one of them a first-generation high school graduate — went on to attend universities across the country. The pattern is clear: when young people are given responsibility, mentorship, and a connection to the food they eat, they carry that confidence into every other area of their lives.

Families in the program are changing the way they eat and how they think about food. Many live in a food desert. Many live below the poverty line. But at Sunshine Acres, they are not treated as recipients of aid. They are co-creators — working alongside staff and volunteers to build real, lasting solutions to the challenges their communities face.

Current Needs

Promise of Peace Gardens is raising funds to build a sustainable and productive greenhouse that will accommodate more students and expand our growing seasons. We also need funds support our irrigation system and materials and methods of getting the food to the school cafeteria.

Please contact Elizabeth Dry at 214240 9220 if you'd like to help us change the world !