Seeds Of Hope: Veterans And Caregivers Heal Through Agriculture
'We grow farmers, not produce,' says Emily Emmons, founder of Hoʻōla Veteran Services 501(c)(3), d.b.a. Hoʻōla Farms, a non-profit based in Hilo, Hawai'i that helps Veterans, first responders, caregivers, and community members heal, grow, and thrive through hands-on agricultural education, food access initiatives, and community-based wellness programs. Since 2015, Ho'ōla has supported hundreds of Veterans and their families in reconnecting with the land, rediscovering purpose after service, and experiencing healing and growth through farming, food, and community..
Hoʻōla, meaning 'to give life' or 'to heal' in Hawaiian, grew out of Emily's own experience as a caregiver for her husband John, a former elementary school teacher and Iraq war veteran. The two met in 2007 after John's second tour and married soon after. In the years that followed, John struggled to readjust to civilian life, dealing with symptoms neither of them fully understood. It wasn't until eight years later that he was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and PTSD. During that time, Emily assumed the role of caregiver, without guidance, support, or even a name for what she was doing. 'Invisible wounds are extremely challenging,' she says. 'As a caregiver, you don't know what you're seeing day to day—or what's normal after living with and caring for someone for so long.'
Like many veteran caregivers, Emily felt unseen and overwhelmed, juggling her responsibilities as a mother of two with her caregiving duties. During one of their hardest times, Emily became enrolled in the VA's Caregiver Support Program, where she found the strength to embrace her role as a caregiver and take initiative in her husband's care. 'Once I had that 'caregiver' hat on, it gave me some power to provide some boundaries for myself and for family,' Emily shares.
Through the VA Caregiver Program, Emily was introduced to the Elizabeth Dole Foundation—the nation's preeminent organization empowering, supporting, and honoring our nation's 14.3 million military and veteran caregivers – the spouses, parents, family members, and friends — who care for America's wounded, ill, or injured service members and veterans at home. In 2015, she was selected as a Dole Caregiver Fellow, joining a distinguished multi-year leadership program that builds community and raises national awareness on behalf of military and veteran caregivers.
Emily traveled to Washington, D.C. for her formal induction, where she connected with fellow caregivers from across the country, forming deep, lasting bonds. While in the nation's capital, she also met with her congressman to share her family's journey and advocate for the needs of caregivers like herself.
When Emily returned to Hawai'i, she found few services or resources available for caregivers, and her husband and children were still searching for community. Emily and John started a small garden in their backyard as a source for connection, growing fresh produce to share with family and friends. This planted a seed within them, watered by their shared commitment to service and John's background in education, that bloomed into Hoʻōla Farms.
The goal of Hoʻōla Farms is to build community among Veterans, first responders, caregivers, and their families through agricultural education and experiences. 'We build community first, and from there everything beautiful comes,' Emily explains.
Homegrown fresh tomatoes from Ho`ōla Farms.
Hoʻōla Farms offers both introductory workshops and intermediate training programs, led by local growers and agricultural experts, at their training farm and partner sites throughout Hilo, Hawai'i. Participants gain hands-on experience in diverse agricultural practices—from orchard management and agroforestry to animal husbandry, beekeeping, food preservation, and agri-business—while also learning cultural techniques rooted in Hawaiian traditions. One of Hoʻōla's signature initiatives, Victory Gardens for Veterans, equips veterans and caregivers with the tools, knowledge, and resources to grow their own food at home. Over the past decade, Hoʻōla Farms has delivered more than 6,276 hours of hands-on agricultural education.
Numerous studies support the use of agricultural activities to support veteran reintegration and improve mental and physical health outcomes. Researchers at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Florida found that veterans who participated in similar programs reported declines in anxiety, pain, depression, and substance abuse, and improvements in sleep, nutrition, and fitness levels. For many veterans, farming can help ease the transition back into civilian life by providing them with a sense of purpose, satisfaction, and belonging.
In addition to promoting mental and physical wellbeing, agricultural programs like Hoʻōla Farms create pathways to employment and entrepreneurship for veterans. Hoʻōla offers business development courses that teach participants how to market, package, and sell their products.
Ho`ōla Farmsʻ Hilo Food Hub- Commercial Kitchen with member UpRoots Origin.
The organization also operates an agribusiness incubator, the Hilo Food Hub, that provides affordable access to commercial kitchen and storage space, helping farmers launch or expand their businesses. Through its online and in-person farmers market, Hawai'i Farm-to-Car, Hoʻōla creates direct sales opportunities that connect growers with the community. Over the past four years, Hawai'i Farm-to-Car has generated over $1.1 million in sales, with all proceeds going directly to local farmers.
What sets Hoʻōla Farms apart from other agricultural programs for veterans is their intentional support for caregivers. Military and veteran caregivers often face unique and compounding challenges, as outlined in a recent report from the RAND Corporation and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation. Caregivers of individuals under 60 are nearly 4 times more likely to experience depressive symptoms than non-caregivers and are less likely to seek treatment. Their children also face heightened challenges at school, with 39% taking on caregiving roles themselves. Nearly half of military and veteran caregivers for adults under 60 don't have access to a network of other caregivers in their community. Hoʻōla Farms gives caregivers a rare opportunity to connect with one another and experience the therapeutic, economic, and social benefits of agriculture alongside the veterans they support.
The Hoʻōla Farms model can be replicated in other communities in Hawai'i and across the United States. Emily and John recently relocated their family to Santa Monica, CA, so John could access more comprehensive care. While there, they hope to grow Hoʻōla's mission and bring healing through agriculture to the more than 280,000 veterans in Los Angeles County—the largest population of veterans in any county in the United States—and the thousands of caregivers who support them.
'We are all a part of the solution,' Emily says. 'We're the ones we've been waiting for.'
To learn more about Emily and Hoʻōla Farms, visit hoolafarms.org.
The Well Beings Blog supports the critical health and wellbeing of all individuals, to raise awareness, reduce stigma and discrimination, and change the public discourse. The Well Beings campaign was launched in 2020 by WETA, the flagship PBS station in Washington, D.C., beginning with the Youth Mental Health Project, followed by the 2022 documentary series Ken Burns Presents Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness, a film by Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers (Now streaming on the PBS App). WETA is continuing its award-winning Well Beings campaign with the upcoming documentary film Caregiving, executive produced by Bradley Cooper and Lea Pictures, premiering June 24, 2025 on PBS.
For more information: #WellBeings #WellBeingsLive wellbeings.org. You are not alone. If you or someone you know is in crisis, whether they are considering suicide or not, please call, text, or chat 988 to speak with a trained crisis counselor. To reach the Veterans Crisis Line, dial 988 and press 1, visit VeteransCrisisLine.net to chat online, or text 838255.
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