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Our Story

Neighborhood Farms USA® began with a simple realization: our relationship with food shapes our health, our communities, and our future.

Founder Yaffa Popack first became aware of this connection through her own experience. As a young person, she learned that the health challenges she faced were closely tied to the food choices available to her early in life. That awareness stayed with her and later shaped how she approached nourishing her own family. As a mother, Yaffa deepened her commitment to fresh, wholesome food and to passing that knowledge on to her children. Over time, this personal journey evolved into a broader calling: to help others reconnect with food as a source of health, vitality, and care for the land. Together with her husband, Moshe, she co-founded Neighborhood Farms USA® with a vision of something larger than any single garden or project. The goal was to cultivate a connected network of neighborhood farms, places where growing food also meant growing knowledge, resilience, and community. Today, Neighborhood Farms USA® has evolved into a national platform that amplifies the work of community-based farms across the country. Through storytelling, education, and shared resources, we support the people and places working to bring fresh food closer to home and to strengthen the connection between people, food, and the land, one neighborhood at a time. Do you already have a food access partner OR need help finding one?

Meet the Leadership

YAFFA POPACK | Co-Founder

“Every child should have the opportunity to see — to know — what real food can do for them.”

Yaffa Popack is a graduate of Columbia University and Benjamin Cardozo Law School in New York, a community activist, and the co-founder with her husband Moshe in YMP Real Estate Management, LLC. She is also a mother who is passionate about education, good nutrition, and making healthy food accessible to everyone.

MOSHE POPACK | Co-Founder

“There is a growing need to build a national network of nutritional awareness through community engagement at the neighborhood level. That’s our goal with Neighborhood Farms USA.”

Moshe Popack is the co-founder and Chairman of YMP Real Estate Management LLC, a company that owns and manages multifamily apartment units, office space, and assisted living facilities. In 2021, Moshe was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to the board of directors of the Florida Development Finance Corporation. He also serves on the board of the Florida Assisted Living Association and as a member of the South Florida Business Journal Leadership Trust and the Young Presidents’ Organization. He actively promotes meaningful engagement on other issues such as mental health, education, and workforce housing.

THAIS THIESEN | Co-Director

Thais brings over 20 years of experience in regenerative agriculture, permaculture, and project management. She has designed, built and managed community-scale and educational farming projects that integrate food production, hands-on learning and ecological stewardship. Thais holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science from Florida International University and specializes in developing practical, regenerative systems that reconnect people to food, land and community.

Roberto Grossman | Co-Director

Roberto brings deep, hands-on experience operating productive, small-scale regenerative farms. His background includes intensive market garden systems, crop planning and soil-first production models that maximize yield while restoring ecosystem health.

He also brings years of experience in social media and video content, helping translate on-the-ground farm work into clear, engaging storytelling. This blend of operations and media makes him uniquely equipped to document real outcomes, communicate practical lessons, and share NFUSA’s impact in a way that builds trust, grows community, and inspires others to replicate what works.

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