Houston nonprofit grows to provide more resources to underserved communities in Houston

Innovating food deserts

Urban Harvest is introducing a new location and a new program that accepts government assistance. Erik Scheel/Pexels

For some Houstonians, fresh foods are far away and too expensive to incorporate into their diets regularly. A Houston organization is looking to change that.

Urban Harvest, a 25-year-old nonprofit focused on bringing fresh produce and education to underserved communities, received a $347,000 grant from the Rebuild Texas Fund earlier this year to expand their services across town. The expansion also means a new community farmers market in northeast Houston that opens on Saturday, August 17, at Kashmere Gardens Elementary School (4901 Lockwood Drive).

The farmers market was created to serve a food desert continuing to recover from Hurricane Harvey, according to a news release. Urban Harvest is partnering with Northeast Houston Redevelopment Council and Common Market to create and run the market.

The new market will accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits, which offer nutrition assistance to over 637,000 low-income individuals in Harris County. With the addition of the Double Up Houston program, which launched in April 2019, SNAP shoppers receive a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $20 per day, that they will be able to use to purchase fresh produce. In total, there are 13 farm stands across Houston that can access the Double Up SNAP incentive.

"Double Up is new to Houston, this is the first time we have had a Double Up kind of program here in the metroplex, ever," says Janna Roberson, executive director of Urban Harvest. "It is something that is very common in a lot of states."

Fair Food Network, based in Michigan, assists in working the Double Up program in 22 states across the country, including their partnership with Urban Harvest in Texas. "It gives people the opportunity to be able to purchase fruits and vegetables, which are very expensive," said Roberson.

"Last fall we received a grant with a large group of partners for Double Up Houston," Roberson tells InnovationMap. The grant was gifted by Rebuild Texas, a fund created by the Austin-based Michael & Susan Dell Foundation after Harvey.

"Initially, they did not do a lot of funding in Houston because we have a lot of resources here in our city, so their primary task was to fund in other places that had been hit by Hurricane Harvey that didn't have that foundation," adds Roberson. "They were really interested in areas of Houston that had been hit by Harvey and impacted, and how those places related to food and food access."

Urban Harvest, founded in 1994, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization providing community garden programming, farmers markets, gardening classes, and youth education. The farmers markets, launched in 2014, bring in farmers and producers from within 180 miles of Houston, offering the freshest, local produce and meats available. The organization has a staff of 11 and is located in east downtown Houston.

"There is programming also going at these markets where we are working with the University of Houston and the Houston Food Bank's nutrition office to have people come out to the markets and actually prep fresh produce to be able to show people, with very simple recipes, what you can do with the extra vegetables that you are purchasing," says Roberson.

In the past year, Urban Harvest has been working to strategically grow in the greater Houston area. In September of last year, the organization's main farmers market moved to its current location at 2752 Buffalo Speedway, tripling in size.

"We moved the market and expanded it, presenting some 72 vendors at the market location," Roberson tells InnovationMap. The Buffalo Speedway market operates 52 weeks a year every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.

Urban Harvest has over a dozen spots where it has weekly farmers markets around town. Courtesy of Urban Harvest

Magpies & Peacocks has prevented over 220,000 pounds of textiles in landfills by upcycling fabrics for new fashion items. The nonprofit now has a new store to keep up with demand. Magpies & Peacocks/Instagram

Houston nonprofit that's upcycling textiles and clothing opens new store

Sustainable fashion

Magpies & Peacocks, the nation's only nonprofit design house that collects and reuses post consumer textiles, clothing, and accessories, opens their first permanent retail space in Houston on Saturday, June 1. The Co:Lab Marketplace will be located inside the organization's current warehouse space in Houston's East End.

The 6,000-square-foot space holds luxury upcycled sustainable clothing, jewelry, accessories, and home decor, along with partner sustainable and ethical brands. There will also be a bar offering cocktails and coffee, a lounge area, and a capsule gallery featuring the work of local artists.

Ahshia Berry, vice president and director of communications at Magpies & Peacock, tells InnovationMap that sustainable and ethical brands such as Akoma 1260, Alice D'Italia, Onata Fragrances, and Three Lumps of Sugar, will be available in store.

"People have bought from us from the beginning, but we've grown to that place where we were gettings calls and emails all the time," says Berry in speaking why the organization decided to open a permanent retail space. "We've always had the product as the vehicle for the message and we hope that the impact that the shop has is that not only do you get some cool upcycled products, you get what we're behind."

Sustainability and avoiding unnecessary waste — coupled with fashion — are the goals of the nonprofit, which is also a part of the United Nations Alliance for Sustainable Fashion.

"[We are] diverting textiles from landfills to disrupt the waste in the fashion industry and to teach the next generation of designers artists how to be sustainable and have circularity in their design," Berry says.

Magpies & Peacocks was founded by Sarah-Jayne Smith, CEO, in 2011 after she gathered 50 women together for an event called "Closet Deposits" in effort to live a more sustainable lifestyle, according to Berry. With this event, Smith was able to collect an estimated 3,000 pounds of consumer textiles. Smith was determined to educate individuals about the side of fashion many aren't aware of and the waste that overconsumption creates, Berry shares.

"We have diverted about 220,000 pounds of post-consumer textile waste from landfill," says Berry, "and we have upcycled about 5,000 products."

The organization, which has been located in the East End warehouse for three years, currently has two full-time and four temporary employees. Magpies & Peacocks has an advisory board of six and executive board of 10.

"Each year we evolve, Texas is the perfect place to do manufacturing because we're a port city, we have enough space, and you can still rent pretty cheaply here," says Berry. "We make everything here in Houston, nothing gets shipped away, we work with makers and a small batch manufacturer right here in Houston and Sarah-Jayne still makes a good bit of our own things, and all of our designers are from here."

Berry tells InnovationMap that Magpies & Peacocks also partners with local organizations and businesses.

"We are in five stores currently, and probably before the end of the year, another five and possibly the airport," Berry says. Berry adds that the nonprofit has also done projects with Visit Houston, including upcycling and designing the cadet uniform for the visitor bureau's moon landing mascot Spacey Casey.

"That was made from a tablecloth that The Events Company donated to us," says Berry. "We're also supported by the Houston Arts Alliance … and we've been granted by Patagonia."

Sales from the retail store directly fund nonprofit arts and environmental programming and their community give back initiatives.

"We also have e-commerce and there are products you can buy online," Berry says. "Sixty to seventy percent of our profits come from our upcycled products."

Magpies & Peacocks store hours are Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 908 Live Oak.

What's in store

Courtesy of Magpies & Peacocks

The new store opens Saturday, June 1.

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Axiom Space tops $525M in oversubscribed round, announces Swiss subsidiary

funding boost

Axiom Space tacked on an additional $175 million to a previously announced capital raise, bringing the oversubscribed round to a total of more than $525 million.

Axiom shared in February that it had secured $350 million in a financing round led by Type One Ventures and Qatar Investment Authority. In the latest release from the company, Axiom reports that Japan-based MUFG Bank Ltd. joined the round as a new investor, in addition to continued participation from existing backers.

The funding will go toward developing the company's commercial space station, known as Axiom Station, and the production of its Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) under its NASA spacesuit contract.

“Investor interest in this round outpaced what we set out to raise, which speaks to the moment we’re in,” Jonathan Cirtain, CEO and president of Axiom Space, said in the news release. “Our partners see what is possible in low-Earth orbit, and they see who is positioned to lead it.”

Axiom announced last month that it planned to open a Japanese subsidiary July 1. Earlier this week, it also shared plans to establish Axiom Space Switzerland, a wholly owned subsidiary based in Lucerne that is also expected to begin operations this summer.

The Switzerland subsidiary aims to establish Axiom's presence in Europe and help it partner with the European Space Agency and other space organizations and companies on the continent.

“Europe is a founding leader in the creation of the commercial space economy, and Switzerland is uniquely positioned to convene the government agencies, research institutions, and industrial entities that will shape its next decade,” Cirtain added in a separate release. “Axiom Space Switzerland facilitates the scaling of development and deployment of the infrastructure that will succeed the International Space Station.”

Texas cashes in among 10 best U.S. state economies in 2026 report

State Economics

A new study gauging the success or decline in economic performance in every state has revealed Texas' economy remains stable in 2026 after it dropped out of the top five to No. 8 last year.

Texas boasts the No. 8 best state economy in the U.S. this year, according to WalletHub's annual "Best & Worst State Economies" report. The personal finance website's analysts ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 relevant metrics to measure each state's economic activity and health status, and its "innovation potential."

Notably, Texas leads the nation for the most exports per capita in the U.S. in a five-way tie with Louisiana, Kentucky, North Dakota, and Indiana. Across the study's three main categories, Texas ranked highly for its economic activity (No. 7) and economic health (No. 11), and the state's "innovation potential" rank is the 24th best in the nation.

This is how WalletHub ranked Texas' economic performance, where No. 1 is considered the best and No. 25 is considered average:
  • No. 6 – Change in non-farm payrolls
  • No. 8 – Change in GDP
  • No. 8 – Startup activity
  • No. 11 – Annual median household income
  • No. 18 – Government surplus/deficit per capita
  • No. 21 – Percentage of jobs in high-tech industries
  • No. 30 – Unemployment rate
WalletHub previously ranked Texas one of the top three states to start a business in 2026, with Houston earning its own entrepreneurial acclaim in separate rankings of the best big cities for new businesses and for starting a career.

"U.S. economic growth depends heavily on the performance of individual states, and some contribute more than others," the report's author wrote. "For example, California, Texas, New York and Florida have economies so large that if they were countries, they would rank in the top 20 in the world."

The five states with the worst state economies in 2026 are Rhode Island (No. 47), Maine (No. 48), Louisana (No. 49), Kentucky (No. 50), and West Virginia (No. 51).

The top 10 best state economies for 2026 are:

  • No. 1 – Massachusetts
  • No. 2 – Washington
  • No. 3 – Utah
  • No. 4 – California
  • No. 5 – Delaware
  • No. 6 – North Carolina
  • No. 7 – New York
  • No. 8 – Texas
  • No. 9 – Colorado
  • No. 10 – Florida

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Houston lab explores how AI bots can help the elderly

AI for aging

The University of Houston’s Empathetic Lifespan AI & Robotics for Aging (ELARA) Lab is currently conducting research into how AI bots may be able to help the elderly live more social and independent lives through several ongoing initiatives.

The lab officially launched last month as part of the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture & Design under the leadership of Assistant Professor Chorong Park. Part of the lab’s mission is tackling ongoing problems with aging, such as dealing with disabilities and social isolation. Researchers’ current work is focused on designing a new AI companion bot specifically tailored to the needs of older people.

“We need to take all the needs of older adults seriously,” Park said in a news release. “They won't use the robot if they don't feel at ease or if they feel they are being constantly watched.”

The field testing of new AI bots in this population hopes to overcome several traditional obstacles in technology use among the elderly. A study by Park shows that many older people have a fear of overt surveillance when using advanced AI. There is also ageism to consider. Most new technologies are designed with younger and employed buyers in mind, not retirees who may need help remembering daily tasks or accessing important information.

“The more older adults are excluded from technology development, the worse those technology gaps will become,” Park said. “AI and the majority of technologies are created for younger people, so my research method integrates older adults directly into the design process.”

ELARA recently collaborated with the Mamie George Community Center in Richmond, Texas, to track seniors’ response to desktop AI bots like Emo and Cupboo. Researchers also had participants use air-dry modeling clay to create their ideal robotic companion.

While the eventual AI bot may be able to help the elderly feel less isolated and more supported, there are concerns to consider. A study published in the Asian Journal of Psychology charted the development of delusional thinking in a 72-year-old woman who became convinced the empathic-response bot was in love with her. The rise of “AI psychosis” has the potential to exacerbate mental health problems, particularly in socially isolated people, which a quarter of Americans over the age of 65 are.

ELARA’s research is focused on creating “pet-like” AI models with enhanced trust cues. If it can overcome the dangers of socially isolated people relying on AI for companionship, it could be a big step forward for independent aging.
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