08/26/2025
HUF INTROS: Ezra Raupach-Learn 🐤🥖🧑🍳🍅
Ezra is one of two Farm Program Assistants. He helps with a variety of tasks throughout the farm, focussing his energy in the Community Farm growing vegetables for pantries. He joined Hilltop Urban Farm this last spring after spending the last two years working for the Penn State Student Farm.
“There is a significant need in the surrounding neighborhoods for fresh, healthy vegetables, and I am honored to help fill in that gap with the work I do at Hilltop Urban Farm.”
Ezra is passionate about land stewardship. For him farming is not just about growing vegetables, it is about regeneration,.
“Hilltop Urban Farm is remediating land that has been neglected and forgotten for many years. We are putting a tremendous amount of hard work into healing the soil so that something good may come out of it. When we grow food on this land, we are not only feeding people but also the soil.”
Ezra’s favorite part of the job is getting to spend the day in nature observing the daily rhythms of the plants and animals that call the Hilltop their home.
“I enjoy coming to the farm very early in the morning before the sun has peeked over the trees, and the air is cool and quiet. I like to see how the plants have grown and changed since the previous day. I like to listen to the birds and know their names.”
Ezra is a true student of nature. Enjoying bird watching and plant identification he often brings binoculars to check out which birds have taken roost on the farm for any given week. This love, as in with most farmers, often translates to cooking. He loves to bake, especially sourdough. He is also interested in fermentation and experimenting with different kombucha flavors. He likes to learn languages with a sizable Duolingo streak and has even lived in Germany. Ezra is kind and patient and loves hard work that pays off. He loves to w**d and to observe the little things, always staying mindful and present. We could learn a lot from Ezra.
