Our founder, Maria Hurtado obtained a B.A. in Environmental and sustainability studies concentrating in sustainable food and agriculture at George Mason University. As a student she was hired by the department of sustainability to help manage and operate the greenhouse and gardens on campus. At the Presidents Park Greenhouse, she trained interns and volunteers how to grow a variety of leafy greens, herbs, microgreens and tomatoes using hydroponics. This produce was served in the campus dining halls for the chefs and students to enjoy, grown without the use of any pesticides or herbicides. She also assisted the seasonal operations and maintenance of the Potomac Heights organic vegetable garden and the Innovation Food Forest at GMU which focused on organic food production and permaculture. She led events like the annual seedling sale, assisted workshops like the salve making event, organized and led tours and provided service learning opportunities for interns and students. Her passion for growing sustainable food and preventing food waste led her to pursue other projects on campus. 

As Vice President of Campus Kitchens from 2019-2021, Maria helped to recover over 2,000 pounds of surplus food! Preventing fresh food from going to the landfill filling in the gaps of distribution in our modern food system. Leading weekly shifts of interns and volunteers her team packaged and transported fresh food from campus dining halls to local homeless shelters in the community. Campus Kitchens is an extension of World Central Kitchen~ which battles food insecurity and food waste worldwide. 

Maria continued to gain 6 years of experience growing indoors using hydroponics and also helping to operate organic urban farms in Northern VA and MD. She is extremely passionate about providing accessibility to super nutrient dense organic produce for her community, educating and training about regenerative agriculture, indoor and outdoor composting! Today, she offers a monthly microgreens subscription program and a freshly prepared organic juice cleanse delivery. Organic Cures is based in the Northern VA, MD, and D.C. area.