The cafeteria at Ashwaubenon High School near Green Bay, Wisconsin, serves tater tots and fried chicken sandwiches as well as a salad bar filled with home-grown produce.
The vegetables are planted and harvested just off the hallway in a soil-free, indoor hydroponic garden that runs on recycled water, special nutrients, and LED lights.
“In Wisconsin, it's easy to grow fresh food, even in the middle of winter,” says Kaitlyn Taulianen, nutrition coordinator for the Ashwaubenon School District.
Taulianen said the indoor farm produces about 850 pounds of produce per month, enough to feed up to 2,000 students across the district.
“Many children don't have access to fresh food at home because families can't afford it,” Taulianen said.
The innovative system is the brainchild of Wisconsin native Alex Tink, a trained opera singer who started gardening on rooftops between gigs in New York City before deciding to use what he learned to start a company called Folk Farms that aims to help people grow their own food.
“Food already has to travel farther and farther to get from seed to table. Our food system is failing,” Tynk said.
That's why Tiink sees this 2,500-year-old technique as the future of water- and land-efficient agriculture.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about one in eight households face food insecurity, and Tynk said units like the one his company makes can help people get fresh food faster.
Mark Gairac received a grant to purchase two $5,000 pieces of equipment for the food bank he runs near Milwaukee.
“As food prices continue to rise, food becomes more valuable than anything else,” Gaylac said. “How much better would life be if you had the opportunity to put fresh produce on the table rather than canned food or processed food or nothing at all? That's what we're trying to do. We're trying to make life better.”
In Milwaukee Public Schools, where officials say more than 80 percent of students are economically disadvantaged, 80 flex farms have popped up.
“That's the really interesting part, because now there's a community of people working on this together, and they're learning from each other,” Tynk said.
More about Roxana Saberi
