A "farm in a box" shipping container will help London Food Bank feed more people
CBC
Food farming is taking on a different form at the London Food Bank with the introduction of a shipping container that will be used to grow vegetables year-round.
The 12 metre container, donated by the London and District Construction Association (LDCA), will be equipped to grow plants in a water-based nutrient solution, rather than soil.
"It's able to grow what 3 1/2 acres of land would normally grow," said Glen Pearson, co-director at the Food Bank. "They're able to grow way more food than our greenhouse does, for instance, and they grow 24/7 — all the time."
Pearson calls it a "farm in a box", and the hope is to have it up and running by the end of the year. The materials and labour will be covered by the LDCA.
"We're big on it. We've studied it for two or three years. We've researched it. We know what we're ready to do," Pearson said.
This first shipping container may not be the last. Pearson said there are plans to look into expanding the number of containers for more hydroponics farming, pending results from the first one.
"We need to look a bit more at trying to figure out a way in which communities can become more food secure. This is the start," said Pearson.
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