The citys healthy startup culture is contributing to Bostons rapidly growing reputation as a haven for organic food and urban farming initiatives
For those seeking mild, year-round temperatures and affordable plots of land, Boston, with its long winters and dense population, isnt the first city that comes to mind.
But graduates of the citys nearly 35 colleges and universities are contributing to the areas growing reputation as a haven for startups challenging and transforming age-old industries, from furniture to political fundraising. The citys strong entrepreneurial spirit, combined with progressive legislation like the passing of Article 89, has also turned Boston into one of the nations hubs for urban agriculture.
The inspiration for Freight Farms, an urban farming business headquartered in South Boston, was launched after co-founders and friends Jon Friedman and Ben McNamara realized that New England currently gets almost 90% of its food from outside the region, yet 10-15% of households still report that they dont have enough to eat. The over reliance on imported produce drove Friedman and McNamara to launch a Kickstarter campaign in 2011 for their farming business, which sells freight containers to would-be farmers, many of whom arent necessarily farmers by trade, but are interested in contributing to sustainable living. A Freight Farms container is designed to be largely self sustained, and uses solar energy to provide the majority of electricity required to grow the crops. Julia Pope, who works in farmer education and support at the organization, says people can find the freight containers squeezed between two buildings, in a parking lot, under an overpass, or virtually anywhere in the modern urban terrain.
Freight Farms has spread north from Boston to Canada, and Pope says there are over just over 100 of the companys container farms operating in the US alone. The company outfits each 40-ft container with the equipment for the entire farming cycle, from germination to harvest. This set of equipment, which the company calls Leafy Green Machine (LGM), creates a hydroponic system, a soil-free growing method that uses recirculated water with higher nutrient levels to help plants grow. Vertical growing towers line the inside of the shipping container, with LED lights optimized for each stage of the growing cycle. Farmers can manage conditions remotely using a smartphone app called Farmhand, which connects to live cameras inside the container.
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