Hydroponic Greenhouse Project To Bring Locals Food And Jobs
From left to right: Bill Rybczyk, Director of Research, Development, and Planning at New Opportunities; Joe Swartz, AmHydro; Jon Jensen, of The Corporate Advisory, Co, LLC.
A new greenhouse facility will come to Torrington, CT - in addition to providing fresh, local, pesticide-free produce to residents of New England, it will also offer something else: economic opportunities to disadvantaged citizens.
New Opportunities is a community action agency that serves Waterbury, Meriden, Torrington and 27 surrounding Connecticut towns, offering a variety of social service programs designed to eliminate poverty and assist people in need. In accordance with the mission of New Opportunities, the Agency aims to increase the self-sufficiency of its customers and support their move out of poverty toward a more middle-class lifestyle. As part of their Food 4 Thought initiative, New Opportunities is planning to build three hydroponic greenhouses in Torrington.
Years in the making
The decision to build the greenhouses didn't happen overnight. New Opportunities has been working on the development of a Controlled Environment Agriculture production facility for over three years. A business team working with the New Opportunities Foundation spent over a year evaluating controlled environment agriculture technologies and providers. After an extensive search and several interview meetings, New Opportunities chose AmHydro as the best and most experienced team to fit their needs, Joe Swartz, Vice President with AmHydro, tells us.
Food and jobs for locals
The goal of this initial project is to not only generate revenue for the foundation but also provide local residents and regional grocery chains such as Whole Foods, Stop and Shop and Big Y pesticide-free lettuce and leafy greens, living wage “green jobs” to local residents and sound economic opportunities for disadvantaged residents in the program. To achieve this goal, AmHydro has also partnered with Atlas Greenhouse, ATOM Controls, and Borghesi Builders to complete this project.
For more information:
AmHydro
1 (800) 458-6543
info@amhydro.com
amhydro.com