Teens for Food Justice (TFFJ), a nonprofit working to combat food insecurity through youth-led urban farming, celebrated the launch of a new hydroponic farm at M.S. 053 in Far Rockaway on April 24, expanding its Far Rockaway Farm Hub and giving hundreds of students hands-on experience in sustainable agriculture and STEM education.

The 1,040-square-foot indoor farm is designed to produce more than 5,600 pounds of pesticide-free produce each year. More than 500 students will benefit from the fresh food grown on-site, with over 100 students annually participating directly in hands-on learning about sustainable agriculture, food justice, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

New York City Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. presented a $175,000 check to PS 811X: The Academy for Career and Living Skills, in the South Bronx for the school’s new hydroponic classroom.

The check was presented as Salamanca joined students, teachers, parents and faculty at PS 811X for a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the opening of the new hydroponic lab. Also on hand for the ceremony were members of the nonprofit New York Sun Works, which builds state-of-the-art hydroponic classrooms.

Students at the school will use the new lab to learn about and conduct experiments related to hydroponics, which involves growing plants with water-based nutrient solutions instead of soil.

80 Acres Farms began its journey inside a shipping container, as its team experimented with different farming technologies to develop efficient vertical systems. The company’s methodical approach to growth, testing and refining led to a pivotal moment when it launched its first 70,000-square-foot farm in Hamilton, Ohio.

The innovative facility is longer than a football field and includes 10 growing levels stacked on top of each other. The farm’s initial success was followed by further expansion, including the more recent Kentucky facility, which has been in operation since late 2022.

“Our goal from the start was to develop systems that could handle the stresses of population growth, farmland loss and climate change,” says Noah Zelkind, vice president of business intelligence and strategic finance for 80 Acres Farms. “We’ve learned from every farm we built, and now we’re focused on scaling up to bring fresh, healthy food to more people. It’s not just about growing food but about fitting into the community and using what’s already there.”

Not only is it possible to grow food all year long, but it's being done inside a Mount Pearl office building.

Green Farm N.L. runs a food growing operation that produces leafy greens, herbs and microgreens, no matter the season, from a home base in the Donovans industrial park. 

"We're doing this in about 2,000 square feet of retrofitted office space," said founder Scott Neary. 

Hydroponics — the method of growing plants in water rather than soil — has been Neary's solution to the lack of fresh greens in the province for most of the year.

The company serves around 250 households and dozens of restaurants in St. John's and the surrounding areas by delivery and subscription service.

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There are examples of innovations in the space. British Columbia-based QuantoTech Solutions, a vertically integrated ag-tech company, has developed a growing system that features 8 by 12 feet sheds with shelving units to allow for vertical farming, producing 4.8 between 7.2 tonnes of food per year, including leafy greens, strawberries, and cherry tomatoes.