USA: Urban Hydroponic Farm Debuts in Chelsea, Massachusetts

Oct 26, 2024

Photo: Mike Macklin

CHELSEA, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A new hydroponic freight farm opened in Chelsea on Saturday, providing fresh produce year-round. 

The urban farm was launched by GreenRoots, a local environmental organization. 

Roseann Bongiovanni, executive director of GreenRoots Teaching Kitchen, said the farm's hydroponic technology will let the organization grow produce year-round.

“It’s a sort of urban farm-to-table concept to address food insecurity, nutrition, health, and also to build community and culture,” Bongiovanni said. 

On the outside, the farm just looks like a storage container in a parking lot. But inside the container, water and artificial light and heat create an environment for plants to grow no matter the weather outside. 

Photo: Mike Macklin

GreenRoots teamed up with Beth Israel Lahey Health for the project. Peter Healey, president of Beth Israel, said he’s worked to put similar freight farms in Brockton and Haverhill, motivated in large part by food insecurity. 

“Food insecurity is one of the social indeterminants of health, one of the things that puts people at risk,” Healey said. 

Bongiovanni said many Chelsea residents can't afford fresh produce.

“There are many more fast food industries here, and it's much cheaper to buy fast food, processed foods, than it is to buy healthy foods,” Giovanni said. 

This new urban farm is able to counteract that by offering nutritious food for low costs, every day of the year. 

“We have a saying that food is medicine, and it is an incredibly important part of being healthy and restoring health after illness, so [I’m a] big, big believer in the benefits of good nutrition as part of health,” Healey said.

WBZ's Mike Macklin reports.