By Hailey Morgan

Dec. 11, 2024

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Plants are growing in the cold thanks to innovative technology after one local organization created a new way of year-round sustainable farming.

How can food grow inside a shipping container?

“Food is a right for people. Nobody should be hungry. With that, while cultivating food we should be consistent of the impact that we are leaving on the environment,” said Jillian Bluestein, an intern at a new organization called Village Hydroponics.

Village Hydroponics is spearheading the effort to educate Vermont communities about how to harvest food as the climate changes while feeding Vermont families throughout the winter.

“The use of hydroponic farming could help many people in terms of farmers producing in the off-season to supplement income, as well as food supply in their community,” Bluestein said.

Seedlings stay in the nursery for about three to five weeks before they are put into individual pods. Water and nutrients come through the pipes and go all the way to the back of the storage container. Then, the plants are harvested right here. Then the process starts all over again.

This fall, nonprofit the People’s Farmstand started the project. The organization provides fresh produce to new American families during the growing season. They needed a way to fill the gap during the winter months.

Burlington Electric dedicated a piece of land next to the Intervale for the work and says this way of farming could help them achieve the city’s sustainability goals for the future.

“If we are able to demonstrate innovative uses of heat pump technology for example, that is certainly something we want to do with the community. Obviously, anything we can grow and use in Burlington means less that has to be shipped from somewhere else. There is less energy associated with that,” said Darren Springer of Burlington Electric.

The nonprofit will grow plants throughout the winter and pause operations once it’s time to grow outside again but they’ll be back next year.