By Kathy Grant Westbrook

kwestbrook1@nc.rr.com

July 30, 2024

WARSAW — A crowd gathered on the WestPark campus of James Sprunt Community College (JSCC) Monday at 10 a.m. for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the school’s new Hydroponics Smart Farm, where the first produce has already been harvested.

The Hydroponics Smart Farm — dubbed “Box to Bowl” — is the result of a partnership that includes JSCC, Four County Electric Membership Corporation, North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, Duplin County, and the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission.

Box to Bowl consists of a 40-foot-long shipping container that provides growing area equal to two acres of land, in which plants are grown in a controlled environment absent soil and pesticides. Seeds are planted in a medium of coconut husk and peat moss, fed nutrient-rich water, and nurtured under special LED lights; after two to three weeks, mature seedlings are transferred to vertical panels, where they grow for three to four weeks before the plants are harvested.

The container arrived at JSCC in March and Box to Bowl was up and running in April.

At Monday’s ceremony, following opening remarks by Duplin County Manager Bryan Miller and an invocation by Warsaw Mayor A.J. Connors, Dr. Jay Carraway, president of JSCC, addressed the crowd. He began by thanking Duplin County commissioners, as well as N.C. Representative Jimmy Dixon and N.C. Senator Brent Jackson, and went on to mention three people whom, he noted, “…were it not for them, we wouldn’t be here”: Renee Sutton, chief of staff at JSCC; Greg Sager, with Four County EMC; and Carrie Shields, Duplin County assistant manager. “Those folks carried the water with this project,” Carraway said. “A lot of folks have chipped in, but without them, we wouldn’t be here.”

Speaking on behalf of Four County EMC was Chief Executive Officer Don Gatton, who noted that the challenges faced in traditional farming, such as unpredictable weather and water scarcity, bring opportunities for growth, innovation, and resilience. “This Hydroponics Smart Farm embodies the spirit of innovation and resilience,” he said, also predicting that its impact will be felt beyond the JSCC campus.

Mark Harrell, with the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund, praised the passion that both JSCC and Four County EMC brought to the endeavor. “When we first discussed the idea with Four County, we could already see that this project was going to be a success,” he said, going on to point out, “The Hydroponics Smart Farm will benefit local farmers, students, and businesses by encouraging hands-on learning and onsite tours.”

N.C. Representative Jimmy Dixon addressed the fact that hydroponics is a sustainable farming method, by asserting that traditional farming, as it’s been practiced “since Adam was cast out of the Garden of Eden,” is also sustainable. “This facility will never replace the traditional farmer,” he insisted, before stating, “This is just another tool to implement the great sustainability that American farm families have produced over these many years.”

N.C. Senator Brent Jackson congratulated those involved with this project for being innovative, encouraging them to “…look and learn and take it to the next generation.”

In wrapping up the comments portion of the program, JSCC’s Sutton praised the groups that partnered with the school to make Box to Bowl a reality. “I can honestly say, this was a true partnership not just in name only, but all of our partners came to the table and they contributed financially and they also worked,” she said.

After the official ribbon-cutting took place, JSCC agriculture instructor and lead faculty member for the project Katlyn Foy led tours of the Box to Bowls operation. Finally, all in attendance were invited to snack on lettuce wraps made with lettuce harvested from the facility.