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Prototype Vertical Hydroponic System at Valor Christian High School

SEDALIA, Colo. – Valor Christian High School has a project-based learning environment that is helping to lead the next generation of agriculturists to the greener pastures of the future.

The Applied STEM Program, led by director Rick Russon, enables students to put into practice what they learn in the classroom, preparing them for successful careers in a number of industries, including agriculture. Members of Valor’s agriculture club, in particular, have an infectious enthusiasm for ideas that combine brain power with a desire to make a positive impact on the world, and it’s already leading to groundbreaking results. For their capstone project, Russon and the club members built a four-tube vertical hydroponic unit using prototype parts donated by FarmBox Foods.

“I told Tony I’d like to have a farm here, but I don’t have the money to do that,” Russon said, referring to FarmBox Foods founder Tony English, whom he met on LinkedIn.

The unit — based at the school — began producing huge quantities of fresh lettuce, and quickly grabbed the attention of students and faculty at the private Highlands Ranch school. Russon estimates that more than two dozen teachers have approached him about constructing a home unit for them. FarmBox Foods also shared the know-how and the tools necessary for students to conduct “shoebox mycology” experiments, and soon, the Valor students were growing gourmet mushrooms on a small scale in their classroom.

Russon’s foray into academia was not exactly planned. He volunteered to be a parent advisor, and that quickly morphed into a role as director of the Applied STEM Program, where he and the students have flourished.

“I have always loved gardening and growing things,” Russon said. “I brought in some projects from home and the students saw a germination station I brought in and said ‘can we grow something?’ That’s how the agriculture club started.”

Now, Russon, who in his professional career has helped lead innovative projects related to tank gun stabilization, torpedo guidance and even flight simulations for NASA’s first five space shuttle missions, is developing a control system for an 8-tube vertical hydroponic system using Raspberry Pi controllers typically used in video game systems. It will help run a network of sensors that monitor temperature, nutrient levels and pH, and control ventilation fans and full- spectrum LED lights also used by FarmBox Foods. The Applied STEM Program is aiming to modify the four-tube hydroponic system and build several models to bring them into food deserts to feed people in need. Valor Christian sends nearly 40 teams throughout the world each year on missions, and Russon’s hope is that they can help deploy a workable system in areas with little arable land and few resources.

The Valor-based vertical hydroponic setup, meanwhile, continues to draw interest from students and faculty who want to grow their own farm-fresh greens and potentially help others learn the science behind the hydroponic growing process.

“I feel honored to have this (system),” Russon said. “Someday when FarmBox is enormous, I’ll be able to say we had this.”

Ongoing Shipping Logjam Makes a Case for Decentralized Food Supply

SEDALIA, Colo. – A post-pandemic resurgence in sales across multiple industries has put an unprecedented strain on shipping, and the logjam shows few signs of easing.

In recent months, ships have stacked up at ports worldwide, waiting weeks to deliver their imported goods. Likewise, demand for flatbed trucks and dry vans has skyrocketed, resulting in longer delivery timeframes and significant logistical entanglements.

According to the American Trucking Associations, a national trade association for the trucking industry, manufacturing output is expected to rise by 7.2% in 2021. The transportation system’s capacity is being tested, and for those shipping food, it’s becoming an even tougher task to get goods from point A to point B. The ever-increasing rate of online sales and consumers’ growing expectations of quick delivery have resulted in a reprioritization of what is shipped and when.

The American Trucking Associations anticipates a 3.7% rise in food manufacturing this year, and U.S. exports of food could climb as much as 10%.

It’s only in times like these that massive shifts in behavior manifest themselves, and the idea of decentralizing the food supply chain begins to look better and better. For businesses that grow produce in the communities where that food is then consumed, the shipping challenges are a peripheral issue.

FarmBox Foods, a Colorado-based company that builds automated farms inside repurposed shipping containers and sends them to food deserts around the world, has had its eye on decentralization from the start. The company’s leaders say empowering communities by placing container farms within a short distance of consumers could have positive ramifications on low-income populations for decades to come, and render supply chain woes inconsequential.

“We’ve got an unpredictable supply chain with a bunch of variables, and the expenses can add up quickly,” said Rusty Walker, CEO of FarmBox Foods and a veteran of the supply chain industry. “Our solution makes things more reliable and eliminates some of these vulnerabilities.”

The strategic placement of controlled-climate container farms in places that have traditionally lacked access to farm-fresh food has side benefits, like lower cost for food, a reduction in the burning of fossil fuels to transport goods, a longer shelf life for the produce, educational opportunities for local populations, and greater nutritional bang for your buck because the fruits and vegetables won’t lose any of their nutritional value while in transit.

It also allows consumers to sidestep the headaches that arise when a backlog in the shipping industry puts everyone else at a standstill.

Christian Riders in Faith Donation Helps Feed People in Need

Sometimes a helping hand goes a long way. On June 22, members of the FarmBox Foods team brought a dozen boxes of fresh-picked vegetables from one of its Vertical Hydroponic Farms to the Christian Riders in Faith Motorcycle Ministry in Denver. The ministry hands out boxes of food to those in need every other Tuesday, and in just the first 30 minutes, more than 50 boxes were given out.

There is a critical need for fresh produce in low-income areas, and FarmBox Foods was humbled to be involved in such a good cause. It was an example of one of the ways in which FarmBox Foods and its customers can partner with nonprofits to get nutritious food in the right hands. The kind people at Christian Riders in Faith M/M are truly on to something. They recognize the need in their community and work hard to provide a balanced selection of foods in the boxes they give out.