Indoor hydroponics was developed<\/a> by NASA scientists in the early 2000s, who wanted to support food production in space. The strategy grows plant roots in a nutrient-rich liquid, typically in contained environments that also use LED lights to simulate sunlight. Farmers can control temperature swings, eliminate pesticides, and significantly reduce water use. And because soil isn\u2019t needed, plants can be grown vertically, substantially increasing the potential food production within a small footprint. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hydroponics isn\u2019t the answer to all the world\u2019s food problems, says Daniels Wells, an associate professor at Auburn University Department of Horticulture in Alabama. But the technology can provide a new way to produce nutritious foods in places that would otherwise be difficult. \u201cA great way of thinking about it is decentralizing food production. Controlled environments really allow us to do that very well,\u201d Wells says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The food on Americans\u2019 dinner plates travels on average 1,500 miles<\/a> from farm to fork. When supply chains break down and gas prices go up, food costs rise. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that at-home food prices rose<\/a> by 10% from March 2021 to March 2022, and are predicted to rise an additional five to six percent through 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In food-insecure regions, food transportation is an even bigger problem. The United Nations World Food Program predicts<\/a> that an additional 47 million people will become acutely food insecure in 2022, due to the extended disruption of global food shipments caused by Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. And climate change is compounding the problem: According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change<\/a>, global warming has already \u201cadversely impacted food security and terrestrial ecosystems as well as contributed to desertification and land degradation in many regions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n But finding solutions is a major challenge for many regions of the world, who may lack the necessary soil, climate, and resources for traditional agriculture. That\u2019s what prompted Jon Friedman, Freight Farms co-founder and COO, to find ways of moving farms, not food. Freight Farms has developed modular, easy-to-use hydroponic containers that help people grow food in places they otherwise couldn\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With the success of their container farms, Freight Farms is continually evolving their product line. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen Freight Farms have an amazing impact in communities around the world, from increasing food access to providing valuable opportunities to at-risk populations, but we wanted to do more,\u201d Friedman says. \u201cWe realized that in order to do so, we needed to go not bigger, but smaller. We wanted to open up the opportunity to more people and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allen decided to order a Freight Farms Greenery Kodiak is famous for its oversized grizzly bears\u2014and its 81 inches of rain a year. But other than abundant fish and King Crab, almost all the food for Kodiak\u2019s approximately 13,000 people comes via barge. When it doesn\u2019t arrive, neither does their food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a barge delivery doesn\u2019t arrive due to weather or shipping issues, Allen says, \u201cI have literally seen the produce aisle completely empty. I can’t even buy crappy vegetables. There’s literally nothing there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few traditional farms serve the island, growing in greenhouses. Yet even greenhouse farming is a challenge on Kodiak, with its bitterly cold, 60-mile-per-hour winds and long dark winters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So with Freight Farm\u2019s help, Allen and her partner Gideon Saunders started BrightBox Farms<\/a> in 2020. Within their new container, Allen and Gideon now grow food year-round. They harvest more than 50 different varieties of greens, herbs, and hearty greens like pac choi. Their customers love it, especially in the winter, and nobody drives more than 10 miles for a pickup. Some even walk to get their orders, Allen says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One customer recently told Allen how amazed he was by the flavor of the BrightBox greens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe said, \u2018This is like the most addictive stuff I’ve ever eaten in my life\u2026 I didn’t know greens could taste like this,\u2019\u201d Allen recalls with a laugh. \u201cWhen they’re actually fresh, they are pretty amazing. You actually do want to eat them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two continents, 10 time zones, and 6,000-plus miles away, Salama is dealing with very different climatic conditions\u2014and a much larger population than Allen. But she\u2019s finding similar answers in container farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Egypt is hot, dry, sunny, and dusty, and a growing Egyptian population is predicted to outgrow<\/a> their primary water source\u2014the Nile River. The Nile provides 90% of Egypt\u2019s total water consumption, with 85% of that going to agriculture. To make matters worse, increasing sea levels and years of poor irrigation management have caused salinization in about a third of the fertile Nile Delta soils, making them untenable to agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s an all-hands-on-deck situation, Salama says. \u201cThis technology allows me to move the farm closer to many cities, where traditional farming is not possible,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/grist.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/FreightFarms-Global-Farmer-Network-map.jpeg\")
Long food supply chains, climate change, and food insecurity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Growing greens year-round in Alaska’s remote territories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\u2122\"](\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/14.0.0\/72x72\/2122.png\")
, the company\u2019s flagship container farm model, when she couldn\u2019t find fresh produce on Kodiak Island, 30 miles off the Alaskan coast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/grist.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/FreightFarms-BrightBoxFarms-Alaska.jpg\")
Conserving precious water resources and meeting Egypt’s food needs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/grist.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/FreightFarms-TulimaFarms-Egypt.jpg\")