Hydroponics in the ‘Food Desert’

After being devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 New Orleans lost 30% of its supermarkets and whilst this was five years ago, there is still a problem within the city finding affordable, healthy food. The situation has been labelled as a “food desert” meaning that many communities have little to no access to fresh fruit and vegetables, due to a lack of supermarkets.

The problems within New Orleans are exaggerated due to the tight food budgets of low income communities, exacerbating the food desert situation and leading to associated issues such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes across the population.

In response to Katrina some grocery stores started local growing communities for the provision of crops, cleared spaces as a result of the damage to the city and even used local facilities such as schools to embark upon a gardening quest to improve the nutritional content of diets.

Now one growing community, the Recirculating Farms Coalition is advancing its agricultural technologies in the city in order to provide an oasis in the food desert. The collation utilise recirculating farming methods, producing fresh crops such as fruit, vegetables and herbs using hydroponics but also fish and shellfish using aquaponics. The systems used by the coalition are highly efficient, recycle up to 99% of the water and waste and can be operated in relatively small amounts of space.

Now the collation hopes to achieve support and funding for a new project in the city to relieve the current problems and also to tap into the grocery money spent by residents at supermarkets outside of their communities, estimated to be over $350 million annually. The success of Recirculating Farm Coalition demonstrates the part hydroponics can play in delivering fresh and healthy food in any part of the world.

A grow tent is a convenient place to cultivate crops, particularly if you do not have the luxury of a greenhouse or the space for a grow room. Grow tents can also be exceptional value for money, as long as you look for a quality product that incorporates certain key features.