Audience : Robert Elliot, Co-founder at Urban Leaf, an NYC-based indoor garderning startup.
Collaborators : Mark Araujo, Daniel Rapoport, Roger Williams Park Produce Donation Garden
Role : Design Researcher; Systems Designer
How might we address food insecurity in urban centers through indoor gardening?
Food insecurity is a global issue that often requires local interventions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that 17.4 million U.S. households face food insecurity in any given year. Food insecurity does not necessarily cause hunger, but hunger is a possible outcome of food insecurity.
During the pandemic, 25.2 % households in the state of Rhode Island experienced some form of food insecurity, the highest level recorded in the last 20 years.
To respond to this challenge, we developed EverGreen, a modular indoor garderning grow kit. It is designed as a ready-to-assemble flat-pack kit for community centers and gardens to support their food donation efforts by allowing them to adapt their operations during the winter months and support remote training for volunteers year-round. The kit's form and function emulates the outdoor gardening experience while increasing productivity of the gardener and our food systems.
Each of the six containers within the EverGreen kit can grow five gallons of tomatoes, kale, micro greens, and herbs.
