Oct 22, 2014

Gary Urban Farms Aims to Revitalize Community

Gary, Indiana is a city that has lost its founding prosperity and over the past couple of decades earned a dismal reputation due to crime and poverty. But if Indiana locals Nik Jolakoski and Riste Ristevski have anything to do with it, that will soon change. This entrepreneurial duo wants to bring the farm into the inner city.

According to Jolakoski, Gary is in a neglected state. “So many people have turned their backs on Gary, and I just want to do something,” he said. “I want to help lead a revival, a revival through growth.”

It’s been just a few months since Gary Urban Farms was founded, and the company is already making huge strides. Founded by Jolakoski this past summer, Gary Urban Farms’ is a non-profit organization that aims to create a community-driven, neighborhood-based food system by serving as a hub for food access, urban agriculture, education, job training and job creation. The plan is to establish an aquaponic system that would produce various vegetables and herbs year round.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Ristevski, vice president of Gary Urban Farms, and he shared some of their upcoming plans with me. Gary Urban Farms recently partnered with the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. They are currently working on a grant to set up a location where both organizations can work together. And Jolakoski and Ristevski are in the process of setting up a fundraiser as well as a Kickstarter campaign to move plans forward. Things are moving fast; for updates, check the organization’s Facebook page.

– Jasmina

Leaders in Indoor Ag to Meet next March

Indoor agriculture is experiencing rapid growth as growers are seeking more efficient and sustainable growing methods. Leaders in the industry will be meeting at the third annual Indoor Agriculture Conference on March 31 and April 1, 2015 in Las Vegas, to discuss the present and future of this expanding market. The conference will be a chance for commercial growers to learn about new technology, meet with funders and hear stories from successful companies in the industry. In its first three years, the conference has captured an international audience. In 2015, the Indoor Agriculture Conference will focus on educating and inspiring established commercial growers while introducing them to the newest technologies and systems. This year’s event is set against the backdrop of California’s severe drought, which has impacted one of the world’s most productive agricultural regions. For more information, visit www.indoor.ag or call 775.623.7116.

Denver Jail Sets Up Aquaponic System

In February, officers at Denver jail’s Palmer Building undertook a pilot program to begin growing their own food through aquaponics. Now, the facility is waiting on a $20,000 grant through Denver’s Department of Environmental Health to expand the operation. According to city officials, if the jail receives the grant, the city could save $20,000 in food costs a year. According to jail Deputy Hazel Pablo, this project will help inmates re-enter the community. They will be trained in applicable skills and will learn how the whole system works. Pablo said it would take about 10 inmates to tend to the aquaponics system. Pablo and Deputy Jeff Bush are the main caretakers of the current small-scale system, which produces only enough vegetables to feed officers at the moment, but with additional funding the officers hope to grow a variety of vegetables that will feed the 800 to 1,000 inmates at the Denver jail, around 1,500 inmates at the downtown facility and the 700 officers.

Innovators Launch ‘Grow A Lot’ Initiative

Abruzzo Bodziak Architects, ARUP, NY Sun Works, Cypress Hills Local Development Corp, The Tocci Group and others have teamed up for “Grow A Lot,” a three-year Clinton Global Initiative to address the challenge of the urban food desert. Activating vacant urban land with hydroponic greenhouses, Grow A Lot has launched a prototype in Brooklyn, New York, which will act as a model for future projects across the country. The greenhouses will provide an extended growing season for fresh, hydroponically grown local produce. In addition to supplying fresh food locally, the Grow A Lot project will bring educational programs to each greenhouse’s community as well. To learn more about the initiative, go to www.abruzzo-bodziak.com.