A c c e s s

Access for Real People & Workable Solutions

Hydroponics is scalable! This relates directly to access for real people. Our systems scale from a single “Pineapple Platform” to full scale commercial production capacity. The importance of access to the technology and the concept of hydroponics cannot be overstated. Everyone at every level can participate in the revolution in farming.

Hydroponics in its various forms overcomes the conventional barriers farming. Personal systems can be established and maintained in your home, school, neighborhood, community, or urban location.

Healthy Solution for Underserved Communities

You may have heard about “food deserts.” People use this term to describe neighborhoods that do not have easy access to fresh fruit and vegetables. Oftentimes, the best available food sources are corner convenience stores, bodegas, or fast-food chains. This can make it harder to find healthy food and eat a nutritious diet.

Urban farms, especially hydroponic ones, can help fill the gap. Since hydroponic vegetables are grown indoors, oftentimes in a greenhouse, locations can be more varied. Hydroponic farms can be located in city centers. This can be in old warehouses or even vacant land lots in underdeveloped neighborhoods. Plus, hydroponic farms can even grow vertically, which saves space in crowded cities.

What are the Benefits?

There are a lot! Fresh, locally grown produce can be available every day of the year. It enables communities to become their own farmers, creating jobs and educating citizens about nutritious and healthy eating.

Our current global situation is quickly emphasizing the vast issues of food shortages around the world, especially in impoverished areas. We are more connected than ever due to technology, and with the influx of media and social groups focusing on the issues surrounding these areas, scientists and philosophers alike are looking for new solutions. Currently, at least 1 in 7 people are not getting the sustenance they need. This food shortage is only expected to increase as the global population continues to grow exponentially. Everywhere, we are looking for solutions!

The dream of solving world hunger is by no means a new one. The difference is that now we have practical methods of implementing a solution. A developing solution that has been proposed is the use of hydroponic systems. Hydroponic gardening offers increased crop yields, while using less of the traditional resources used in soil grown crops.

There are a lot of reasons that the global hunger crisis continues to grow. Remember, hunger is affecting people everywhere. Not just the arid countries you have never visited, not just the community you saw on the news; hunger exists everywhere, and it comes in many forms. From impoverished countries where citizens may go hungry for days to cities in developed countries where school children do not have access to fresh produce, to rural areas where food is scarce, all these forms of hunger are prevalent.

To really grasp the problem and thereby understand the facets of hydroponics that create a solution, we need to look at some of the most basic, common factors of global hunger:

Climate & Environmental Factors

Climate change is a huge factor contributing to food shortages, and it is not expected to let up. Flooding, irregular weather patterns, drought, the changing of conditions during traditional growing seasons, they all make growing food harder. Where weather patterns and average temperatures used to be predictable and reliable, farming could be put on a regular schedule, and crop yields were more or less predictable. That is no longer as stable and as a result, crop yields are in flux globally.

Poverty

Poverty should not affect whether people can get reliable sources of food, but it sadly almost always does. Everyone has heard the phrase, “healthy food is SO much more expensive.” And that is a fair statement. For the price of a spaghetti squash weighing about 2.5 lbs., just about any fast-food meal can be had instead and for even less money. Unfortunately, the human body was not meant to exist by depending on empty calories. Even in areas where food is accessible, it still might not meet nutritional needs. In impoverished areas, there is not even this less nutritious but still edible alternative.

Transport & Access

Access to food is not always as easy as going to the grocery store or food pantry. Sometimes people suffer from food insecurity as a result of their own lack of transportation to food sources. That is a problem that can be mitigated by an in-home hydroponic system. However, we need to recognize the source of the majority of our crops as well. About 70% of our crops are grown in remote or rural locations. That means they require transportation to reach most people. Which in turn means a heavy reliance on fossil fuels, creating more expense involved in food transport.

What makes hydroponics an ideal solution?

Uncomplicated Technology & Low Barrier to Participate Equals Access

Hydroponics has been the hot word in a lot of conversations lately, but it seems like the discussions are taking place primarily in more affluent, developed regions. We know it excels as a method of gardening (at least in our homes and hobbies) but what makes hydroponics such a good solution for ending world hunger?

It Addresses the Problem of Land Shortages

In many areas, arable land is not available or if it is, it is very sparse. That means a lot of people do not have the means to produce their own food, much less the money to purchase it. Hydroponic systems do not require acres of land to produce significant crop yields. They require little space for the number of crops that can be produced in a single system. Because of this, individual or shared systems can produce food in any community.

It Addresses the Problem of Limited Resources

Traditional farming and gardening are not always readily accessible and oftentimes that is, in part, due to a lack of resources. The traditional methods require much to produce a successful crop. That means a lot of water, land, fertilizer, pesticides, and labor. Hydroponics uses significantly less of these, and none of some of them (pesticides are rarely if ever used). In fact, hydroponic systems can use up to 90% less water than soil farming. This knocks down several barriers for individuals faced with hunger and a lack of resources.

It Can be Used Worldwide, Regardless of Climate or Situation

One of the great things about hydroponics is that it can be used just about anywhere. Regardless of climate, hydroponic systems can be used in conjunction with greenhouses and heaters to ensure crop growth. Likewise, whether located in a rural or urban environment hydroponic system thrive.

Materials Can Easily be Acquired.

While there is a cost associated with any system start up, many of the components needed for a hydroponic system can be found or acquired easily. That means that items like an old fish tank, spare gardening pots, barrels, old trays, and so much more can go into the creation of a hydroponic system, without the need to have money to purchase many components.

How does it help?

For impoverished areas where food is scarce, it is a much more affordable, more sustainable option. Not only that, but it can also be done by the individuals in need rather than requiring money to purchase sustenance. Plus, it provides a valid source of income to many families in these areas. It has been shown that a single hydroponic garden can provide upwards of $90 to around $250 every couple of months in impoverished areas in places like South America and Asia. Maybe that does not sound like a lot to those of us that live in first world countries, but for the vast number of people that must survive on less than $1 daily, that is literally a life changing garden. That is a livelihood.

Hydroponics even benefits those who are not food insecure like in developing countries, but that struggle to get enough nutrition even in the first world. Low-income families can take advantage of hydroponic gardening as a means to supplement their diet with wholesome food that they may otherwise struggle to obtain. Even food secure individuals can use a hydroponic garden to eat healthier and put a dent in their grocery bill.

What Resources are Needed?

A lot of the uninitiated picture hydroponic gardens as the commercial scale greenhouses that appear so frequently in images. The truth is, any hydroponic method of growing is scalable, and therefore does not require a huge greenhouse setup. The essential elements to construct a hydroponic system consist of:

• A tank or water reservoir
• Growing medium
• Trays or towers to secure plants
• Nutrients (aka plant food or hydroponic fertilizers)
• Supplemental lighting
• A water pump (for many types of systems, but it is not required for all)
• Ventilation
• Heating (in some systems this may or may not be required)
• Water
• Suitable seeds, seedlings, or transplantable plants

Some of these essential components are easier to come by than others. As stated before, even old fish tanks or large ceramic pots can be used in lieu of a traditional reservoir. As far as water pumps go, wick systems do not require one, so when push comes to shove, hydroponic systems can be constructed to work without a pump if the cost is an issue. In cold climates, heating will be required, but it can certainly be done.

Growing mediums come in so many forms that it is almost difficult to think of a scenario in which they are not accessible. Whether perlite, rice husks, or stone wool, there are several options that fit any type of hydroponic grower.Trays are easily constructed from readily available materials for growing plants horizontally, as are materials to construct towers to grow plants vertically.

Many of the resources that require electricity (such as pumps, lighting, heat, ventilation) can be made not only more efficient, but more accessible with the use of batteries, generators, and/or solar power.

Seeds and plants will be easily found in some areas and may be difficult to obtain in others. Where seeds are difficult to come by, they can be obtained either through ordering, bartering, or with the aid of humanitarian organizations.

While there is an issue of water shortages, it is more easily overcome than you might expect. Some solutions include gathering rainwater, treating existing water sources, and using a recycle system for hydroponics. Compared to the water requirements for farming, the water demands of hydroponics are minimal.Obtaining nutrients can be done in several ways. Nutrient solution can be bought in wholesale bulk and created through homemade methods.

Hydroponics as a Solution to Global Hunger?

Global hunger is no small issue. The beauty of using hydroponic systems to alleviate the hunger pandemic is that it can start small and grow into a much larger solution. Hydroponics can be started in a single home and grow into a community wide project.

While the idea is great, we still must consider what it will physically, financially, and logistically take to implement hydroponic systems to absolve our world of hunger. Hydroponic systems do not need to expensive or fancy, but at the end of the day you still need materials to make one.

Think Small on a Big Scale

The truth of the matter is hydroponics works better as a solution when we stop looking at it like traditional farming methods. That restrains our ability to create solutions with these systems. We cannot hope to make this happen overnight but through consistent effort and development, it can become a sustainable solution. There have been so many valuable studies that show hydroponic gardens provide more than food, they can provide a livelihood that supports families and sustains the growth of the garden.