The Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South has a new hydroponic farm outside its Brockton Clubhouse. On Jan. 6, 2022, the organization officially opened its farms Greenery hydroponic farm, which is inside a shipping container. Produce grown in the farm will be used to support the club’s Kids Café healthy meals program.
The farm was purchased with funds from a $115,000 grant awarded by Beth Israel Lahey Health’s Community Benefits Committee in 2021.
Monica Lombardo, vice president and chief advancement officer for the clubs, explained that freight farms are used as an educational opportunity for children in addition to being a practical source of food.
“It’s a really exciting, immersive and engaging educational opportunity for the kids,” said Lombardo. “It models for them in a tangible way people being creative and applying technology that already existed to solve a problem in an affordable way. We have developed a curriculum to go along with this so the kids can understand the growing process.”
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South assist children in the Brockton and Taunton communities in achieving academic success and a healthy lifestyle. The clubs serve more than 2,000 children ages 4-18 each year. Many members struggle with food insecurity, so one of the clubs’ primary responsibilities is to provide nutritious meals to every hungry member.
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