The Food Recovery Center recently added a hydroponics tower to its food pantry. The center — created and stocked by Allegheny’s chapter of the national Food Recovery Network — was unveiled in September of last year on the third floor of the Henderson Campus Center, adjacent to room 301/302.
President of Allegheny’s FRN chapter London Dejarnette, ’24, explained that the hydroponics unit was always part of the plan for the center. “Ultimately the goal is it produces fresh food for students,” Dejarnette said. “We’re going to have harvest events where students can come and harvest vegetables and take some home with them, free of cost obviously.”
The only hurdle in getting the unit was acquiring funding. FRN is a student-run club, meaning that club funds come from the Allegheny Student Government. Dejarnette explained that additional funding came through from the Bonner Program, as FRN is also a site for Bonner funding. After FRN had enough funding, the only thing left to do was assemble the unit and perform general upkeep.
“Hydroponics towers can be really fancy and confusing but this one is intended for homes,” Dejarnette said. “It has the capacity to grow a lot, and in five weeks.”
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