Cindy Balderson hopes a cycle of recirculating food production can help break cycles of food insecurity. Balderson is the president and CEO of Healthy Harvest Fresh in Warsaw, located in Virginia's Northern Neck. It's a special place to her.
"I was born and raised here in the Northern Neck," Balderson said. "I witnessed the cycle of generational poverty. Kids get stuck, and they can't find a way out. Children depend on us for weekend meals a lot of times because the only time they get healthy food is when they're at school." Increasing Healthy Harvest's production meant helping more people in her own community.
"We were in a food desert," Balderson said. "We were not being served in this area. I got a text message that said, 'Look up aquaponics,' and I just knew. The rule of thumb around here is that if I get goosebumps and chills, we're on to something. The reason behind it was to try to help these kids."
Based on mimicking the symbiotic relationship between fish and plants found in nature, aquaponics is a fusion of two known models. The model has helped Balderson's organization increase production exponentially.
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