Eighth grade students had the opportunity to visit nOURish Bridgeport’s indoor hydroponic farm and learn how produce can be grown without soil. The farm grows a variety of lettuces, herbs, and other produce, including tomatoes and cucumbers. The harvest is distributed throughout the Bridgeport community, including to schools, the nOURish food pantry, and a farm stand. nOURish provides nutritious food for people experiencing food insecurity, scarcity, and living in food deserts.

Upon arriving, the class was greeted by Reverend Sara, the President and CEO of nOURish. The learning began right away with a shoe bath to remove outside spores carried in on our shoes from the environment. Students were introduced to a variety of growing systems, including Dutch Buckets, the Fork Farms System, Grow Rigs, and a Freight Container System. Each of these systems uses lights, water, nutrients, and coconut coir instead of traditional soil-based outdoor farming. The process is precise and scientific, as plants require specific levels of temperature, humidity, light, and water in order to grow and mature properly. Reverend Sara explained the entire process from start to finish—seedlings, sprouts, mature plants, harvest, packaging, and disposal.

Students even had the chance to taste some of the delicious lettuce and came away with both an informative and fun experience. Thank you to nOURish Bridgeport and Reverend Sara for such a special field experience!