Growing food is only the most basic function of a hydroponic farm: For Lotus House, a Freight Farm is also a holistic healing tool and the heart of a robust nutrition and food education program centered around vertical gardening.
The Miami, Florida, shelter serves women and children experiencing homelessness. Hunger and food insecurity eliminated the certainty of a good meal — not to mention a healthy one — for most of the 500 daily guests before arriving at the shelter. Such food insecurity for kids can lead to serious problems like behavioral issues, stunted development, and learning problems, because a student can’t focus on school if they are hungry.
Lotus House started a multidimensional vertical gardening health and wellness program as an educational and intervention tool. Youth at the shelter are brought into the hydroponic farm and kitchen to learn about the fundamentals of nutrition and healthy eating, how food grows, how to cook, and the ways in which various veggies can be prepared. The program has even expanded beyond vertical farms, with traditional gardens in the yard and on the roof at Lotus House.
Women and children come to Lotus House to heal for a fresh start. Healthy food and nutrient-dense greens are a part of that, but the hydroponic farm provides more than just nutritious vegetables and education. Vertical gardening also offers the opportunity for horticultural therapy — the way spending time in a garden, nurturing food, can heal more than just an empty stomach. At Lotus House and in the vertical farm, women and kids also have the opportunity to nurture their spirits, so that they can cultivate a future as strong and bright as the plants they’re growing.
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