SHERIDAN, Ark. — Two of Arkansas’s biggest problems, struggling farmers and food insecurity, could be addressed by a farming technique that was shown off in Sheridan on Tuesday.

This year, we have spoken with several farmers who said they could be forced to close their family farms, and Arkansas often ranks near the top of the list for food insecurity in America.

A farm experiment yields a harvest through the winter, and it is in the middle of Lawndale.

An empty lot in North Lawndale is host to a micro farm, more specifically, an agricultural pod inside a metal container. The produce grows vertically and hydroponically where light and temperature are controlled year-round.

A 40-foot shipping container in Dededo is growing what its operators believe could help solve Guam’s food security challenges: fresh lettuce harvested hours before reaching consumers’ tables and sold well below imported prices.

Sunny Grow Inc., which began operations in March, represents Guam’s latest venture into vertical farming. Earlier efforts struggled with high electricity costs and logistics, but Vice President Yi Yuan believes their approach can succeed where others failed.

Eudora, Ark. (KATV) — 180 Pipe, a leader in vertical farming systems, is hosting an open house and technology demonstration on Oct. 14, 2025, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 800 Grant 83 in Sheridan, Ark.

The event, co-hosted by Founder Luigi Campos and Eudora Mayor Tomeka Butler, invites the public, media, and Arkansas agriculture leaders to explore how communities can grow fresh, nutrient-rich food regardless of climate or available land.

Fox Urban Farms, which grew produce at 1001 S. Loudoun St. using a hydroponic system inside two specially accessorized trailers, has closed due to what owners John and Ann Fox say was a disappointing lack of support from local shoppers.

"Last year, we really looked at it and it wasn't making the money it needed to make," John Fox said on Tuesday. "We didn't have the people that we needed to have, and some of that was due to market fit. Winchester is not a big foodie town."

But there is a silver lining. The Foxes sold the two hydroponic trailers — each valued at $150,000 and each capable of growing plants in nutrient-enriched water rather than soil — to Frederick County Public Schools.

Community Link is addressing this through a new project called ‘Fresh Link Farms,’ a hydroponic freight farm that’s able to grow lettuce, leafy greens, herbs, root vegetables and edible flowers in a 320-square-foot space, which will be next to the Azle Farmers Market, a press release said.

“It looks just like a shipping container, but inside it’s a hydroponic vertical farm, and it will grow at max capacity about 1,000 heads of lettuce a week,” Harper said. Vanessa Thompson, food program manager, said that some customers have been coming to the pantry since it opened 20 years ago.

The pantry gives a variety of what is on hand each day: frozen food, meat, eggs, produce, bread, hygiene products, and pantry items like coffee and pet food.

A South Side agricultural hub where young people grow food, cook healthy dishes and supply fresh produce for neighbors was one of 14 projects awarded a Neighborhood Opportunity Fund grant Thursday. 

The Gary Comer Youth Center Food Sovereignty Hub will receive $250,000 through the grant program. Mayor Brandon Johnson joined campus leaders and Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th), whose ward includes the youth center, to announce the news in Greater Grand Crossing Wednesday. 

The money will be used to expand the Food Sovereignty Hub, 7230 S. South Chicago Ave., which will include a greenhouse, an outdoor kitchen classroom, a Farmbox container farm with an indoor hydroponic garden, a newly designed commercial space for Farmers Markets and a chicken coop.

Eastie Farm’s paid Climate Corps fellowship helps address the food security issue by offering hands-on work and leadership opportunities for teens and young adults. That’s how they connected with Jose Manuel, an 18-year-old who arrived from Colombia about a year and a half ago. After completing the fellowship, he now runs one of Eastie Farm’s newest projects: a hydroponic freight farm inside a shipping container capable of growing the equivalent of about 2.5 acres of food. 

I visited the Chelsea Terrace site — home to the freight farm and geothermal greenhouse, and about a mile from the Sumner Street location — on a freezing but sunny day in March.

Recently I visited the CROPS (Communities Revolutionizing Open Public Spaces) food hub located at 167 S. Tennessee Ave. in Atlantic City. I sat down with Director of Operations Alexis Flack, who has been with CROPS since 2022; and food distribution coordinator Soph Milone, who started as an intern in 2024, and is now working full time for CROPS.

I was familiar with CROPS, but learned so much more about it during my visit and what they have to offer.

CROPS is a nonprofit with a mission “to alleviate food insecurity through empowering healthy, interconnected communities by cultivating fresh produce, ensuring access to nutritional food, providing educational programming and advocating for sustainable food systems and collaborative solutions.”

As food bank usage increases in B.C. amid the cost-of-living crisis, a group is starting to grow lettuce in a Cranbrook city park to encourage healthy and sustainable eating.

The CBC's Corey Bullock went to the farm, which is looking to expand.

A new hydroponic freight farm opened in Chelsea on Saturday, providing fresh produce year-round.  The urban farm was launched by GreenRoots, a local environmental organization. 

Roseann Bongiovanni, executive director of GreenRoots Teaching Kitchen, said the farm's hydroponic technology will let the organization grow produce year-round. “It’s a sort of urban farm-to-table concept to address food insecurity, nutrition, health, and also to build community and culture,” Bongiovanni said. 

On the outside, the farm just looks like a storage container in a parking lot. But inside the container, water and artificial light and heat create an environment for plants to grow no matter the weather outside. 

Located on a former brownfield site, the farm turned to CEA technologies like vertical farming, container growing, and hydroponics to bypass poor soil quality and limited space issues. "Our motto is, 'Make every acre count,'" Trevor explains. Using over 300 vertical towers, the farm can produce thousands of heads of lettuce in a single cycle.

Educational greenhouses and hydroponic systems
MOFC's success lies in using hydroponic systems and greenhouse technologies. High tunnels—polyplastic-wrapped structures provided by the USDA—protect crops from unpredictable weather, while Dutch bucket systems optimize the production of crops like tomatoes, with each bucket yielding 35 to 50 pounds. By integrating hydroponics, the farm circumvents the need for long-term soil regeneration, a process that can take up to 10 years on previously developed land.

The program was launched in March in partnership with the By the Hand Club and Kenilworth Union Church. The hydroponic container farm operates in any climate and without the use of harsh chemicals. So far, it’s produced eight harvests.

"When we have a full container, we’re looking at about 4,000 heads of lettuce that we’re currently growing," said Joe Jones, senior director of entrepreneurship at Bowen Harvest. "The cycle is about 4,000 and that equates to about four acres a year."

The first birthday of Haverhill YMCA’s Freight Farm brought out staff, city officials and its primary sponsor for a birthday cake and, of course, salad made with the farm’s own lettuce.

Celebrating Wednesday at the Gateway Academy on Primrose Street, where the first YMCA Freight Farm in the country is located, were Mayor Melinda E. Barrett, YMCA Regional Executive Director Tracy Fuller, city councilors, community leaders and Glenn D. Focht, president of Anna Jaques Hospital, which sponsored the farm.

“What we’re purchasing is an indoor grow unit where we can grow food for the community all year long,” said Catharine Kendall, executive director Connaught Youth Centre Society. The unit, which costs about $150,000, will be used to produce up to 480 fresh greens every four to six weeks. These will be distributed to high-risk children, youth, and their families, a crucial need for those struggling with food security.