Leaders with Northern Illinois University and ComEd are celebrating the successes of a program helping students better understand the future of agriculture.

Two years ago, NIU started its Edible Campus program as a way to fight food insecurity and teach students about agriculture. Leaders say a successful part of that program has been its “Hydropod” vertical farming system.

Amanda Estes, 17, harvests green star lettuce on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, grown at Germantown High School's Flex Farm, an indoor mobile hydroponic farm from Fork Farms in Germantown, Wisconsin. Estes, a vegetarian, said she has learned a lot about plants' life cycles while participating in this class.

"We can feed the entire cafeteria with the lettuce we produce here. I feel like I'm making a difference in our community.

Verde Compacto has installed a full-scale vertical farm inside Estadio Akron, home to Club Deportivo Guadalajara (Chivas). Just beyond the stands, a container system grows leafy greens, herbs, and wheatgrass for direct use in the stadium's kitchens.

"We wanted to prove that you don't need to be in the countryside, or even outside a stadium, to grow fresh, high-quality food," says Juan Gabriel Succar, Co-Founder of Verde Compacto.

ComEd showed off cool agriculture pods Monday which showcase indoor farming inside of shipping containers.

The shipping containers are set up with LED lighting, high-efficiency HVAC systems for fresh air and pumps to recirculate water.

It’s part of a national study to understand how utility companies can plan for indoor agriculture.

A company specializing in vertical farming was awarded the “2025 Coolest Thing Made in Colorado” by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

The statewide business lobbying group celebrated the top inventions of the state for the past four years with this recognition aiming to highlight different locally-made products.

This year’s winner was the Vertical Hydroponic Farm made by FarmBox Foods out of Aurora.

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.

October is National Farm to School Month, a nationwide celebration of how schools, communities, and foodservice leaders are rethinking what “local food” means. It’s about strengthening food systems, empowering students, and creating a healthier, more sustainable future, one seed, one tray, and one lesson at a time.

At Babylon Micro-Farms, we’re proud to help bring this mission to life. Our indoor micro-farms make it possible for schools to grow fresh, nutritious produce on-site, all year long, with no pesticides, no long-distance shipping, and no growing seasons required.

WARSAW —  Jefferson STEM Elementary recently welcomed Steven Koontz, Indiana Master Gardener and owner of Keep It Watered, for a hands-on learning experience with Jefferson’s six aeroponic tower gardens.

The gardens, made possible through generous donations from Da-Lite/Legrand and the K21 Health Foundation, have become an ongoing part of Jefferson’s STEM program thanks to Koontz’s continued support with materials and expertise.

Corey Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Growcer in Ottawa, Ontario, is one of three finalists in the Innovator category of the CEAg World Impact Awards. The Innovator Award recognizes an entrepreneur or leader who has pioneered and implemented a new tool, concept, or practice that has significant implications for CEA. This award recipient will be someone who has used their expertise to drive tangible improvements for growers, enhancing productivity, sustainability, and overall farm success.

Learn more about Ellis below, and watch CEAgWorld.com for more profiles of our finalists.

• FarmBox Foods helps hospitals estimate financial and nutritional ROI before the implementation of their container farms.

• Key factors include operational costs, yield, reduced readmissions, and local sourcing benefits.

• Predictable production enables budget planning over the long term.

• Bonus depreciation incentives make CAPEX more attractive for institutions.

• ROI is also measured in patient outcomes, staff wellness, and community engagement.

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.

Science students at Germantown High School hosted a harvest event on Friday to showcase fresh greens they grew inside their classroom.

The students used an indoor hydroponic farming system to grow several varieties of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, mini cucumbers, snacking peppers and micro greens that they then served up at school lunch on Friday.

The district's food nutrition director, Jill Seefeld, said they built the lab this summer.

At AdventHealth, that idea is becoming reality. By integrating locally grown produce into patient care, they’re proving that access to fresh food can heal both people and communities.

Freight Farms is proud to help make it possible, with technology that brings food production on-site, ensuring healthcare systems can nourish patients sustainably, reliably, and year-round.

Because when hospitals grow food, they grow health. Join us for a free 30-minute webinar: Fueling the Food as Medicine Movement.

With a $3.5 million renovation and the launch of a hydroponic farming program, Fairview South School is ushering in a new era of hands-on learning for students with special needs.

The Elmbrook School District facility, home to the Waukesha County Special Education Consortium, unveiled its updated interior during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 26, the first major upgrade since becoming a consortium school in 1984.

A Pagosa Springs-based small business that uses a controlled-climate container farm to grow culinary and functional mushrooms is now certified organic.

Behind the Tooth & Gill Mushroom Co. brand is husband-and-wife team Aaron Carter and Lauren Hawksworth, both of whom left the corporate world to pursue their passion for improving community access to healthy food in the form of gourmet mushrooms.

These particular mushrooms are grown entirely in the confines of an insulated, tech-assisted shipping container farm built by Colorado-based FarmBox Foods.

Malnutrition afflicts 20–50% of hospital inpatients worldwide, which means 1 in 4 admitted patients battle longer hospital stays, higher readmission risk, and slower recovery. These alarming rates remain consistent across North America and globally, and the problem often intensifies during hospitalization. Too often, food services cannot deliver truly nutrient-rich produce—conventional supply chains and lengthy storage lead to nutrient loss before food even reaches the plate.

Students are growing what they eat in San Jose as part of a nutrition program at Evergreen School District where students learn to farm produce, harvest it, and serve it for lunch.

It’s part of a nutrition program called Fork Farms that encourages healthy eating in students and gets them more interested in STEM learning.

Students at Quimby Oak Middle School are benefitting from an extension of that program with a new hydroponic system.

Company growing hydroponic trees for burn scars

There are new baby blue spruce trees growing near Sedalia that are unlike any others.