In late August, a former shipping container made its way onto campus. Inside the green and white vehicle were rows upon rows of tiny circles, some filled with what looks like dirt and some growing little buds of green matter. Air-conditioned and cool, purple and pink lights shone as if a rave could breakout at any second. This container is Stony Brook’s latest addition to sustainability on campus, a freight farm, or “The Leafy Green Machine” as some call it, and it is here to change campus dining.
The freight farm is allowing students to grow and manage vegetables hydroponically for the first time behind Roth Café. When the plants are ready within 10 weeks at most, they will be delivered to the different dining halls on campus – a huge change for the way students consume on campus while also helping to save the planet.