US (IN): East Chicago greenhouse to become organic garden for needy
East Chicago officials and Glynn Barber, the inventor of the aquaponics system, were on hand Wednesday 19 January for the unveiling at the greenhouse at Washington Park.
The project with Environmentally Controlled Sustainable Integrated Agriculture of Redkey, Indiana, uses the waste produced by fish to supply nutrients to plants grown in 12 inches of water or hydroponically. The plants then purify the water, creating a closed-loop, zero-waste production mechanism.
The project will include transforming the greenhouse, training staff and growing organic food.
City Planner Marino Solorio said the produce grown in the greenhouse will primarily go to The Salvation Army food programs in the winter months and will be sold at local farmers markets in the summer months.
"We want to be able to provide affordable, healthy food," Solorio said. "A salad costs almost as much as a full-course meal in some restaurants. We want to drop prices of fresh vegetables."
Read more at The Times of Northwest Indiana