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University of Arkansas to serve campus-grown lettuce

The vertical rows of green leaf lettuce were closely packed on the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville campus, the inaugural crop in a new indoor hydroponic growing station.

Approximately 1,100 heads of lettuce will be served in UA dining halls or donated to campus food recovery efforts. The effort from Chartwells Dining Services cuts emissions from food transport and has students helping to manage the indoor farming operation.

A computer-controlled growing station, fashioned out of a used shipping container, cost about $97,000, said Andrew Lipson, resident district manager for Chartwells.

"We figure somewhere between 4½ and five years, it will pay itself off in just the produce alone," Lipson said. "I think the value of what it's teaching and what we're doing is beyond that."

The 40-foot-long farm unit, purchased from Boston-based Freight Farms, sits behind an agriculture academic building.

Read more at Arkansas Online
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