US (TX): Work to start on Mission Waco aquaponics project

A muddy field at North 15th Street and Colcord Avenue next to the new Jubilee Food Market attracted a crowd Wednesday morning as ground broke for a $392,000 project called Urban REAP that will become a hot spot for raising food, catching and storing rainwater, and teaching students the value of energy conservation.

Mission Waco and its executive director, Jimmy Dorrell, championed the cause of creating this ode to sustainability, which will feature an aquaponics greenhouse, commercial composting, rainwater catchment and purification, raised grow beds, solar panels and recycling efforts.

Green Mountain Energy’s Sun Club announced during Wednesday’s ceremony it is donating $234,000 to the cause, which has been dubbed the Urban Renewable Energy and Agriculture Project. Dorrell started to visualize the project as he raised money for Jubilee Food Market, a nonprofit grocery store meant to eliminate a food desert in North Waco.

“The Green Mountain Energy Sun Club strives to partner with organizations that focus on making a real difference in their community,” Sun Club President Mark Parsons wrote in a press release. “Mission Waco is a force for good in the Waco area, and we’re proud to help support them in becoming more sustainable.”

The market that opened in November will sell fruits, vegetables, tilapia and crawfish raised in the new aquaponics system to take shape next door.

Read more at WacoTrib.com