As a new initiative this year, the Stamford campus of the University of Connecticut will start growing its own produce.
Sociology associate professor-in-residence Laura Bunyan credits her research assistant, Victoria Almazan '26 (SSW), with obtaining an Environmental and Social Sustainability Grant from UConn's Office of Sustainability within the Institute of the Environment to purchase an indoor hydroponic system, known as a Flex Farm. The indoor vertical farm, when working at its maximum, can grow more than 394 pounds of produce annually.
Jonathan Chambers '28, (CLAS) planting the Flex Farm at UConn Stamford on Sept. 19, 2024 (Sean Flynn/UConn Photo)
Right now, the plan is to grow mostly lettuce and microgreens with the help of the Stamford biology department, Bunyan notes, although other vegetables might come later in the year. The first of the produce could be available in about a month.
Bunyan says the idea came from a group of students in one of her classes, in which everyone splits into teams to conceive innovative projects to support Husky Harvest Stamford. In February, one group pitched the idea for a living wall of edible plants or produce, and, by the end of the semester, grant approval had come through.
"This will be a total game changer in terms of promoting healthier eating," Bunyan says. "We want to feed students, yes, but we also want to get them more nutritionally minded foods and options."
Source: UConn Today