Mi Oh My Hydroponic Farms

This interview details Mi Oh My Hydroponic Farms, a worker-owned cooperative based in the United States. The interview is with Katy Mejia, Co-Founder of Mi Oh My Hydroponic Farms.

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What is the origin story of Mi Oh My Farms?

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Mi Oh My Hydroponic Farms is a worker-owned cooperative, founded in the summer of 2020 when Bronx resident, Joél Mejia, and several other Bronx residents set out to answer the need for access to healthy food in their community, using the innovative, earth-friendly agricultural practice of hydroponics. The “Mi” in our organization's name comes from Microgreens and the “My” comes from Mycelium, both powerhouse superfoods.  

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Joél, an educator and social activist with a BA in Economics, was also inspired by cooperative economics as a path to resolving this issue, as well as transforming our economy into one that sustains and benefits the environment and community, rather than exploiting and extracting from them. Numerous information sessions have been held to educate people about becoming a worker-owner and cooperative economics in general, and after successfully vending at a new farmer’s market in the north Bronx area, a number of candidates trained to become worker-owners and spread the benefits of our products.

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We served over 100 customers that first summer, many of whom were first-time microgreens consumers, with many coming back week after week to purchase their weekly dose. Since then, we have launched the Bronx’s first microgreens and mushrooms farm share with the objective of increasing awareness, access, and consumption of these unique superfoods in the local community. With the aid of grant funds and support from cooperatives, we are also building and developing hydropnic S.T.E.A.M. curriculums in public schools which engage students in the building and maintenance of hydroponic systems.

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As we continue to create mutually beneficial partnerships with our neighbors, such as collecting coffee grounds from a local cafe for use in mushroom cultivation, thereby reducing waste, sharing our surplus microgreens in community fridges, little by little we make progress towards our goals. Our 3 week Home Hydroponics Master Course provides the materials for individuals and families to grow microgreens at home. We also continue to hold information sessions where we can share what we have learned about cooperative economics, which many studies prove is the single most viable way to improve our financial situation.

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Our worker cooperative is operated by a diverse set of individuals with skills and passions that synchronize with the vision of the organization. As a worker-owned, democratically controlled business, we are able to prioritize what is best for our members and our community. We believe socially responsible, sustainable food production has the power to influence us on a nutritional, environmental and economic level. By connecting with our neighbors at markets and other events, we will continue to grow our curriculum, the home hydroponics workshops and our farm shares for individuals and local businesses to make our vision a reality.

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What are some of the biggest challenges facing Mi Oh My Hydroponic Farms in the future? 

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The Bronx is a food desert and is surrounded by industry, toxic air, with food choices that are far from fresh. It has been a challenge to educate the community about healthy food choices such as microgreens and mushrooms.

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What is unique about Mi Oh My Farms compared to competitors?

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There are no other urban farms in the Bronx growing microgreens and mushrooms that are also offering educational courses.

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What are some other relevant metrics of the company (growing area size, production quantity, team size, etc.)?

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Our team of worker-owners of eight is small but it is growing. We produce five different kinds of microgreens and 3 different kinds of Oyster mushrooms and are now growing Lion’s Mane.  

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Our goal is to move our urban farm located in a cooperative apartment building to a space of at least 5,000 square feet so we can produce more superfoods and hold workshops in the same space.

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What are some goals in 2024 and beyond for Mi Oh My Farms?

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Our goal is to have our hydroponics S.T.E.A.M. workshops in at least 5 different Bronx Public Schools and potentially even private schools. Another goal is to complete our hydroponics course curriculum for science classrooms.

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Another goal is to have at least 50 CSA members receiving our mushrooms and microgreens on a weekly basis. Another goal is to move to a 5,000 square foot facility where we can produce more of our double extracted turkey tail and reishi mushroom tonics, grow more microgreens and a wider variety of mushrooms. If the space is large enough, we would also like to grow lettuce and other greens for local grocery stores.

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A final dream is to form a strong partnership with a nearby community garden to hold mushroom workshops to demonstrate their ability to remediate the soil especially in polluted urban areas such as the Bronx.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Mi Oh My Farms?

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You can sign up for one of our courses or book a farm tour if you are in the Bronx area.

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We are also currently building on our fully virtual course as well specifically for science classrooms so check back.

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You can follow and share our videos on Instagram, sign up to our newsletter,donate or join our co-op!

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