Urban Farm Center

This interview details Urban Farm Center, a company based in the United States. The interview is with Eliza Fournier, Director at Urban Farm Center.

Source: Urban Farm Center

What is the origin story of Urban Farm Center?

The Urban Farm Center was conceived of by a group of food systems stakeholders in Lake County, Illinois who were inspired by the work being done by the Chicago Botanic Garden at the Farm on Ogden on the west side of Chicago.

Once inspired, the group was unclear on what Lake County organization/institution had the capacity and interest in seeing this vision to reality and approached College of Lake County. The concept of a “Community Food Hub” that promotes high quality and wholesome food, health and wellness, and workforce training and education, and sustainability aligned with College of Lake County’s purpose, and strategic priorities. With support from a generous “seed” donor, CLC was able to launch the Urban Farm Center project as part of the College’s Lakeshore campus revitalization in downtown Waukegan. The College leadership and board of trustees integrated this community and workforce-focused project into the CLC Master Plan at that time. 

Source: Urban Farm Center

What are some of the goals of the Urban Farm Center? 

The Urban Farm Center seeks to grow high-quality, affordable local produce year-round in a controlled environment at CLC’s Lakeshore Campus in downtown Waukegan. The Urban Farm Center will 1) increase access to locally-grown produce at an on-site retail location; 2) promote and make possible healthy lifestyle choices in a community whose average life expectancy is 10 years less than neighboring towns; and 3) train and educate local food system workers and entrepreneurs to ensure local food systems are resilient and adaptive to withstand future supply chain disruptions.

Source: Urban Farm Center

What will be the current size of your growing area? 

The Urban Farm Center will include three growing areas:

  • 2200 square foot greenhouse for tall crops like tomatoes and cucumbers;
  • 3300 square feet of vertical farming spaces for herbs and lettuce greens;
  • 400 square foot fungiculture laboratory

Source: Urban Farm Center

What are your thoughts in CO2 usage in indoor farms? 

Carbon supplementation is an important consideration when designing and maximizing growing systems. The CO2 supplementation strategies for this project are still being considered, as we strive for balance in the demonstration/education/production goals of the Center.

Source: Urban Farm Center

Energy is a big topic in indoor farming right now. Will your farm draw energy from the grid or renewables?

CLC is ranked as one of the nation’s top 10 greenest community colleges. Among many other sustainability initiatives, including solar and geothermal, CLC’s Science building on its Grayslake Campus received LEED Platinum certification from the U.S Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Additionally, the new Student Center at the Lakeshore Campus (located directly south of the future Urban Farm Center) is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification. The College is currently seeking funding to support a portion of the Urban Farm Center’s energy needs with renewable energy.

Source: Urban Farm Center

How can people connect with you or learn more about Urban Farm Center?

Eliza Fournier the Urban Farm Center Director and can be reached at efournier@clcillinois.edu. For additional information, visit our website at: www.clcillinois.edu/urbanfarm

Source: Urban Farm Center

Asia Vertical Farming Companies: The 2023 Report

Download the Free Sample Report

Mark-Horler

"For a target audience that is trying to understand the basics of vertical farming, this is a quality newsletter to subscribe to"

- James Pateras, CEO, Modular Farms Australia

North America Vertical Farming Companies: The 2023 Report

Download The Free Sample Report

Mark-Horler

"The North America Vertical Farming Companies Report 2023 aggregates many sources of public information on many different companies so that you don't have to do the research yourself, it's worth the money and saves a lot of time"

- John Ireland, CEO, NTP Technologies

Europe Vertical Farming Companies: The 2023 Report

Download the Free Sample Report

Helen Andrew Spare Harvest

"As a business development manager supporting the indoor agriculture, CEA, and food tech industries, I can say Urban Vine guides and their insider newsletter provide detailed information often difficult to find online."

- Irena Lundberg, CleanTech Invest Stockholm

Middle East Vertical Farming Companies: The 2023 Report

Download the Free Sample Report

Mark-Horler

"As a marketing professional in the indoor agriculture industry, Urban Vine's newsletters, reports and guides are an excellent resource for keeping up-to-date with news and developments in vertical farming."

- Steven Mitchell, Product Manager, Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) UK

All Indoor Farming Company Interviews

GrowDirector 2024

August 7, 2024

This interview details GrowDirector, an indoor farming technology company based in Israel. The interview is with Dima Chernobylski, CEO and Co-Founder of GrowDirector. To learn more about GrowDirector and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

Pure Greens Container Farms

July 4, 2024

This interview details Pure Greens Container Farms, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Taisiya Jacobson, President & Co-Founder of Pure Greens Container Farms. To learn more about Pure Greens and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

Bloemteknik

June 21, 2024

This interview details Bloemteknik, an indoor farming technology company based in the UK. The interview is with James Fleet, Co-Founder & CEO of Bloemteknik. To learn more about Bloemteknik and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

Farmitank

May 31, 2024

This interview details Farmitank, a company based in Spain. The interview is with Cristian Nieves, R&D Department at Farmitank. To learn more about Farmitank and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

JHS Group

May 30, 2024

This interview details JHS Group, a company based in the United States. The interview is with Janet Tso-Shushan, CEO of JHS Group. To learn more about JHS Group and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)

May 22, 2024

This interview details Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), a research organization based in Finland. The interview is with Saila Karhu, Research Professor at Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). To learn more about Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

The indoor growing pods at Canadore College

May 22, 2024

This interview details The indoor growing pods at Canadore College, an indoor farming company based in Canada. The interview is with Angela Proudfoot, Project Administrator Sustainable Food & Clean Water at Canadore College.

View Full Interview

NIAB

May 22, 2024

This interview details NIAB, a crop science organization based in the UK. The interview is with Ros Lloyd, Head of Communications at NIAB. To learn more about NIAB and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

Ecocool GmbH

May 22, 2024

This interview details Ecocool GmbH, a packaging solutions provider based in Germany. The interview is with Florian Siedenburg, General Manager of Ecocool GmbH. To learn more about Ecocool GmbH and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

Autonomous Greenhouse

May 22, 2024

This interview details Autonomous Greenhouse, an indoor farming technology company based in the Netherlands. The interview is with Silke Hemming, Head Scientific Research Team Greenhouse Technology at Wageningen University & Research. To learn more about Autonomous Greenhouse and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview