This interview details Urban Farm Center, a company based in the United States. The interview is with Eliza Fournier, Director at 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.
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.
The Urban Farm Center will include three growing areas:
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.
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.
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
This interview details Flier Systems, an indoor farming technology company based in the Netherlands. The interview is with Adrie van Diemen, Commercial technical advisor/sales engineer at Flier Systems. To learn more about Flier Systems and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Impello Biosciences, a Biostimulant company based in the United States. The interview is with Michael Key, Chief Executive Officer of Impello Biosciences. To learn more about Impello Biosciences and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Shipshape Urban Farms, an indoor farming technology company based in the United States. The interview is with Angela Speetjens, Co-Founder/CSO of Shipshape Urban Farms. To learn more about Shipshape Urban Farms and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Dansk Vanilje, an indoor farming company based in Denmark. The interview is with Ann Sofie Forsling, Owner of Dansk Vanilje. To learn more about Dansk Vanilje and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Jiffy Group, a company based in the Netherlands. The interview is with Kyle Freedman, Market Segment Manager CEA at Jiffy Group. To learn more about Jiffy Group and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Gurban, an indoor farming company based in Country Spain. The interview is with Pelayo Bolivar, General Manager at Gurban. To learn more about Gurban and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details VIF SYSTEMS, an indoor farming technology company based in France. The interview is with Philippe Audubert, Communications Director at VIF SYSTEMS. To learn more about VIF SYSTEMS and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details SpectraGrow, a Precision LED Systems for Controlled Environment Agriculture company based in the United States. The interview is with Whit Allen, CEO of SpectraGrow. To learn more about SpectraGrow and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Dachnik Aquaponics, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Sean Burrows, Founder of Dachnik Aquaponics. To learn more about Dachnik Aquaponics and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Greenlux Lighting Solutions, an advanced LED lighting solutions company based in Finland. The interview is with Kari Kylä-Kaila, COO of Greenlux Lighting Solutions. To learn more about Greenlux Lighting Solutions and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full Interview