Partnering with Freight Farms

Think of your favorite fruit. Imagine being able to grow that ALL YEAR round, wherever you want, and harvest a fresh, juicy piece of fruit that only requires 10% of the water that other farming methods require.

Sounds like a tough task, right? How is it possible to make it easy to grow tomatoes in the middle of December on the east coast? Or an basket of strawberries in the Sahara Desert?

A Leafy Green Machine™  might be able to help!

Freight Farms is a company that has made it their mission to empower individuals and organizations with the ability to grow fresh,  sustainable produce all year round - in any condition. With the LGM - or, Leafy Green Machine™ - Freight Farms has created a sustainable way to grow anything, anywhere, anytime! They have sold over 160 LGMs in 10 countries and provided their services to over 20 college campuses world wide.

But, what is a Leafy Green Machine™? In simple terms, it’s a portable farm that can grow items in any climate during any season! The farm-in-a-box is an upcycled shipping container outfitted with all the tools, technology, and growing equipment needed to harvest some goodies. The LGM can harvest up to 150 pounds of produce a week, using features like vertical crop columns and an sensory controlled environment. Even better, the LGM requires no previous farming experience and is designed for easy operation. The use of hydroponics allows these farms to use 90% less water than traditional farming methods, while also cutting down the impacts of food transportation.

Why is this relevant?

Rensselaer Dining Services is looking to partner with Freight Farms to purchase an LGM and begin our own local farm.  Freight Farms is able to provide modern universities with an opportunity to integrate sustainable, high quality food production into campus culture. Each LGM is tailored specifically to fit the needs and wants of each campus. Freight Farms has been able to promote sustainability, health, wellness, and transparency to students all across the country, educating students on the farm-to-table benefits and journey.

We even had an opportunity to take students from Rensselaer’s Student Sustainability Task Force and Hospitality Services Advisor Committee on a tour of a working LGM. They loved it and hoped to see it on campus sooon.

Check out what Freight Farms has to offer!

Get in the Giving Spirit

In 2016, the United Nations launched their bold and transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this agenda, there are 17 sustainable development goals focusing on wiping-out poverty, fighting inequality, and tackling climate change.

As the holiday season descends upon us, with the second night of Hannukah tonight, and Christmas, Winter Solstice and Kwanzaa in a little over a week, it is officially time to get in the spirit of giving. That being said, here are some ways you can tackle at least one of these 17 sustainable development goals this holiday season. 

Goal 1: Donate to End Poverty, an organization focused on ending poverty through microenterprise. 

Goal 2: Contribute your time to volunteer for or send in a donation to the Sodexo Stop Hunger Program. 

Goal 3: Donate to Doctors Without Borders, an organization that delivers emergency medical aid to impoverished, disease-stricken countries worldwide.

Goal 4: Donate to or become a child sponsor at Save the Children, an organization focusing on providing worldwide education.

Goal 5 + 10: This holiday season, reflect on the times that maybe you haven't been so open-minded and accepting. Then make a change in 2018. Being kind is easy.

Goal 6: Help fund the building of clean water sources in Africa by donating to The Water Project.

Goal 7: While the cost of solar panels and windmills is far too steep for the average person to afford, investing in switching the lightbulbs in your house from incandescents to LEDs or CFLs can save 5 to 10 times the amount of energy expended. 

Goal 8: While there is not much you can do to help economic growth in other countries, you can educate yourself. In most places in the world besides the United States, the average person lives on about $2 a day. To put this in perspective, the average meal costs about $12.75 in the United States. 

Goal 9: Donate or volunteer your time to Construction for a Change, an organization that focuses on building necessary infrastructure such as medical buildings and schoolhouses in impoverished areas of the world. 

Goal 11: Talk to a town councilman or councilwoman about the sustainable projects currently in the works in your town and how you can contribute. Remember, you can always start your own!

Goal 12: Make it your New Years Resolution to be a responsible and thoughtful consumer. Remember, we only have one planet and change starts with one person. 

Goal 13: Become a member of the Climate Action Campaign to stop climate change. You can also donate and/or volunteer at one of their events!

Goal 14 + 15: Make it your goal to only consume sustainably caught and killed seafood, meat and poultry.

Goal 16: Don't be a bystander to injustice. See something, say something.

As you can see, it is incredibly easy to get involved this holiday season. From taking a moment to reflect on your own actions, to donating to an organization or even volunteering, you can make a difference. Remember, change begins with one person, so be the change you want to see in the world and others will follow. 

Happy Holidays! Chag Sameach! Likizo Furaha!

Rensselaer Dining Services Brings Students Clean Water

On October 16th at about 6:00 pm, portions of the water system between Congress St. and Frear Park Road in Troy, NY lost pressure due to an emergency shutdown of a water main for maintenance purposes. Unfortunately, when the water mains lose pressure it increases the chance of untreated water or potentially harmful microbes entering the system. In light of this, Troy issued a voluntary boil water advisory for a few days until routine sampling of the water was completed to ensure safety.

This emergency situation has greatly impacted the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus. Students have been advised not to drink water from the sink in their residence halls or from any of the sinks or water fountains on campus. Due to the lack of available, safe drinking water on campus, Rensselaer Dining Services has partnered with Pepsi to bring free bottled water to campus residents. Students can get up to three bottles of water each day by showing their student ID at the Pepsi truck parked behind the Commons Dining Hall. Moreover, clean drinking water is available inside each of the dining halls, as well as juice and cans of soda. The Rensselaer Dining Services staff has been extremely accommodating to students during this tough time.

In light of all the mayhem occurring over the past two days, we must remember that 783 million people in the world today live without access to clean drinking water. This number equates to 1 in 9 people worldwide. While this may be a slight inconvenience for the students of RPI and the citizens of Troy, NY, we should remain very grateful that we have the luxury of access to clean and safe drinking water on a daily basis