CHICAGO — In what used to be a vacant city lot on Chicago’s West Side comes an opportunity for growth.
ComEd showed off cool agriculture pods Monday, which showcase indoor farming inside of shipping containers.
The shipping containers are set up with LED lighting, high-efficiency HVAC systems for fresh air and pumps to recirculate water.
It’s part of a national study to understand how utility companies can plan for indoor agriculture.
“We do microgreens, we do turnips, we do spinach and anything else we think our community would like,” said Keondre Owens with the Young Men’s Educational Network (YMEN). “It just makes me happy to be around them.”
The 19-year-old tends to crops through YMEN, which are harvested about every four to five weeks for those in the need.
Dr. Shemuel Israel is with the North Lawndale Green Committee.
“So far, we have a lot of people who like the flavor of what we grow. They said they will never go back to the store as long as we have the agriculture pods,” Israel said.
The four pods were installed in 2023 — three in Chicago and one at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.
Frank Sharp, with the Electric Power Research Institute, spoke about the growing of such gardens that help table missions in many other areas.
“To really change how we view fresh nutritious produce and how that can be provided in an efficient way 365 days a year in any community in the world,” Sharp said.
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