Canada: Aeroponic pyramid garden in Victoria is a catalyst for change

Innovator Allan Murr cultivates a fresh perspective for distributing community food relief

By Colleen Zacharias
The Free Press
Apr. 8, 2023

Excerpt:

Victoria’s Allan Murr uses pyramid-shaped planters and aeroponic farming to cultivate and harvest fresh produce that is distributed by volunteers to local food banks and community kitchens. This is not your average community food share. Murr is president of Harvest and Share Food Relief Society, a registered charity, that has grown salad greens, herbs, and cherry tomatoes outdoors on the grounds at Government House in Victoria. The collaborative initiative to help fight food instability in Victoria is as unique as Murr’s pyramid-shaped planters utilizing aeroponic technology.

Last year, from May 1st to September 15th, volunteers for the non-profit organization harvested and donated 8,000 plants worth approximately $22,000. Now a growing list of community partnerships is expanding the program’s outreach. In January, Harvest and Share Food Relief Society launched its first indoor farm in a partnership with Glenlyon Norfolk School in Victoria. The indoor farm is in the school’s underground parking lot and will operate year-round to supply fresh, nutritional produce to local food banks. In addition, the society will also grow crops on a rooftop garden. Funding from the city of Victoria will enable the charity to hire its first employee who will maintain the nutrient levels and pH values for each of the growing operations. “This year, we are going to be doubling our food production,” said Murr in a recent phone conversation.

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