- Tens of millions of adults, children are living in food-insecure households
- Micro-farms, such as ACTX’s Grow Pods, are being evaluated as a potential solution for food insecurity
- With GrowPods, cultivation can be moved directly into the areas where food is needed
An estimated 30 million adults and 12 million children are living in food-insecure households, reports a recent CNN Business article (https://cnw.fm/o1wn5). Those are people that Advanced Container Technologies (OTC: ACTX), the exclusive U.S. distributor of Grow Pods, believes it can help.
“Families across America are precariously perched on the edge of a hunger cliff,” reports CNN Business. “With inflation on the rise and supply chain backlogs, more families have been turning to food banks, forcing programs nationwide to ration supplies and cut services. And now the war in Ukraine is leading to more food shortages and driving up prices even further. Now is not the time to turn our backs on those who cannot afford to put food on the table.
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (‘USDA’) has estimated that as many as 30 million adults and 12 million children are living in food-insecure households,” the CNN report continued. “And the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey found that in the last seven days, 10.3% of respondents sometimes or often did not have enough to eat. Local food aid organizations are essential community resources for families during this crisis, but they cannot do it all by themselves.”
Micro-farms, such as ACTX’s Grow Pods, are being evaluated as a potential solution for food insecurity. Last year, Virginia State University (“VSU”) was given a $600,000 grant to explore micro farms as a potential solution to what the school called “food deserts in urban neighborhoods” (https://cnw.fm/oGUed). According to the school, the grant will build VSU’s capacity to provide comprehensive education on micro farming.
Leonard Githinji, project director and sustainable and urban agriculture Cooperative Extension specialist at VSU, reports that more than 11% of the nation’s population and 10% of Virginia’s population are food insecure. “Residents in food-insecure areas, commonly known as food deserts, have little or no access to fresh, affordable and nutritious food, and often have higher instances of chronic diseases, such as obesity, due to poor diets,” Githinji states. “Developing sustainable micro farms in urban areas can have a profound impact on access to healthy food in food deserts.”
The funding will enhance VSU’s capacity to study micro farming and provide experiential learning and hands-on training to students, extension agents, master gardeners and youth leaders. Companies operating in the micro-farming space, such as Advanced Container Technologies, will also likely benefit from the study results. The three-year study will focus on developing and optimizing environmental growing conditions so that research-based information can be disseminated on best practices for micro farming.
ACTX is confident its GrowPods — modular hydroponic greenhouses — could become a valuable tool in efforts to combat food insecurity. “With GrowPods, cultivation can be moved directly into the areas where food is needed,” the company noted (https://cnw.fm/Fwx5Y). “Additionally, locating the pods nearer to the point of consumption allows food to be harvested at its peak nutritional value, and greatly reduces the carbon and environmental impact of the nation’s current food chain, which relies on trucks carrying mass quantities of produce across the country.”
GrowPods offer a controlled environment with major advantages for the production of high-value crops. The ability to grow crops year-round while cultivating in a smaller footprint using less resources make the systems particularly well suited for programs such as the LFPA. ACTX is the exclusive distributor of GrowPods in certain markets. The company also provides a variety of other products and services, including packaging solutions for medicinal, pharmaceutical, and agricultural products.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.AdvancedContainerTechnologies.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to ACTX are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/ACTX
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