The following article was written by Nina Loomis, the Urban Farm Manager at Grow It Forward in Manitowoc.
Hi everyone!
My name is Nina Loomis and I am the Urban Farm Manager at Grow It Forward. My day-to-day consists of managing Wisconsin’s largest not-for-profit hydroponic farm. Using 51 hydroponic units, we are able to harvest thousands of pounds of fresh food for our community. This is an incredible asset for our food pantry, as it continues to provide fresh produce to people in need in our community all year long.
At UW-Oshkosh, I was introduced to the Fork Farms hydroponic unit known as the Flex Farm. The Harvest Room was successful in providing hundreds of pounds of lettuce to the campus catering company. After I graduated from UWO in January 2022, I gained an opportunity to work with Fork Farms. Throughout the internship, I grew a wide variety of plants and learned the entire inner workings of the Flex Farm. It was because of this experience that I discovered Grow It Forward’s hydroponic farm. I fell in love with Grow It Forward’s mission to provide dignified access to good food to people in need and decided to join their team in July 2022. Ever since I moved to Manitowoc, I have been impressed by this community’s compassion and support in the production of local food.
Grow It Forward was founded in 2014 by Amber Daugs. Early in her life, Amber experienced hunger and homelessness. She visited a food pantry that did not provide dignified access to good food. Since 2014, Grow It Forward has grown to include a community garden, a 51-unit hydroponic farm, Cafe Harmony, a community food center and pantry, a Catering service, and more. We are very grateful for our expansion into so many new ways to provide dignified food access to 1,400 individuals in Manitowoc County.
Nina Loomis
On Tuesday, May 23, I will be hosting an urban farming experience at Manitowoc Public Library for Family Activity Night—“Lettuce Harvest Together with Grow It Forward.”. Together, we can explore hydroponics as a soilless growing technique and spend time comparing the benefits to traditional farming. A live Flex Farm will be available for hands-on experience with harvesting, transplanting seedlings, and water quality management. In this session, you will learn how to become an urban farmer specializing in the Flex Farm. This can also open up additional opportunities to learn how to grow in a commercial setting in our hydroponic facility.
Before you decide that you don’t have a green thumb, I invite you to join me and learn how to grow food in new ways to nourish you and your community! Growing food is not proprietary knowledge, and everyone should know how to grow and source their own food in their community. There are no age restrictions for “Lettuce Harvest Together” and everyone is welcome to participate. See you there!
