Food for Life Global welcomes Windowfarms as one of our affiliates. Windowfarms are vertical, hydroponic, modular, low-energy, high-yield edible window gardens built using low-impact or recycled local materials. A Windowfarm makes it easier for anyone to get started growing hydroponically even in the limited space of an apartment, during fall, winter, and spring months. Newly released school kits allow K-12 and University teachers and students to grow and study hydroponically-grown food in a scholastic environment during the winter. Almost anything can be grown in a Windowfarm including, Arugula, Basil, Calendula, Chamomile, Cilantro, Collards, Cress, Dianthus, Dill, Kale, Lemon Balm, Lettuces, Lollo Rossa, Marigolds, Mesculan, Mint, Mustard, Nasturtiums, Pansy, Parsley, Safflower, Sage, Salvia, Snapdragons, Snow Peas, Sorrel, Squash, Stevia, Sugar Pea, Swiss Chard, Thyme, Tomatoe, and Violas. Researchers have argued that to grow your own food is one of the most effective actions an individual can take for the environment and personal health.

The Windowfarm Project was started by artists Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray in February, 2009 through an artist’s residency at Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology in New York. The initiative was sponsored by Submersible Design, Riley and Bray’s interactive design firm.

Riley came up with the idea for the project in 2008 after reading Michael Pollan’s “Why Bother?” article in the New York Times Magazine in conjunction with Clay Shirky’s book Here Comes Everybody. She wanted to grow some of her own food but lived in a 5-story walk-up in Brooklyn. Rooftop growing was problematic, so harnessing the light in the window plus the year-round climate control of an apartment seemed promising. With limited space, dirt growing was not an option. So, the challenge was to make hydroponics vertical and optimized for the window space. The plan was to share any innovations with others so that the project could become a mass collaboration. Windowfarms has been featured on Martha Stewart, Good Morning America, NPR and was listed in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 100 Ventures to watch. To learn more, visit, www.windowfarms.org