Vision: To Develop a Farm Model which Creates a Sustainable Source of Produce & Knowledge to Solve Local Food Scarcity .
Vision: To Develop a Farm Model which Creates a Sustainable Source of Produce & Knowledge to Solve Local Food Scarcity .
Underground Greens will reconnect the community, to their food sources through food knowledge workshops, employment, and by providing affordable, locally grown, non-GMO, specialty plant and produce options, year-round, in an old nuclear fallout shelter, in the middle of a food desert to help decrease food scarcity. While the nuclear fallout shelter will be used in the winter, we will also use traditional field and high-tunnel production methods during the more temperate seasons.
Our business model is simple. Grow good food, using the most sustainable (cheapest) growing methods, during the appropriate seasons. That means growing indoor crops during the worst of our winter months, and moving crops to the greenhouse and fields as it warms up. Our heating bill in the winter will be drastically less than our competitors, as the nuclear fallout shelter maintains a 42 degree temperature, even when it's well below zero outside.
Once we are in our space and fully operational, expect to be able to purchase produce like superhot peppers, baby cucumbers, mushrooms, mini bell peppers, edible flowers, microgreens, baby leaf veggies, and multi-colored cherry tomatos all winter long. Our prices will be affordable and similar to Wallmart's prices. After 20 years of experimenting with indoor growing, I have been able to develop production methods that will allow us to sell products at reasonable prices. So, you will never see a $10 bag of lettuce offered for sale at Underground Greens.
While attending Mohawk Valley Community College in Rome, NY, Christina's business plan for Underground Greens won 1st place in the Energy/Sustainability track at the Mohawk Valley Regional Business Plan competition in 2015 & 2016, and she went on to win 3rd place, both years, at the New York State Finals Competition, as well as winning the first M.W.B.W. award in 2016. After earning her BA in Interdisciplinary Studies at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, she was admitted to the Information Design and Technology Master's Program at SUNY Poly, where she continues to improve her business plan for Underground Greens, focus on food security issues, & improve her tech skills.
Like most startups, Underground Greens is still looking for a good funding opportunity to build out the 40,000 sf facility in Rome, N.Y. to suit our needs. Financial requirements include the cost of building a kitchen, additional restrooms, and a big enough space for community workshops. Depending on the Covid-19 Pandemic, I will be gearing up to offer a line of "superhot" peppers, rare tomatoes, & microgreens produced at the Rome & Sackets Harbor locations in the spring of 2021, along with seasonal produce grown in the green house and fields. More details to follow.
Underground Greens offers three workshops created by using an Interdisciplinary Approach and Human Centered Design to Develop a Series of Hands-on, Critical-Making Centered Experiences in an Effort to Create a Sustainable Source of Plants and Produce, Develop Food Knowledge & Mitigate Local Food Scarcity in a Food Desert.
Workshops include:
•You Can Grow •Upcycle Gardening •Student Farmer’s Microgreen Production