Hundreds of people are seeing the benefits of an Aquaponic Garden at a church in Colorado Springs.
The unique garden at Mountain Springs Church started five years ago. Aquaponic uses a tenth of the water of soil-based gardening and uses the waste produced by fish to feed the plants, and the plants also clean the water for the fish creating a continuous cycle. The greenhouse is 15-hundred square feet with 38-hundred plants. Volunteers grow four kinds of lettuce three kinds of kale, tomatoes, herbs, peppers, and cucumbers.
Every five dollars purchased today provides the resources to help other families in need have healthy food options. “We found out about the food insecurity problems, you know, and the pantries usually provide just canned foods, so now we are able to provide fresh produce for the pantries as well,” said Corinne Mattingly, the Aquaponic garden market manager
Every Saturday, a team of 70 volunteers harvest around 400 heads of lettuce. The church then provides fresh produce to the Pikes Peak Region food pantries.
Read the complete article at www.fox21news.com.