Our Company
FOCUS Foods’ urban aquaponics farms will be self-sustaining symbiotic fish and produce systems. Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics that recirculates water in a closed-loop ecosystem. Wastewater from the fish provides organic fertilizer to the plants and the plants clean the fish waste from the water- this solves key inefficiencies of hydroponics and aquaculture. Aquaponics uses a small fraction (estimated 5-10%) of the water needed for traditional farming (and none of the soil), is completely organic, and entirely sustainable. FOCUS Foods can even grow the food for the fish (worms) so that there are no extraneous inputs other than sunlight, some water, and heat in the winter.
FOCUS Foods' first farm will be built in a rooftop greenhouse on top of a grocery store in greater North Philadelphia (a food desert.) By setting the farm up in the inner city, the company will lower transportation and shipping costs dramatically. Best of all we’ll be providing access to sustainable healthy food for local low-income residents. We’ll be selling both the fresh fish and the fresh produce.
FOCUS Foods’ urban aquaponics farms will be self-sustaining symbiotic fish and produce systems. Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics that recirculates water in a closed-loop ecosystem. Wastewater from the fish provides organic fertilizer to the plants and the plants clean the fish waste from the water- this solves key inefficiencies of hydroponics and aquaculture. Aquaponics uses a small fraction (estimated 5-10%) of the water needed for traditional farming (and none of the soil), is completely organic, and entirely sustainable. FOCUS Foods can even grow the food for the fish (worms) so that there are no extraneous inputs other than sunlight, some water, and heat in the winter.
FOCUS Foods' first farm will be built in a rooftop greenhouse on top of a grocery store in greater North Philadelphia (a food desert.) By setting the farm up in the inner city, the company will lower transportation and shipping costs dramatically. Best of all we’ll be providing access to sustainable healthy food for local low-income residents. We’ll be selling both the fresh fish and the fresh produce.
Why do we need this?
Agriculture today is unsustainable. Through greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, chemical runoff, and inefficient water use, current farming methods harm nearly every aspect of the environment. Further, the global population will exceed 9 billion people by 2040, resulting in greater food demand and further straining our natural resources. The UN predicts that we'll need to increase food production by 60% by 2050. Sustainability is more than just meeting demand with supply – it’s about limiting the environmental impact of doing so. Farming needs to be reinvented.
We also face a growing health crisis. Today’s children may be the first generation to have shorter lifespans than their parents. More than two-thirds (69%) of American adults and more than one-third of American children and adolescents are overweight or obese. Just 33% of Americans get their recommended servings of fruits daily and just 27% of Americans meet the recommendations for vegetables. New research is highlighting the importance of this problem. It turns out, micronutrients are essential to ensuring the pathways in our brains that regulate food intake and use are functioning properly. A lack of micronutrients is linked to obesity - and yet so few Americans know this or are getting the nutrients they need. By growing our food on top of a store and getting it from vine to harvest within hours, we will be providing some of the most naturally vitamin-rich produce on the market.
FOCUS Foods combines two existing farming methods - fish farming/fishing and vegetable/fruit farming - into one system that addresses all of these concerns. We will have a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions of traditional farming, no pesticides, no soil erosion, and limited water use. We'll also be growing healthy, fresh food year-round in a neighborhood with very little access to healthy food, or really any food at all.
Take a look at how environmentally sustainable we really are.
Agriculture today is unsustainable. Through greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, chemical runoff, and inefficient water use, current farming methods harm nearly every aspect of the environment. Further, the global population will exceed 9 billion people by 2040, resulting in greater food demand and further straining our natural resources. The UN predicts that we'll need to increase food production by 60% by 2050. Sustainability is more than just meeting demand with supply – it’s about limiting the environmental impact of doing so. Farming needs to be reinvented.
We also face a growing health crisis. Today’s children may be the first generation to have shorter lifespans than their parents. More than two-thirds (69%) of American adults and more than one-third of American children and adolescents are overweight or obese. Just 33% of Americans get their recommended servings of fruits daily and just 27% of Americans meet the recommendations for vegetables. New research is highlighting the importance of this problem. It turns out, micronutrients are essential to ensuring the pathways in our brains that regulate food intake and use are functioning properly. A lack of micronutrients is linked to obesity - and yet so few Americans know this or are getting the nutrients they need. By growing our food on top of a store and getting it from vine to harvest within hours, we will be providing some of the most naturally vitamin-rich produce on the market.
FOCUS Foods combines two existing farming methods - fish farming/fishing and vegetable/fruit farming - into one system that addresses all of these concerns. We will have a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions of traditional farming, no pesticides, no soil erosion, and limited water use. We'll also be growing healthy, fresh food year-round in a neighborhood with very little access to healthy food, or really any food at all.
Take a look at how environmentally sustainable we really are.