Garden of Eden Urban Farming
Controlled environment agriculture, hydroponics, microgreens - Since 2013
Food Bank Support Plan
With the GOE Food Bank Support Program a food bank can move beyond canned goods, government cheese and wilted, leftover produce to include fresh, locally grown vegetables, all while developing the economy of its community. The program easily incorporates controlled environment agriculture (CEA) to bring microgreens, mixed leafy greens, squashes and other real food to persons and families who — usually through no fault of their own or due to residence in a food desert — find food hard to find or beyond their means. If you're a food bank manager, please read on.
What is it?
Local food banks coordinate production by independent gardeners who grow fresh, vegetables locally. The food banks then distribute vegetables to clients as part of their regular operations using an online network that tracks orders, cultivation, harvest, and delivery, with appropriate feedback to organizers, growers and recipients.
Who is it?
Each local food bank coordinates food production by local growers, who may be individuals or small businesses. The GOE Food Bank Support Program supplies a variety of services to the food banks and growers, including consultation, planning, training, networking, software*, and operational support.
* Software tracks cultivation, collection, and distribution; the parent system has a decade of history tracking hundreds of thousands of events and millions of pounds of products transported.
Where is it?
We currently support food banks in the Puget Sound region. Training for interested food banks in other regions is planned for the fall of 2025. The rollout will continue across the USA thereafter.
When is it?
The process is continuous and is keyed to each food bank's distribution cycle. In the event of interruptions, produce can be redistributed to other centers.
How does it work?
The growers provide their produce to the food bank, which organizes distribution to its clients, optionally repackaging it to balance other contents of food boxes, or sometimes making it available for selection in a grocery store format; it's flexible. The general process is something like this:
- Food bank (FB) places an order for N units of product P for delivery on date D.
- Order is published to local growers; status = Open.
- Grower claims order*; status = Claimed.
- Grower(s) sow seeds; status = Planted.
- Grower(s) harvest crop; status = Harvested.
- FB collects produce; status = Ready.
- FB distributes produce; status = Closed.
* Order may be split among growers.
© 2025 GOE Urban Farming Inc