Milwaukee basement turned into urban farming space
Entrepreneurs are farming in Amani neighborhood basement with hydroponics
By Daji Aswad
WISN
March 16, 2022
Excerpt:
“Hydroponics is essentially soilless growing,” Dominican Center Executive Director Marichas Harris said.
“Instead of sunshine we have lights that give the rays that the sun gives to keep the plants green and healthy,” hydroponics specialist Wesley Landry said.
“I find it amazing that we have the capacity to grow 40,000 plants in our basement in the Amani neighborhood,” Harris said.
Harris runs the Dominican Center on 24th and Locust streets. She said the project is vital for the Amani neighborhood.
“The Amani neighborhood does not have a grocery store within the boundaries within the actual neighborhood,” Harris said.
Their partner, FullCircle26 Inc., provided the hydroponic devices.
“When you are looking at a food desert, where people don’t have access to fresh produce, we have a wide variety of problems from health problems,” FullCircle26 Inc. CEO and founder Shelley Matthews said.
The fresh green and plants there go back to the Amani neighborhood. It’s their own version of farm to table.
