Story by Jorgelina Manna-Rea. Web edited by Rayna Kanas, Jasmine Buie, Siham Kharfan, Stephanie Rivera, Angelica Schriefer and Jessica Perlaza Medina
One St. Petersburg farm is taking leaps in going- and growing- green by thinking inside the box: a shipping box.
Brick Street Farms and its 16 shipping containers sit on what used to be an abandoned junkyard. Like their unlikely farming source, the location was renovated and brought to life by the founders of the farm, Shannon O’Malley and Brad Doyle. After meeting in 2011, they began a small backyard garden experiment growing lettuce and kale. By 2016, their small operation had grown into the farming facility that it is today, with plans of continuing to expand outside of St. Pete.
The farm’s shipping containers use a hydroponic agriculture system to grow fresh greens. The system, a cyclical outfit of pool pumps and gutters, can grow up to three acres of crops inside each container while using 90% less water than a traditional farm.
“It really is the future of farming,” said Andy O’Malley, the general manager of farm operations.
Outside the box, Brick Street Farms is making strides to help the Bay Area eat healthier and go green. Their fresh produce is used in many local restaurants and is available to the greater public at Publix supermarkets throughout central Florida.
To help beyond the marketing, they started the Desert Farms Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to alleviating the effects of food deserts.
“This is one of those issues that is kind of near and dear, kind of like the deep foundational thing that Shannon has been trying to fix in communities,” O’Malley said.
The nonprofit donates fresh greens to other organizations, such as Feeding Tampa Bay. In addition, the farm is donating an upcycled shipping container to one of Feeding Tampa Bay’s locations. This will help others access fresh, healthy produce, as well as learn about hydroponic agriculture so that they may try it themselves.
“I mean that is our mission statement,” O’Malley said, “to be the farm for the community.”
You can find out more, purchase greens and get involved with Brick Street Farms on their website.
