I vividly remember when my fourth grade social studies teacher once expressed, “the three basic needs for survival were food, water, and shelter,”. This statement has lingered in the forefront of my mind since that day, and as I’ve long researched sustainable practices and the relationship between humans and the environment, it has left more questions than answers. I’ve wondered why if these three commodities are our basic needs for survival, why have our rights to these things been stripped away and exploited? Ultimately, I choose to focus on finding solutions to give people more access to food and other survival needs even in this exploitative society.
Having enough food to survive and flourish today is the most important need for humanity. In urban environments presently, lack of food security is the most prevalent problem we humans need to solve. Recently, I attended a food security event and as much as I’d like to say this lack of food security here in Columbus, Ohio was being addressed, I quickly surmised that the approach these food banks and food pantries that constituted the panel were taking were outdated and simply a band aid over the issue rather than a solution.
If we want things to change or improve, waking up and doing the same thing every day will not bring the change we desire. I realized that the three panel organizations had only ever limited their vision to the way things have always been, simply using money to buy food and giving to people in need. However, this is not a solution, as this only creates reliance on those organizations to provide food for people on a regular basis. As the panel opened for questions from the audience, I spoke of my solution for securing food for households and families for the long term; however, the panelists hadn’t been receptive of it or open-minded to there being another way to do things than what they’ve done for ages.
People cannot survive or thrive without the security of having access to their basic needs. In urban environments that have functioned the same way since the Industrial Revolution, it’s most important for leadership who expects people to stay living within their city limits to provide these needs, or access to them. Simply giving people food isn’t sustainable. Instead, the best solution is to provide people with the means to provide food for themselves.
The city officials and leadership organizations should assist people in getting hydroponic or non-electric vertical gardening systems to grow their own fruits, vegetables, and herbs within their own apartments or houses. Ultimately, the money pantries and food banks spend on the food they give to people, could be better spent on the costs of indoor gardening systems which would provide people with healthy food for the long term, and additional requirements for a program of this nature could further benefit the city in a myriad of ways.
In 2023, the city of Columbus received funding to distribute to its residents to purchase electric bicycles (ebikes) to alleviate vehicular traffic and associated air pollution. Columbus’ Resident E-Bike Subsidy Program, launched by Smart Columbus, distributed 289 income-based incentives to Columbus residents during its pilot program in 2023 ranging from $500-$1,200 (columbusebikes.com). This totals up to around $300,000. Furthermore, the program has been renewed for 2024.
Although transportation is important, evermore pertinent to address is the lack of food security. Columbus should look to fund hydroponic or non-electric indoor gardening systems for individual households to solve the issue of food security and make life in Columbus more sustainable for the long term. However, is it feasible financially?
Based on the cost of a few popular hydroponic towers and some non-electric indoor planters, it is certainly even more cost effective to fund the costs of these per household than the cost of the ebike incentives offered last year.
A popular option, the Juice Plus+ Company offers a 32-plant hydroponic tower planter with attached grow lights and necessary accessories for $1,020.00 or $85.00 per month for 12 months. Gardyn’s Gardyn Home Kit 3.0 30-plant hydroponic system is currently priced at $695 or around $30 per month. Amazon also hosts a myriad of affordable options for hydroponic systems. But, it’s important to remember not all residents have electricity, and many cannot afford the higher electricity costs of owning hydroponic systems. Instead, there are a variety of indoor planters, such as stackable tower planters and five-layer horizontal planter beds, that are far more affordable than hydroponic systems, but they do bear that con that the harvest time would be significantly slower than with hydroponic systems. The Garden Tower Project offers a non-electric composting tower planter that grows 50 plants simultaneously and runs at $473.00 currently. Multiple retailers, such as Amazon and Walmart, carry tiered plastic tower planters with five or six tiers, and the ability to add more, for costs around $33 and up.
As the cost is addressed, both hydroponic and non-electric indoor gardening systems are within or less than the cost of the incentives handed out by Smart Columbus to purchase ebikes. Based on the cost alone, this solution is a feasible option to address the lack of food security in Columbus. However, there are additional benefits to funding indoor planters for individual households.
- Any Surplus Can Be Donated or Shared. Similar to the ebike program, the city could place a stipulation as part of the program that any surplus of food that was grown be donated back to pantries or food banks to be redistributed to those in need.
- Improved Physical Health and Lower Obesity Rates. Most food donated by food pantries to those in need are not natural or organic vegetables and fruits. Even those purchasing food from supermarkets often can’t afford the higher costs of fruit and vegetables to eat healthier diets. Providing people with indoor gardening systems ensures a greater natural and organic diet, improving physical health and energy levels, which could promote more physical exercise and lower obesity rates.
- Break Reliance on Outside Entities. Once residents start growing their own food, even in urban environments, it’ll break the reliance on pantries, supermarkets, or other outside entities to survive or flourish. It’ll also alleviate stress and likely the sharing of harvests would promote community and social engagement.
- Winter Would Be Bested. Hydroponic systems can be harvested from all throughout the year, allowing food to be grown even in winter. The same can be said of non-electric planters as long they’re indoors, although harvest would be less frequent than with hydroponic systems.
It’s still important to note though that the City of Columbus or any urban environment considering the funding of indoor gardening systems for individual households still need to receive the funds in some manner before this solution is feasible. But I have faith that if a city can find such a large amount of funding to put toward transportation, then they can find funding through grants, taxes, or donations to put toward securing food for its residents in the long term. If urban environments hope to sustain themselves into the far future, it is necessary to address the basic needs of survival before all else.
Columbus’ Resident E-Bike Subsidy Program, 2023. https://www.columbusebikes.com/
Tower Garden. The Juice Plus+ Company, 2020. https://www.towergarden.com/us/en/shop/growing-systems
Gardyn Home Kit 3.0. Gardyn, 2019-2024. https://mygardyn.com/product/gardyn-home-kit-gen3/
Garden Tower Project, 2020. https://www.gardentowerproject.com/collections/garden-tower/bundles
Not Your Cup of Tea 
Amazing article here, very informative. And i agree with your school of thought Brianna
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