LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. /California Newswire/ — The Huntington Beach Sister City Association and its delegation of 25 adults from sister city Anjo, Japan, toured Alegria Farm on Sunday October 7, it was announced by Erik Cutter, Managing Director of Alegria Fresh. Learning about Alegria's innovative new farming method that employs the Verti-Gro System provided the delegation with nutrition-rich knowledge to bring back to Japan.
The delegation's visit is a celebration of the 30-year sister city relationship between Huntington Beach, Calif., and Anjo, Japan. The delegation consisted of Anjo's elected officials, city leadership and business sector guests.
"The delegation requested to visit an agricultural institution, and we chose Alegria Farm because it is the only farm in Orange County employing the high efficiency hydroponic vertical farming method," said Mary Thompson, Board Member, Huntington Beach Sister City Association. "The Japanese wish to utilize small spaces for their farming needs and are very interested in resource efficiency and produce quality, so this was a great educational opportunity for them."
Alegria Farm, pioneering the concept of high-performance urban agriculture, grows superior greens using 90 percent less water, 50 percent less fertilizer, 70 percent less land and zero toxic pesticides – while delivering 10 times the yield of traditional organic row farming. Cutter also explained the numerous health benefits of consuming locally grown food close to its time of harvest.
"Our goal is to educate people about this extremely resource efficient farming practice and the health benefits of consuming food produced with this system and ultimately to create careers for our youth in urban agriculture," said Cutter. "If you believe what Hippocrates said nearly 3,000 years ago that food is medicine, then you will understand why we call Alegria Farm the Green Farmacy."
The Sister City program is established to strengthen international understanding through knowledge exchanges in economy, arts, education and sports. Anjo is located on the main island of Japan, between the cities of Tokyo and Nagoya, and it is primarily an agricultural area.
About Alegria Farm:
Alegria Farm is a new commercial hydroponic vertical farm employing over 170 hydroponic towers growing over 10,000 plants in less than 1/4 acre. Alegria Farm is Orange County's first hydroponic vertical farm and the first West Coast showcase for the Verti-Gro system, which uses no soil, 90 percent less water, 70 percent less land, 50 percent less fertilizer than traditional organic farming and zero toxic pesticides. This high performance growing system produces clean, natural food faster than traditional farming and allows plants to grow bigger and stronger, making plants naturally pest resistant.
Alegria Farm produces an exotic tasting variety of leafy greens, medicinal herbs and heirloom vegetables. Hydroponic farming is soil-less and utilizes coconut fiber instead of organic soil, which virtually eliminates pesticide usage to produce stronger plants that are substantially more nutrient-rich. For more information on Alegria Farm or to schedule a tour, please visit www.AlegriaFresh.com or follow on Facebook and Twitter. Alegria Farm is the high-performance food division of EnviroIngenuity. Produce from the farm is sold under the Alegria Fresh trade name.
About EnviroIngenuity:
EnviroIngenuity was founded in 2009 by Erik Cutter. The company is comprised of forward-thinking professionals, whose goal is to take advantage of the growing demand for more efficient, cost effective sustainable energy solutions, employing solar PV, hi-efficiency LED lighting, green building and hydroponic vertical food production technologies, the latest venture being the development of the Alegria Farm. EnviroIngenuity's mission is "advancingreenergy" and reducing waste, thus better utilizing limited natural resources. As we invest in a lower carbon future, the EnviroIngenuity team is focused on helping organizations move forward to deploy sustainable energy solutions using disruptive technologies. More info: www.EnviroIngenuity.com .
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