Indoor Grow Tent

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

World Hunger Team is a true 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2008 our mission statement is “to enhance the health and well-being of impoverished communities by providing access to organic and sustainable nutrition and clean drinking water.”
We achieve this by creating innovative systems that make food cultivation possible in areas where little to no food is currently grown, bringing self-sufficiency and hope to those in need. Not everything we do is new or even original.  But it IS unique in that we focus on maximizing output while minimizing costs both up-front and on-going. We believe in doing MORE with LESS.

The ”Grow Tent” described in this document is just one small part of our “Indoor Community Garden” program. We have a wide range of system solutions for large-scale growing in abandoned school gymnasiums and office buildings. And we have an entire social enterprise proposal for organizations that want to implement large-scale growing operations. They provide jobs and income for hard-to-employ people with physical or medical limitations. The proposal I am sending you is one that we made to a military group at Fort Campbell.

WHAT IS THE WORLD HUNGER TEAM “GROW TENT”?

Picture a box about the size of a phone booth.
Picture that box being made of a smooth tent-like material.
Picture that box having a zipper that opens to reveal 3 growing levels of 26” height, each with its own growing trays and bank of high-output LED grow lights.
There are up to 36 food plants growing in water on each level.
So there is literally up to 108 food plants growing in this one tiny little space.
And the food can be harvested as often as every 10 days.

It’s like having a huge garden, but it fits in a really small space.
And it’s so simple to operate, people LOVE working on the plants.

Now think of the people who could benefit from EATING that food:

• Fresh Greens are extremely nutritious and healthy
• Fresh herbs bring life to food
• Fresh cherry tomatoes and peppers are tasty and healthy
• Fresh berries brighten the meals of people everywhere

To help fill this need in the “food deserts” of America, we have created a simple-to-operate “Indoor Grow Tent.” It is so easy to use that people of any age, ability or limitation of any kind, can successfully participate in a gardening program that is centered around joy:

• The joy of feeding people.
• The joy of being a “part” of something – in however small a way.
• The joy of gardening as they were able to do in their youth but can no longer maintain.
• The joy of eating healthy foods such as collard greens, Swiss Chard, fancy lettuces such as Butter and Bibb.
• The joy of diversifying their diet with fresh bell peppers, hot peppers, bok choy and other world-favorite plants.
• The joy of learning new cooking techniques involving fresh herbs like Rosemary, Basil, Cilantro, Parsley, Dill, Thyme, Sage, etc.

For the entire list of program options and benefits, please visit our website.

WHERE CAN THE WHT GROW TENT BE PLACED?

CONSUMER: Home locations can include kitchens, closets, basements or garages.

INSTITUTIONAL: Here the unit can be placed in classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, gymnasiums, basements and more.

COMMERCIAL: In a factory or office setting, the unit can be placed in offices, hallways, lunchrooms, kitchens, maintenance rooms and more.

A key factor in the flexibility of our unit is that it requires:

• No connection to the water or drain system.
• No hard-wiring; it uses so little power it can run on an extension cord.
• No sunlight or special room lighting needed; the unit provides its own light.

Obviously there are a great many “grow tents” available for purchase on Amazon or any of dozens of websites. These units can easily be bought online and shipped to your home or office. The majority of these units are primarily used to grow marijuana, a multi-billion dollar industry, so most have only one growing level. Few are designed for specific efficiency in growing greens, small vegetables and herbs. There are table-top units that can grow 20 to 30 plants maximum at a time.  Our grow tent can grow UP TO 108 plants at a time!

The key features of our unit include:

• Extremely easy to set-up and make operational.
• Almost no day-to-day tasks / no daily watering.
• No bending or working on knees; ideal for seniors.
• Even people in a wheelchair can help garden.
• High crop yield to feed many people.

WHAT MAKES OUR GROW TENT UNIQUE is that each tent grows crops on three individual layers: a) the floor, b) the middle shelf, and c) the top shelf. Each of the three open spaces has an open vertical height area of approximately 26.6 inches. This allows us to grow 36 plants per layer, with a total of 108 plants in the grow tent. Plus, the lights are closer to each of the grow trays so they make highly-efficient use of the lights. The 16” clearance from tray to light is ideal for the growing of lettuce, kale, spinach, etc., plus a wide variety of herbs, plus a variety of small-bush tomato and other vegetable plants.

HOW DOES IT WORK? 

• Crops are grown using Hydroponics, i.e. they grow in water.
• All-natural powdered Nutrients are added to the water.
• The bottom half of the growing tray remains full of nutrients, perpetually refilled from 2-litre soda bottles hanging from each corner. A float valve stops the refilling process at the exact ½ tank level.
• The top half of the tray provides all of the air that the plant needs; the bottom half provides all of the food and minerals they need.
• The resulting food has maximum nutritional value, taste and flavor, and is USDA Certified Organic.

Due to our unique and precision designs, all plants will grow with relatively little competition for light and space.  We are blasting each layer with two banks of 1000 watt LED full spectrum grow lights. These provide the exact same ‘light recipe’ of the sun and can be altered to reflect the specific growing needs of various crops. The leafy vegetables can be harvested once every two weeks or so, during which the user clips the leaf 2 or more inches from the base.  If this procedure is followed, the plant will continue growing from the point of the clip and will be ready for harvesting again in a few short weeks.

IN SUMMARY, we believe that the key advantages of our grow tent relating specifically to the growing of food plants includes the following:

• Large number of food plants – 108 – can be grown simultaneously in a relatively small space (40” square by 80” tall.)
• OPERATES LARGELY ON “AUTO-PILOT.” Little to no daily human intervention is required to successfully grow food.
• EXTREMELY EASY TO MAINTAIN. Provides ideal work for people with physical or mental disabilities or limitations.
• GROWS HIGH-QUALITY ORGANIC FOOD. All of the food grown in the tent is 100 organic as certified by the USDA.
• PERFECT FOR “JUICERS.” Millions of people in America put organic greens, herbs and vegetables into a blender to make a healthy drink. With our unit, they simply open the tent zipper, clip some plants, and they’re ready to go.
• NO GARDENING SKILLS REQUIRED. Our unit is ideal for people who DON’T feel that they have a “green thumb” but like eating fresh greens.
• PROVIDES FOOD FOR ANY NEED. Our unit can help individuals or organizations grow food for whatever need they have, whether it is feeding themselves, their families, or others.
• EASY SET-UP & DISASSEMBLY. The unit can be set up without tools, and can be quickly disassembled for moving.
• LOW POWER CONSUMPTION. The unit uses very little power since it uses highly-efficient LED lights.

For more information, contact Randall Putala, randall@worldhungerteam.org
www.worldhungerteam.org