School district hoping to turn students into farmers

WASHINGTON, Pa. — Trinity Area School District is one of just six schools in the country to operate a freight farm, thanks to an $85,000 grant.

From the outside, it looks like a big freight container, but inside it is extremely high-tech and will use robots to grow food.

A Trinity teacher told Channel 11 it grows crops, pulls weeds and plants water fertilizer all independently and robotically.

The 320-square foot farm needs 10 gallons of water per day, no soil, and it will produce anywhere from 800 to 1,200 heads of lettuce per week – which adds up to 78,000 per year.

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Administrators planted hundreds of pounds of potatoes this summer inside the freight as well.

Trinity students will grow food to give to the local Washington Food Bank.

The other five farms are based out of Boston, where the company started.

Cox Media Group