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Urban Farming Combats Food Insecurity

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Urban Farming Combats Food Insecurity

by Kiara Fish

Mary Swander
Mar 30, 2023
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Urban Farming Combats Food Insecurity

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Photo: Kiara Fish.

During my first week as an AmeriCorps member serving Oakridge Neighborhood Services in Des Moines, I was encouraged to connect with Aaron Thormodsen, the Urban Farm Manager at Central Iowa Shelter Services (CISS)—a nonprofit organization.  The CISS mission is to provide low-barrier access to housing, food, and other services. One of their programs involves growing food in a giant greenhouse right in the heart of downtown Des Moines.

When I first heard about the work Thormodsen was doing at CISS, I was surprised that more people were not talking about it. Though the program is relatively new, I frankly had no idea that Central Iowa Shelter Services was growing food at this scale. The lack of notoriety may be due in part to Thormodsen’s capacity to operate such an impressive program and amazing hydroponic growing system with unmatched humility.

Aaron Thormodsen is a transplant from Los Angeles, California, who studied plant science and urban agriculture at Cal Poly Pomona. He originally was studying mechanical engineering and it was actually through an event within this major that he first fell in love with aquaponics. At a club exhibit, he said, “I saw a sink with some rocks, a pepper plant and a fish tank” and that was it. He was hooked.  Thormodsen’s passion for aquaponics would spark the most lackluster individual’s curiosity about the complex growing systems. Thormodsen ended up in Des Moines following this job opportunity at CISS. As Urban Farm Manager, he oversees all the food production programs at CISS.

The 3,600 square foot greenhouse had its ribbon cutting ceremony in November of 2022 and started producing food in January of this year. The greenhouse Aaron manages is home to a 14,000-gallon aquaponics system, a branch of hydroponic production where fish are raised in conjunction with produce for consumption. The fish are kept in large blue tanks where a pump filters out the waste, beneficial bacteria converting nitrite and ammonia to nitrate. The plants feed on these nutrients, then clean water drains to a sump where it is then recycled back to the fish.

Photo: Kiara Fish

At this time, the CISS urban farm doesn’t have fish, but there are plans to bring in a variety of seafood:  shrimp, tilapia, and possibly crawfish. There are some more logistics to work out, but currently the hydroponic system provides 5,000 heads of lettuce a month. Thormodsen is also growing peppers and tomatillos. Where does all of that lettuce go? About 50-60 pounds of lettuce are given directly to the kitchen at CISS to be served in meals they provide.

More lettuce is funneled through some community partners including: Eat Greater Des Moines, Oakridge, Food Bank of Iowa, and Des Moines Area Religious Council. The organizations that purchase their produce are providing revenue to fund CISS. Thormodsen quotes CEO Melissa O’Neil, “Other non-profits do thrift stores well.  We have a greenhouse.”

Since January, CISS has had additional support from businesses in Des Moines. Big Grove Brewery is one of their patrons and their newest business partner is Iowa Food Cooperative.

Photo: Kiara Fish

The greenhouse also houses Thormodsen’s job training program that helps adults experiencing houselessness renavigate work environments. Interns learn to grow food and maintain the greenhouse, enabling them to later access job opportunities. The program is tailored to meet an individual’s needs and cater to their unique lived experiences.

Beyond the greenhouse with its aquaponic system and outdoor raised beds, CISS hopes to develop a four-acre agrihood to maximize food production.  The agrihood should break ground sometime within the next year. Part of this plan includes building floating raised beds and installing a wall of hops. There is a retention basin off of 15th street which will eventually house a floating community garden bed that will be completely open and accessible to the public.

The most beautiful component of Aaron Thormodsen’s work isn’t just growing food for Thormodsen.  It is about transforming lives and building community through the food he is growing at Central Iowa Shelter Services. It is about fostering relationships for people navigating houselessness and growing food as a community to bring people together.

Kiara Fish is a recent Drake University graduate currently working in an AmeriCorps Food Recovery position at Oakridge Neighborhood in Des Moines, IA. She has worked as a community organizer in the political and non-profit realms with a passion for social and environmental advocacy. 

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Join the Iowa Writers Collaborative for our online Zoom Office Lounge event this Friday, March 31 at noon. CDT. Meet the journalists. Ask questions. Interact. It’s a lot of fun. Here’s the link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89317313142 

Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Columnists 

Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights
Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll
Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines
Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake
Suzanna de Baca Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley
Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County
Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji
Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames
Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines
Nik Heftman, The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa
Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla
Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines
Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo
Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames
Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Kurt Meyer, Showing Up, St. Ansgar
Kyle Munson, Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines
Jane Nguyen, The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines
John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines
Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines
Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics: Behind the Curtains, Washington, D.C.
Macey Spensley, The Midwest Creative, Davenport and Des Moines
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona
Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County
Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport
Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines

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Urban Farming Combats Food Insecurity

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Urban Farming Combats Food Insecurity

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Deba Leach
Mar 30Liked by Mary Swander

Great to learn about such positive enterprising and effective people making the state of Iowa a better place.

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Elizabeth Cunningham
Mar 30Liked by Mary Swander

This post gives me hope!

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