NYC Awards $228K Contract to Teach Rikers Inmates Vertical Hydroponic Farming

Executive Briefing

• Contracts Colorado-based FarmBox Foods for $228,000 annually to install vertical hydroponic farms at Rikers Island and other NYC jails
• Aims to reduce recidivism by equipping inmates with 'felony-friendly' urban agriculture and culinary arts skills for post-release employment
• Grows over 7,000 plants simultaneously in climate-controlled shipping containers, producing leafy greens, herbs, tomatoes, and microgreens
• Harvested food will supply 'farm-to-table' meal options directly to inmates within the jail system
• DOC Commissioner Stanley Richards, himself a former Rikers inmate, supports expanding the existing horticulture program with this initiative