Using hydroponics to achieve Big Tex Urban Farms' mission

Added on 26 September 2022

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Using hydroponics to achieve Big Tex Urban Farms' mission

Drew Demler, the State Fair of Texas director of horticulture and cofounder of Big Tex Urban Farms, and his staff were able to achieve the farm's Million Servings Mission ahead of schedule using a variety of controlled environment hydroponic production systems.

Big Tex Urban Farms announced in July that using its controlled environment production systems it had grown enough vegetables to deliver a million servings to the local Dallas community.

When Jason Hayes, vice president of branding and cofounder of Big Tex Urban Farms in Dallas, came up with the Million Servings Mission project in 2018, there was some question as to when the non-profit operation might achieve this lofty goal. Big Tex Urban Farms got its start in 2016 as an outdoor gardening project by the State Fair of Texas to better serve the local South Dallas community.

"Big Tex Urban Farms started with a small budget in 2016 using 100 mobile planter boxes to grow food outdoors," said Drew Demler, who is the state fair's director of horticulture and the other cofounder of the farm. "At the time Jason and I started planning the farm, the goal was to grow produce and then donate it to the community."

During that first year of outdoor production the farm produced food that was donated to two local charitable organizations. Growing and donating fresh vegetables gave Demler and his staff an opportunity to develop good relationships with the organizations they were assisting.