Lotus house
Miami, Florida | EST. 2019
Farmer
Jackie Roth
No. of Farms
One
Business Model
Non-profit, serving women & children who experience homelessness
Area served
Miami, Florida
Main crops
Romaine lettuce, sorrel, basil, bok choy, edible flowers
Watch the full Grow Food Here episode on Lotus House.
About Lotus House
Lotus House is considered a “holistic residential facility and resource center for women and children experiencing homelessness.” The nonprofit addresses the root cause of homelessness, with the intent to provide women and their children with tools to build the foundation for a new future. Lotus House provides more than 500 women and children residents with daycare, employment education, arts programs, a beauty salon, yoga and meditation, and more.
In 2019, the Lotus House community expanded its resources and programming with the arrival of a Greenery container farm. The farm is the cornerstone of the nonprofit’s educational programs for young residents, inspiring their curiosity about science, plants, technology, and nutrition.
Photo Courtesy of Wil Kazary
“Our focus here at Lotus House and in Lotus Village, is to ensure that those who are most in need have the opportunity to heal and that they are provided with enriched resources. The Greenery, behind me, is an integral part of our overall program and planning. ”
Photo Courtesy of Wil Kazary
Farm Fresh Produce Just Steps Away
Lotus House has always seen the value in growing their own food, but given the hot and humid climate of Miami, their outdoor gardening capabilities were limited. The introduction of the Greenery container farm has allowed for a year-round fresh food supply to the dining pavilion. It sits just 100 feet from the shelter’s kitchen where the chefs prepare meals with the produce grown in the farm. The Greenery has sprouted other gardening projects at Lotus House, like their rooftop garden that grows larger plants and fruiting trees.
“We take it directly to our kitchen, 100ft from the door of the Greenery, and they pass it onto the Chef. The kitchen will then clean and prepare it and serve it in the pavilion during meal time hours.”
Holistic Food Programs are the Answer
Prior to launching their farm program, Jackie and the team at Lotus House went through a rigorous process to understand the needs of the childhood-aged residents and how to best serve them. They found that the more layers of intervention a resident receives, the more effective it will be. This led them to create an evidence-based curriculum where the children not only learn how to operate the farm but they also take cooking classes, have dishes served to them that are prepared with the produce, and learn about the importance of a healthy diet.
Photo courtesy of Lotus House
“People, especially children, who don’t have consistent access to healthy food are going to have trouble focusing in school, if they’re hungry all day they can’t really think about anything else.”
Photo courtesy of Wil Kazary
Feeding the Future
The team at Lotus House found that many of their residents only had access to highly processed foods prior to coming to the shelter. This led them to place a priority on supplementing the meals they serve with nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables. With the Greenery, Lotus House is able to offer varieties of hyperfresh produce that residents may have never experienced before, introducing them to new flavors of nutritious food to pave the way for a more healthful life for themselves and their children.
“It’s just so much fresher here and it’s a fun experience to be with friends and just to farm and all work together, you can like really tell that we put a lot of heart into it.”
Interested in learning more about Lotus House?
Check out our previous webinar with Lotus House.
To keep up with Lotus House, follow along on Facebook and tune in to their new podcast, Lotus Village Voices. The podcast can be found on Spotify, Apple, Google, Amazon, iHeartRadio.
Explore Grow Food Here, Season 2
You can grow food anywhere using Freight Farms technology, and we’re going to prove it. Harvest is just one customer we’re profiling in the second installment of our Grow Food Here series, focusing on Greenery farmers who are doing amazing things all around the world! Check out the other exciting places we will be taking you!
Photo courtesy of Lotus House.