The Future S.E.T. Community Teaching Greenhouse & Food Innovation Hub is a youth-led initiative that transforms our existing Windsor-Essex greenhouse into a space for learning, innovation, and community impact. The project focuses on three main goals: advancing youth skills in sustainable Agri-Tech, expanding food production for schools and local programs, and promoting food security through culturally relevant crops.
By expanding hydroponic systems and introducing new learning infrastructure, the project provides hands-on STEM and Agri-Tech training for youth while producing fresh, local, and culturally significant food year-round. The food grown in the greenhouse will supply schools, meal programs, and community kitchens across Windsor-Essex, ensuring more families have access to healthy and familiar foods.
The initiative also includes the purchase of a transport truck to enable efficient food distribution, strengthening our ability to deliver produce to neighbourhoods and schools that need it most. Beyond growing food, the greenhouse will serve as a training and research hub, where youth can learn about technology, sustainability, and entrepreneurship, all while contributing directly to climate-conscious community solutions.
At its heart, this project empowers youth and community to become the next generation of Agri-Tech innovators and community leaders. By combining science, culture, and social impact, the Teaching Greenhouse & Food Innovation Hub builds the capacity, resilience, and sustainability needed for Windsor-Essex communities to thrive long-term.
Windsor-Essex is a community full of potential, yet too many families are struggling with food insecurity and the rising cost of living. Fresh produce has become harder to afford, and many children are growing up without ever learning where their food comes from or how to grow it. The Future S.E.T. Community Teaching Greenhouse & Food Innovation Hub gives our community a way to take back control of our food, our health, and our future.
This project will not only feed families but also bring them together. Parents and children can share the experience of growing culturally familiar foods, reconnecting with traditions that have been lost through generations. It creates a sense of pride, ownership, and hope, showing that we can care for one another while building something lasting.
The economic impact will also be significant. By training young people in Agri-Tech and sustainable food production, we are opening pathways to employment and entrepreneurship in an industry that continues to grow. The greenhouse will strengthen local food systems, keep more dollars within the community, and reduce dependence on imported produce. Every harvest represents not just food on a plate, but an opportunity, an opportunity for families to thrive and for Windsor-Essex to become a model of resilience, innovation, and unity.
support
Your voice matters. Show your support for submitted projects by leaving a comment, sharing your story or photo, or posting to social media. Every bit of encouragement helps communities grow stronger together.
Hi, an attendee of the last Grow and Tell workshop, love that they teach stem, agritech and also enforce food security
I love how they grow veggies for all types of cultural backgrounds and the fact that it’s always free helps a lot
I love how they grow veggies for all types of cultural backgrounds and the fact that it’s always free helps a lot
My daughter came home saying she wants to work in food science I didn’t even know she liked science until now lol. Programs like these are important
Their STEM workshops helped me to land an intership and I think this project could help others