SAVANNAH – The FORAM Sustainable Aquaponics Research Center at Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong campus is donating produce grown at their aquaponics farm to a regional food bank organization.

SARC recently donated leafy greens to the Savannah-based America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia, according to a GS press release.

Brigette Brinton, SARC curator, said in the press release that they are donating produce that would otherwise be in excess or spoil before getting consumed.

“We had a lot of lettuce ready to plant just after spring break that would normally have gone to the Southern Cafe, but they don’t need it, and the heat is causing it to bolt and wilt quickly,” Brinton said in the press release. “So far, we’ve donated lettuce and kale, and soon it will be lettuce and chard.”

According to the press release, Brinton, two student workers and SARC senior scientist Heather Joesting have been working at the aquaponics farm to maintain the produce growing in the greenhouse.

Aquaponics is a method of farming that uses a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics, growing fish and plants in a symbiotic system, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The fish fertilize the plants, and the plants keep the water clean.

To learn more about GS’s aquaponics farm, visit SARC’s website.

Blakeley Bartee, The George-Anne Editor-in-Chief, gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu