PROJECT TITLE
Seed.link: Linking communities to sustainable agriculture in their own backyard through organic fertilizers and real-time readings
PROJECT GOAL: According to Feeding America 2023, 44 millions Americans face food-insecurity due to environmental and economical issues. With 70% of low-income communities living in nature-deprived areas (American Progress, 2020) and 17.1 million Americans living in food deserts, where grocery stores are 1-20 miles away from the working class (USA, 2022), access to produce is nearly impossible for low-income communities. Seed.link targets the disproportionate impact of food insecurity and environmental degradation by fulfulling the U.N.’s 2nd Sustainable Goal of zero hunger. We chose this inequity because we believe everyone deserves to have access to sustainable, organic produce.
Seed.link is an affordable, portable, and user-friendly solution that leverages real-time environmental data on temperature, humidity, soil moisture, and NPK (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus) values in crop environments. With machine learning, Seed.link provides tailored organic alternatives to harmful synthetic fertilizers, promoting sustainable and equitable agriculture practices for low-income communities. Here are the specific ways Seed.link works to remove barriers for its users: 1) Convenient and long-lasting: Seed.link’s website reports organic fertilizers that best remediate the plant’s health. Because our fertilizer recommendations are non- synthetic, they only require a one-time application, elevate biodiversity, and maintain long-term soil fertility; 2) Informative and Inclusive: Seed.link informs users on how to get started on growing their own fresh produce, regardless of space or cost constraints with clear instructions on how to institute one’s own compost and maintain a sustainable garden. In consideration of our community’s large demographic of Spanish Speakers, we included a Spanish version of Seed.link. 3) Affordability: Our non-synthetic fertilizer options are low-cost, efficient, and easily accessible. Seed.link implements a guide on how to reduce the cost of gardening.
