Switchpoint's RISE Garden is officially open for business with its first full harvest
Managers of the Switchpoint Community Resource Center held a ribbon-cutting and hosted tours on Thursday to celebrate the first harvest of the center's new RISE Garden, a grant-funded venture that endeavors to grow fresh food in a water-efficient way for southern Utah residents.
Not only does the RISE Garden provide for those using Switchpoint services but 80% of the harvest goes toward the Southern Utah community each week, according to Linda Stay, Switchpoint's development director.
At the ceremony, St. George City Mayor Michele Randall and City Councilwoman Danielle Larkin made appearances and were among the first to purchase greens and goods from RISE Garden.
“Switchpoint is the model for the entire state of Utah, and I think the country, and we are mentioned all the time, over and over and over again, for the great things we're doing," Randall said.
Randall said the city has a good relationship with Switchpoint and plans to continue to support it, saying the center, which now runs everything from a homeless shelter to a food bank to work programs and child care, continues to benefit the community in various ways.
"The city will continue to have that relationship and we can't do it without you, and you probably can't do without us. So it's a great partnership,” Randall said.
Switchpoint will be using RISE Garden as a source of income but also as a way to provide affordable produce to the public. The garden uses towers that reuse water in order to take a more water-conservative approach to gardening. Subscriptions will be made available for those who want to make weekly pickups.
According to the Switchpoin website, the garden uses aeroponic or vertical farming and the RISE Garden saves 95% more space and water with no pesticides or genetically modified seeds.
The garden will be a year-round affair where subscribers can pick up their produce on Mondays and Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m. and also on Saturdays from 8 to 10 a.m.
There is space for about 400 subscribers, and about 50 had already signed up as of Thursday.
There are five different subscriber options of different sizes to suit different needs, with the costliest at $250 a month and the lowest at $39 a month. Curbside pickup will be available in two options with individual items priced at $5 a head for lettuce items and $7 for micro-greens and herbs.
“It's amazing to walk in there and see how it's all come together and the dream come to life. It's, cool," said Chris Martinez, a past Switchpoint client who held to built the garden. "I mean, coming from, from my background and the things that I've gone through in the past couple years of being in recovery and getting my life back on track, to help with a project as important as this, being the first one in Utah ... the service that it provides the community is just amazing."
RISE Garden is the first of its kind in Utah and one of only a few across the country implementing aeroponic gardening tools.
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This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: RISE Garden is Switchpoints newest business: here's what to know
