Our Mission:
North Carolina Projects seeks to foster an understanding of the challenges facing North
Carolina while equipping the members of EWB NC State with the means to address those
challenges, focusing on relationships that encourage growth of the individual and sustainable
development of the community.
Current Project
For the past 25 years, the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle has worked towards eliminating hunger in the
Raleigh area by embracing sustainability and educating future generations. With their food
distribution services, Inter-Faith is able to provide meals to over 60,000 people struggling with food
insecurity every month. A large portion of this food is grown in-house at Inter-Faith’s farm in South
Raleigh.
The North Carolina Projects team partnered with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle in 2021 to aid in their
mission of tackling food insecurity in the Raleigh community. To accomplish this, the team is
implementing a hydroponic garden at Inter-Faith’s food farm in South Raleigh. This garden will give
Inter-Faith a high-yield, sustainable growing method as well as being an interactive educational
exhibit for students and educators during tours to the farm.
Design Phase 2021-2022
NCP began the design process for the Inter-Faith project in fall of 2021. In order to generate a
high-yield, high-density crop, the team decided on a vertical modular design. The design keeps
water in a closed loop and eliminates the need for soil by using a submersible pump to feed
water into PVC pipes that house leafy greens. With these systems, Inter-Faith is expected to
reduce the water usage of their greenhouse by 97%.
Implementation 2022-2023
The implementation phase of this project began in fall 2022 with the construction of the first
modular hydroponic system. The team had to face many unforeseen challenges implementing
the chosen design due to weather conditions and constraints on materials.
Moving into the 2023-2024 school year, the team has implemented 4 of the 6 modular systems
and has begun seed germination to start the growing process. The project is anticipated to
move into the monitoring phase in early 2024 to allow for any adjustments to be made before
handing the project off to Inter-Faith.