Rev. Sara Smith, founder and CEO of nOURish Bridgeport, cheers as she takes her first look inside the newly installed shipping container that will become part of the hydroponic farm currently under construction in Stratford, Conn. Dec. 21, 2021. The farm will grow and supply fresh vegetables for those in need in the greater Bridgeport area.

Rev. Sara Smith, founder and CEO of nOURish Bridgeport, cheers as she watches a crane move a new shipping container into place next to the hydroponic farm currently under construction in Stratford, Conn. Dec. 21, 2021. The farm will grow and supply fresh vegetables for those in need in the greater Bridgeport area.

Rev. Sara Smith, right, founder and CEO of nOURish Bridgeport, and farm manager Lezli Albelo use a bolt cutter to break the lock on the newly installed shipping container that will become part of the hydroponic farm currently under construction in Stratford, Conn. Dec. 21, 2021.

Rev. Sara Smith, founder and CEO of nOURish Bridgeport, watches as a crane moves a new shipping container into place next to the hydroponic farm currently under construction in Stratford, Conn. Dec. 21, 2021. The farm will grow and supply fresh vegetables for those in need in the greater Bridgeport area.

A new shipping container is lowered into place next to nOURish Bridgeport, in Stratford, Conn. Dec. 21, 2021. The container will become part of the hydroponic farm currently under construction to grown fresh vegetables for those in need in the greater Bridgeport area.

nOURish Bridgeport, in Stratford, Conn. Dec. 21, 2021.

STRATFORD - Not many towns can claim to have a farm located inside a shipping container.

The mobile farm was delivered to nOURish Bridgeport’s Stratford Ave. warehouse on Dec. 21. The nonprofit agency is dedicated to addressing food insecurity in the Bridgeport area. When the farm is fully operational at the end of January, it will provide food for hundreds of families who are unable to access fresh foods in an area that has been described as a food desert, according to the Rev. Sara Smith, the group’s founder

“It’s about feeding people. We’re in a food desert here, and let’s change that,” Smith said.

The farm will donate food to pantries as well as sell produce to local corner stores. This puts fresh food within reach of residents who lack a car to drive to a supermarket. Smith said the issue is compounded with families and the logistics of planning a shopping trip can become overwhelming.

“People who are pedestrian oriented, and may or may not have a vehicle, or they’ve got three kids in tow, you can’t hop on three buses to get to a grocery. It’s too hard,” she said.

Local town officials have spoken of the farm’s potential as a lifeline not only for residents but as an educational resource to combat malnutrition.

Smith said neighborhood stores in Bridgeport are ill-equipped to sell fresh produce, and mostly sell snacks and fast food. Grocery stores, she said, don’t consider those areas profitable enough to operate in. So the local pantries and aid organizations such as nOURish have filled the void the best way they can, she said.

Town council member Kaitlyn Shake, who was at the delivery of the farm, said the contribution to the community will be enormous.

“Having the indoor farm here in Stratford as the place where we’ll be growing food will help hundreds of residents, families, seniors, our youth, and help educate our community also on the importance of good nutrition,” the Democratic council member said.

Shake said the farm arrived at a fortuitous moment. Hundreds of families in the area need help accessing fresh food and with the child tax credit facing an uncertain future next year, those same families will need all the help they can get, she said.

But before the farm can hand out food, it needs to grow it.

Ray Lansing, a consultant who advised nOURish on the development process for the shipping container said the farm was designed for maximum efficiency.

“The way the freight container grows, it’s called a vertical growing method,” Lansing said.

The produce is grown on vertical racks, and all aspects of the process from temperature to lighting is controlled by an app. Because some vegetables and fruits can’t be grown using this method, the rest will be grown at the warehouse.

The warehouse itself is also a marvel, Lansing said. Not only is it designed for maximum growing efficiency, but it’s also designed to be accessible to the community. Large windows will be installed so visitors can look in and see the food being grown and packaged for distribution. An existing staircase and mezzanine will remain so visitors can look below.

Lansing said the farm will donate produce in addition to selling it to area businesses.

Smith said she wants visitors to take inspiration from the farm, and then to replicate it.

“I want some kid to catch the bug, and maybe somebody else that goes ‘Oh, it’s not just all about money,’” she said.