The University of Evansville in Indiana is launching We Grow Aces!, a new initiative that brings together education, sustainability, and community engagement to provide access to extraordinary experiential learning, while addressing food insecurity and workforce development.

The program, funded through the Eli Lilly Endowment's Indiana Youth Programs on Campus grant, will make possible the purchase of a Pure Produce Container, a vertical garden system jointly developed by anu and eko Solutions, housed in an up-cycled shipping container capable of producing 3,920 plants per 40-day cycle, or several tons of vegetables annually.

The University of Evansville (UE) is launching We Grow Aces!, a new initiative that brings together education, sustainability, and community engagement to provide access to extraordinary experiential learning, while addressing food insecurity and workforce development.

The program, funded through the Eli Lilly Endowment's Indiana Youth Programs on Campus grant, will make possible the purchase of a Pure Produce Container - a vertical garden system jointly developed by anu™ and eko Solutions, housed in an up-cycled shipping container capable of producing 3,920 plants per 40-day cycle, or several tons of vegetables annually.

UE will then provide accompanying programming that will equip students-from middle school through college-with practical skills in nutrition, agriculture, and sustainability. By working alongside local schools, community organizations, and industry leaders, We Grow Aces! will prepare students for future careers while helping to meet critical needs in the region.

Land Betterment Corporation, a certified B-Corp committed to fostering positive impact through up-cycling former coal mining and industrial sites into sustainable community developments, recently facilitated an immersive learning experience for students from Ball State University's Environmental Storytelling course.

Through its portfolio company, ekō Solutions, and its partnership with anu™, students visited the Pure Produce® Container Farm in Evansville, Indiana, where they engaged with ekō Solutions' up-cycled shipping container structures and the anu™ innovative indoor growing technology.

Land Betterment Corporation, a Certified B Corporation and environmental solutions company fostering positive impact through up-cycling former coal mining and industrial sites to create sustainable community development and job creation, is pleased to announce that Scott Massey CEO and Co-Founder of anu™ is attending Indoor Ag-Con Las Vegas 2025.

Scott will be conducting meetings with industry investors, demonstrating their cutting-edge Controlled Environment Agriculture, (CEA) technology and participating in industry panels. To schedule a meeting please email scott@growanu.com.

Kirk Taylor, President and Co-Founder of ekō Solutions commented, "Our team has worked relentlessly to provide real solutions across several critical industry verticals. We are thankful to be accepted as a member of the Defense Industrial Base Consortium.

By delivering modular container-based solutions for agriculture, housing and technology deployment, ekō Solutions will be an invaluable supply chain partner for our national defense."

One of the essential technologies ekō Solutions is able to provide is nearly automated farms through our Pure Produce® Containers.

Our global food systems are under siege, with climate change, natural disasters disrupting supply chains, and conflicts affecting agriculture in vulnerable regions. Add to that a booming population—set to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050—and the math becomes startling. Experts predict we'll need 70% more food to sustain humanity.

But, here's the problem – soil quality is deteriorating fast, and we're on track to lose most of the fertile ground we rely on. Traditional farming methods, while vital, seem ill-equipped to meet the challenge alone.

The 20-foot containers will feature a modified version of the anu™ smart garden appliance that utilizes rotary aeroponics technology to grow crops year-round without traditional farming challenges. Together, ekō Solutions and anu™ are revolutionizing sustainable agriculture through their commercial-scale Pure Produce® Containers.