JetBlue to Open Urban Farm
To grow produce at JFK
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JetBlue Airways is opening a 24,000-square-foot farm outside Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, according to the AP. The project is primarily intended to educate people about farming and sustainability, but JetBlue hopes eventually to provide produce for farm-to-terminal restaurants.
The farm will focus on growing potatoes, carrots, basil, chives, and other produce that will not attract wildlife.
“Most people have probably not been to a potato farm,” Jared Simon, senior marketing director for natural food company Hain Celestial, told the AP. “It’s really about the education. There’s such a desire from consumers to connect what they are eating with where it is from.”
Environmental group GrowNYC has partnered with JetBlue on the farm project. GrowNYC is a “nonprofit that supports local agriculture and farmers’ markets,” according to JetBlue’s website. “JetBlue now offers GrowNYC products in our Terminal 5 at JFK.”
The farm will initially be closed to the public. JetBlue plans to invite students to educational programs on the farm, beginning in the spring, the AP reports. The airline also hopes to allow travelers to visit the farm by signing up in advance.