about
About Us
We started Community Food Engine in 2015 with the goal of using technology to strengthen people’s communal ties. Our first effort was the world’s first public indoor hydroponic park. Mill 180 Park, which was in a repurposed textile mill in Easthampton, Massachusetts, attempted to recreate the spirit of the great urban parks through technology. Together with its restaurant and bar, the Park also served as a laboratory for us to think about how the work required to entertain and feed visitors -- who often numbered in the hundreds on winter weekends -- could be made more enjoyable and more efficient.
We learned a lot during the five years that the Park was open. We are now ready to apply this knowledge to a new project consistent with our original goal: A hybrid approach to hydroponic farming that combines a physical gathering place full of plants -- the CFE Farmstead -- with a virtual gathering place in which anybody interested can learn how to grow and share ideas while having fun. Our goal is to popularize hydroponic farming by turning it into an engaging collective activity that we call Social Hydroponics.