Food insecurity within Pennsylvania leads to health risks and increased wealth and racial gaps (Feeding Pennsylvania, 2024). Agriculture is a major industry in PA, accounting for approximately $83.8 billion in direct economic output, but there are serious environmental outcomes (Agriculture in Pennsylvania, n.d.). Therefore, methods to sustainably increase food production would benefit citizens in PA socially, economically, and physically.

Our team partnered with a local small farm, Milk House Farm Market, in Newtown, PA.

• Many businesses in the F&B industry struggle to pursue food sustainability while earning a high profit in the market.

• This local farm supports low-income families with the Farmer's Market Nutrition Program.

• We wanted to find a low-cost, sustainable solution to both increase produce quantity and nutritional value.

In order to combat these issues, we decided to create a sustainable and biodegradable hydrogel substrate for hydroponics that incorporates small electric pulses that were inspired by human neurobiology systems to simulate plant growth and nutritional uptake and monitor growth through pH recordings.