Even as lettuce is getting much more expensive and is sometimes unavailable because of drought and climate change, it is heartening to read about the many examples of people who are growing their own through hydroponics.

The most recent story I read was about a Freight Farm farm in a shipping container that is providing fresh produce to more than 8,400 students in Morgan Hill Unified School District near San Jose, California. But there are many other examples – from one that grows fresh food in the Arctic to one that grows it in subway stations in Japan and Taiwan and a fast food sandwich shop in Japan and South Korea.

Five years ago, Michael Jochner left behind his career as a chef to take on a new challenge – School Nutrition Director for the district. “I’m going to find the most high-tech way to grow the most salad bar items, and then introduce regenerative farming practices to show students that farming can be cool,” he says.