In December 2021, a ribbon cutting was held to celebrate the opening of our hoop house, a 20-by-48-foot high tunnel, which protects crops similar to a greenhouse but is less permanent, less expensive and solar-powered. The high tunnel will allow the farm to provide fresh produce year-round to the Idaho Falls Community Food Bank.

The kit for the metal-framed, double-poly structure arrived from Oregon Valley Greenhouses, the manufacturer, in late September, and the farm’s volunteers worked many evenings and weekend hours to get the structure set up.

The $10,000 project was funded through a donation from the Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The high tunnel builds a new opportunity for outreach and education by our farm and the conservation districts.

In July of 2022 the hoop house met the goals of the Eastside and Westside Soil and Water Conservation Districts two goals: longer harvest of fresh produce for the Food Basket and demonstrations of high tunnel value. More than 10 potential high tunnel owners have toured our hoop house in the spring of 2022 to learn how it could work for them and over 200 families have received produce harvested from the hoop house that could not been grown outdoors in the spring.