The winner of this year鈥檚 Innovate Green Challenge, a city-sponsored competition to promote environmental sustainability, is Flagstaff entrepreneur Jay Jones, who pitched a vertical food-growing system.
For his winning pitch of the system that uses less water and space than traditional farming methods., Jones received a $30,000 cash prize. The funds can be used for further concept development, purchasing equipment or materials, manufacturing, marketing or implementing the concept.
Jones鈥� method is a variation on aeroponic farming, through which plants are grown without soil. He hopes to market the system through his company, Tech Genie LLC.
In a press release from the city, Jones said, 鈥淭he application process was super easy 鈥� I actually did it from my phone ... [and] the feedback I got during the workshop really helped refine my pitch. The funding will support the purchase of machinery necessary for product manufacturing and business scaling.鈥�
Jones also celebrated the award on Tech Genie's , writing, "Our first big win to propelling our mission for accessible, healthy and sustainable food systems for all!"
The competition was hosted at the Moonshot Incubator鈥檚 Flagstaff campus on April 11 and 12. This was the fifth year of the Innovate Green Challenge (previously named the Innovate Waste Challenge).
The challenge is a partnership between the city鈥檚 Sustainability and Economic Development departments.