HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: College Activists March on the Cafeteria: What Do We Want? Hydroponic Cilantro!

College students across the U.S. are making some precise demands of school chefs and dining halls. For a generation animated by a desire to make a difference and raised to believe personal wellness is paramount, a meaningful academic experience begins with minding what you eat.

That’s inspired the University of Houston to spend $6,500 to build two hydroponic grow towers, vertical gardens that use nutrient-rich waters to cultivate cilantro and oregano indoors, without soil. The University of California, Los Angeles has installed aeroponic grow towers that grow plants with just mist. Thyme, butter lettuce and microgreens are flourishing in the breeze on the roof of UCLA’s Bruin Plate dining hall.

“If you’re not eating good things, how do they expect your brain to grow?” said Hannah Logan, a senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst majoring in sustainable food and farming.

They’ll be happy to roll the cost into your student debt, Hannah.