April Updates

Erie Aquaponics, LLC

We have formed as Limited Liability Company!  This is a big step for us, we are now in the process of setting our bylaws, getting bank accounts set up, etc.  This is the time for all of those less-exciting steps that are necessary to turn a vision for our business into a reality.

You may be wondering, what about our cooperative structure?  The answer is that as a fledgling business with no real capital to work with (yet!), a cooperative structure at this stage of the game would hinder more than help our cause.  It seems that it will be easier to initially form and fund an LLC and then to be able to have the flexibility to shift to a worker-owned structure as our business grows.

Erie Healthy Foods Coalition

Erie Aquaponics attended a great meeting hosted by the Erie County Health Department, with the intention of forming a team of individuals and organizations looking to improve access to healthy foods in Erie.  We’re still in the very preliminary stages, but with organizations such as the Erie Chamber, AmeriCorps *VISTA, the Whole Foods Cooperative, and others, this coalition is looking to be a promising force for positive change in Erie.  Stay tuned!

Coming (Very) Soon…

We’ve shot, edited and uploaded our video request for YOU (and your friends) to support our national Kickstarter campaign.  Our initial goal is to raise $15,000 for our first greenhouse.  Not familiar with Kickstarter?  It’s a crowdfunding website where creative projects are funded by individuals all over the country (and world) in exchange for rewards such as t-shirts, fresh produce, etc.  The “kick” is that if we don’t raise our full amount of $15,000, we won’t receive any funding.  We’re looking forward to the challenge!

For a sneak preview, here’s one of our favorite Erie Aquaponics rewards:

Pledge $500 or more – “The Sturgeon” – The ULTIMATE harvest experience – Come as an honored guest to our first fish harvest. You will catch your own yellow perch in nets, weigh them, and take them home on ice in a cooler, along with a share of the bounty of lettuces and herbs that we have growing!

Right now we’re waiting for our submission to be reviewed by Kickstarter.  Our launch will begin shortly after we hear back from them!