MADBURY�� The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is always looking for innovative ways to procure fresh food to be able to donate to its clients in need.

For more than a year now, the food pantry and community assistance center has been working with an eager partner in the University of New Hampshire�s College of Life Sciences and Agriculture programs.

On Tuesday, Dick Martel, president of SVDP�s board of directors, led a couple volunteers to pick up 300 heads of freshly-grown lettuce from Kingman Farm, one of the university�s research farms in Madbury. He said each individual who comes into the food pantry will be able to take home two free heads of lettuce.

�In five days, we�ll go through 300 heads of lettuce,� Martel said. �We rely on a few farms to donate produce, but to have this as a sole source we can plan on coming here once a week to pick up produce; it�s invaluable.�

Todd Guerdat, assistant professor of agricultural engineering in the Agricultural, Nutrition and Food Systems Department, currently oversees the experimental greenhouses at Kingman Farm. There, he and a team of graduate students have been hard at work for the last several years building an aquaponic agricultural system that relies on the cultivation of colonies of both tilapia and rainbow trout.

Guerdat said the ammonia-rich waste from the 2,500 fish he raises is filtered out of tanks within 15 minutes. Then, the treated and sterilized water is reintroduced into the fish tanks and also utilized for the produce crops planted on a grow bed, which rests on top of a layer of water, according to Guerdat. He said bacteria are introduced into the collected waste water, which produces nitrate and becomes the primary source of plant nutrients.

�We�re making a nutritional balancing solution and we control every aspect of what the plants are eating,� Guerdat said. �It�s just a matter of determining how much feed we need for fish to yield the right amount of nutrients for the amount of plants we grow.�

The three greenhouses produce 324 heads of lettuce each, totaling more than 970 heads of lettuce grown in a five-week cycle, Guerdat said. The process creates virtually zero waste, he said.

Martel said he hopes the partnership can continue year-round.

�We�re working to keep them open in the winter,� he said. �We�d be taking more but we don�t have the refrigerator capacity.�

In addition to giving away fresh produce, Guerdat said the program also donates 150 pounds of tilapia and the trout to New Hampshire Food Bank and Seaport Fish monthly to process and prepare the fish to be given to individuals and families in need.

�It�s an opportunity to show people that aquaponics does in fact work,� Guerdat said.

Anna Devitto, a second-year master�s student, said she believes aquaponic agriculture could be a viable alternative to long-established agricultural practices.

�It�s about helping people the same way traditional agriculture helped people,� DeVitto said. �We�re just looking at agriculture in a different way.�

Executive Director Molly Zirillo of Saint Vincent de Paul said the food pantry was in a fortunate position to be able to receive the high-quality produce from Kingman Farm.

�We�re a little at the mercy of what they have available but we�re grateful for all of our partners who cultivate fresh produce for us,� Zirillo said. �Because of the efforts at Kingman Farm, our clients benefit from this, uniquely-grown, gorgeous produce.�