A new $995,319, four-year National Science Foundation project will bring University of Tennessee, Knoxville researchers together with a local nonprofit, Three3, and other community partners to develop DFARM, a smart, connected system that is designed to optimize the production and distribution of locally grown food.
The project, “DFARM: A Smart, Connected and Distributed Community Food Production and Distribution System,” begins Sept. 1, 2026. Bruce Tonn serves as the principal investigator with the lead organization, Three3. Serving as co-principal investigators are UT researchers Jon Hathaway, Catherine Schuman, Natalie Bumgarner, and George Hope Chidziwisano.
DFARM will employ a user-centered software platform to connect community gardens, indoor hydroponic systems, and local food hubs. This system aims to facilitate the coordination of what foods are grown, where they are produced, and how they are distributed to organizations such as community food pantries.
A major component of this project is the expansion of indoor hydroponic food production. The team intends to purchase 30 new hydroponic systems which will effectively expand the project’s network to more than three dozen systems across homes, schools, and other community organizations. Such systems can support food production year-round and can expand the growing capacity in locations that may not have traditional garden space accessible.
The researchers at UT will also develop technology designed to make the hydroponic systems easier to operate. They will evaluate different levels of sensor support, from systems without automated monitoring to systems linked to platforms that allow growers to view system conditions through a dashboard or alert systems that notify when water or nutrient levels need attention. This planned sensor technology will monitor water depth, conductivity, and pH within the hydroponic systems. From there, data can then be transferred for processing, allowing the system to notify when intervention is needed via the DFARM application or text message.
Jon Hathaway, a professor in UT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and associate director of the Tennessee Water Resources Research Center, will lead UT’s involvement in the project. His work will focus on hydroponic sensing and connectivity while helping to determine how much technological support is needed to successfully manage such systems. The broader UT team will contribute their expertise in optimization algorithms, user-interface development, plant science, nutrition, sensor technology, and more. UT graduate and undergraduate students will also play a role in the development of these algorithms, interfaces, and sensing systems.
“It’s easier for researchers to assume what the problems are and what people want, and we’re not always right,” Hathaway said. “It can be really good to have communities help frame research projects.”
Over the four-year project, researchers will work with Three3, the United Way of Greater Knoxville, and other local partners in the development and evaluation of the DFARM system. The project aims not only to increase food production capacity, but also to create a model that could eventually be adapted by other communities.
The combination of local food production, smart sensing, software development, and community coordination within this project reflects the interdisciplinary research that ISSE supports to address complex, real-world challenges.