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The Advantages of Local Food Production
There is a growing movement worldwide, including in our tri-county area, to encourage local farming. This is a rich agricultural region, but most of what is produced is exported, while more than 90 percent of what we consume is imported
By Dennis Allen
August 5, 2021
My last article focused on creating food security in Brazil with the accompanying benefit of strengthening community. There is a growing movement worldwide, including in our tri-county area, to encourage local farming. This is a rich agricultural region, but most of what is produced is exported, while more than 90 percent of what we consume is imported.
A similar situation existed in Rosario, Argentina, when the economy collapsed in 2001. A quarter of the work force was unemployed, half the population dropped below the poverty line, and food shortages became common. To address this crisis, the municipal government started its Urban Agriculture Program to create employment and counter hunger. The city partnered with 700 families and made available unused land for farming. Two decades later, the program is still vital and has expanded to the surrounding region. Within the city limits, there are 2,000 acres of gardens and orchards. Gardens are in every corner of the city, including abandoned factories, old dumps, and empty lots. Rosario has just been awarded the World Resource Institute’s coveted Prize for Cities, the global award recognizing transformative urban change.
Cities around the planet are incentivizing local farming, returning to an old pattern linking food production and consumption, and often small scale. There are community farms, rooftop gardens and greenhouses, vertical hydroponic farms, aquaculture ponds, orchards, animal husbandry, front-yard and backyard gardens, beehives, and herb gardens.
Locally grown food is less expensive, in part because there is minimal or no transportation involved. It is fresher and more nutritious, features which diminish the farther away the food is produced. Several studies have documented that small-scale, family farms use less energy and less water. Often, rainwater is harvested to grow these fruits and vegetables, and sometimes wastewater can even be used.
The Community Environmental Council (CEC) is working with farmers, researchers, educators, and policy makers to develop a comprehensive food program locally. Our many farmers’ markets and network of family and community gardens provide a strong component for what is envisioned. The underlying principle of CEC’s approach is tackling climate change — reducing carbon emissions, turning food waste into resources, shifting to renewable energy, and building up soils to hold more water, nutrients, and carbon.
One of the biggest hurdles in our area is the cost of land. Many small farmers are forced to lease fields with an attendant precariousness. Some activists are starting to work toward greater permanence and ownership. Local municipalities and our three counties need to give priority to lands they control for permanent food use, including curb strips, degraded lands, and even parts of parks and school yards.
CEC, with its 50-year history of approaching challenges through theory, policy, and practice, is uniquely positioned to develop partners and alliances to transform our food sector to be more resilient and climate friendly.
Lead Photo: Localizing Our Food Will Produce Health, Economic, and Climate-Offset Benefits
Eat Local, Think Global
Regardless of how large or small their community is, 70 percent of people recognize the importance of purchases that support their local economy, and about 60 percent value locally grown products when they go food shopping.
August 2, 2021
Confronted with so much uncertainty last year, many people took comfort in the simple act of supporting their neighborhood retailers. And when it comes to food shopping in particular, research suggests that Americans’ desire to buy from local and regional growers won’t be fading anytime soon. Regardless of how large or small their community is, 70 percent of people recognize the importance of purchases that support their local economy, and about 60 percent value locally grown products when they go food shopping.
It doesn’t hurt that local food is more readily available, even in the midst of a crisis, according to the majority of shoppers. But the benefits of filling grocery carts with locally sourced items, especially produce, extend well beyond convenience alone. For starters, purchases from local growers can generate income for other local businesses. Additionally, produce that has traveled shorter distances to reach grocery store shelves tastes fresher and retains more of its nutrients. Moreover—and perhaps most important for today’s environmentally conscious consumers—shopping from local and regional growers can help curb carbon emissions, waste and pesticide use.
A harvest crew manager transports fresh kale to the Consalo Family Farms central warehouse in Vineland, N.J.
“It's about building relationships. We grow our business together, so we’re both in it together.”
Ricardo Dimarzio, Mid-Atlantic Produce Sales Manager for Safeway
A harvest crew manager transports fresh kale to the Consalo Family Farms central warehouse in Vineland, N.J.
Some grocery stores are helping lead the way forward for a local food movement that benefits the environment. Safeway, for example, has been working with sustainable local and regional farmers for generations, and more recently began sourcing vegetables and herbs from low-impact vertical farms in the D.C. area. These efforts are reducing negative effects on the planet, while also ensuring that shoppers get the freshest blueberries and crispest salad greens. What’s more, Safeway’s approach is helping support a network of family growers and modern farming companies alike.
“It's about building relationships. We grow our business together, so we’re both in it together,” said Ricardo Dimarzio, Mid-Atlantic Produce Sales Manager for Safeway.
How local farming provides a foundation for a sustainable food system
Over the past two years, half of consumers have adjusted their eating habits in an effort to live more sustainably, whether that has meant cutting down on food waste, paying more attention to food companies’ environmental impacts, or adding more fresh and local foods to their diets. But the pandemic showed people just how important those habits can be to their health and survival, according to food industry experts. Eating certain fruits and vegetables can boost immunity, for example, especially if they are picked fresh.
“Locally grown crops are being harvested at their peak. That's when they're dense in nutrients,” said Chelsea Consalo, who represents the fourth generation of New Jersey-based Consalo Farms, which began doing business with Safeway in the 1960s. After they’re picked, local fruits and vegetables spend less time in transit, ultimately reaching grocery stores and consumers more quickly and with nutrients intact. On the other hand, when produce is shipped across long distances, factors such as air quality, artificial lighting and temperature changes during transport can lower foods’ nutritional value, according to Consalo. Her family farm specializes in growing, packing and shipping blueberries, citrus fruits, cooking greens, herbs, salad items and hard squash, all of which can be found at Safeway stores in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Peppers grow at Consalo Family Farms.
Workers harvest beets at Consalo Family Farms.
A worker harvests blueberries.
Blueberries at Consalo Family Farms.
Chelsea Consalo, vice president of produce operations for Consalo Family Farms (left), and her sister Sarah, the finance manager.
Consalo Farms also exemplifies how growers can contribute to a more sustainable food system. For starters, shorter shipping distances mean less fuel consumption and air pollution. Consalo Farms also has a local recycling program and is working to reduce waste by using top-seal packaging that contains 35 percent less plastic than conventional packaging materials. Another big priority for the farm is water conservation, which the family achieves through an app-controlled drip irrigation system that sends just enough water to crops at specific time intervals. Soil health also contributes to the farm’s overall sustainability and helps cut down on water use, according to Consalo.
“Something as simple as mulching increases moisture retention in the soil, and it can regulate the soil temperature,” she said.
How a local food supply chain works
Local produce can benefit our health, our planet and our taste buds.
The environmental benefits of choosing local food at the grocery store
The basis of Safeway’s relationship with Consalo Farms—high quality products, delivered consistently—is still there. What has changed is how both sides approach sustainability. For the Consalo family, new technologies are making it possible to boost water conservation and soil health and cut back on packaging waste. For Safeway, efforts to work with more regional and local growers have only intensified. The company has stopped shipping California produce to its East Coast stores, for instance, in favor of stocking its produce sections with seasonal, regional specialties, whether it’s blueberries from New Jersey in June, honeycrisp apples from Pennsylvania in the fall, or corn and watermelon from Maryland during the summer.
“They grow it right there and they ship it right there, and it's in our warehouse within two hours. That's what's going to be the future.”
Ricardo Dimarzio, Mid-Atlantic Produce Sales Manager for Safeway
Harvested rainbow chard at Consalo Family Farms.
Fostering relationships with local growers has been crucial for Safeway, according to Dimarzio. By giving local and regional farmers regular business, Safeway can be among the first to know when new products come available. To that end, Safeway has also branched out beyond traditional agriculture to work with a new integrated farming company called Bowery Farming, which grows a variety of salad greens and herbs at its vertical greenhouse in Baltimore. The company is also experimenting with growing strawberries and cucumbers, according to Dimarzio. Safeway is able to specify which products they want to buy, how much they need and when they need it, reducing food waste and ensuring a fresher product. Lettuce, microgreens, and basil, for instance, are all cut to order.
“They grow it right there and they ship it right there, and it's in our warehouse within two hours,” Dimarzio said. “That's what's going to be the future.”
These kinds of efforts ultimately help ensure that shoppers can access the freshest possible products, get the most nutritional benefits, and know that they’re doing their part to help reduce waste and carbon emissions. And they’ll be supporting people like Consalo, who is paying it forward by donating blueberry plants to a local school and speaking to students about local agriculture and sustainability. In turn, she said, “the community can support the farms.”
Lead Photo: Driven by the pandemic and the growing environmental movement, grocery shoppers and stores alike have a renewed appreciation for locally grown products
How Do We Build Sustainable Local Food Systems?
Food Tank, in partnership with the Danone Institute North America, is hosting a very special virtual event, "One Planet. One Health," to discuss solutions to build more sustainable local food systems on Thursday, May 6, 2021, at 12 p.m. ET
Let's Work Together to Build Sustainable,
Local Food Systems With a Global Impact
Food Tank, in partnership with the Danone Institute North America, is hosting a very special virtual event, "One Planet. One Health," to discuss solutions to build more sustainable local food systems on Thursday, May 6, 2021, at 12 p.m. ET.
We’ve curated a terrific lineup of speakers, including luminaries like N. Diane Moss (Project New Village), Dariush Mozaffarian (Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy, Tufts University), Jose Oliva (HEAL Food Alliance), A-dae Romero-Briones (Cochiti/Kiowa, First Nations Development Institute), Tambra Raye Stevenson (WANDA), and more.
I’ll be moderating. You can register here.
Also, I strongly urge eligible nonprofits to apply for the Danone Institute North America grant program to help local communities live the "One Planet. One Health" vision.
Danone Institute North America will award a total of up to $160,000 for this initiative. Individual team grants of $30,000 plus a $10,000 incremental award for the team with the strongest communications plan will be awarded for work to be conducted over a two-year period. The call for entries is open now through June 6, 2021. For information and to submit an application, visit Danone Institute North America here.
Danone Institute North America launched the "One Planet. One Health" Initiative grant program in 2019 to support local projects that strengthen food systems, reflecting Danone’s belief that the health of people and the health of the planet are interconnected.
"The pandemic has not only sparked a health crisis but also has emerged as one of the most destructive economic and societal challenges of our time," says Leslie Lytle, President of Danone Institute North America and professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Please let me know if you apply for the grant, and join me for free on May 6 by registering HERE.
All the very best,
Dani
Little Leaf Farms Raises $90M to Grow Its Greenhouse Network
Massachusetts-based Little Leaf Farms has raised $90 million in a debt and equity financing round to expand its network of hydroponic greenhouses on the East Coast. The round was led by Equilibrium Capital as well as founding investors Bill Helman and Pilot House Associates. Bank of America also participated.
by Jennifer Marston
Image from: Little Leaf Farms
Massachusetts-based Little Leaf Farms has raised $90 million in a debt and equity financing round to expand its network of hydroponic greenhouses on the East Coast. The round was led by Equilibrium Capital as well as founding investors Bill Helman and Pilot House Associates. Bank of America also participated.
Little Leaf Farms says the capital is “earmarked” to build new greenhouse sites along the East Coast, where its lettuce is currently available in about 2,500 stores.
The company already operates one 10-acre greenhouse in Devins, Massachusetts. Its facility grows leafy greens using hydroponics and a mixture of sunlight supplemented by LED-powered grow lights. Rainwater captured from the facility’s roof provides most of the water used on the farm.
According to a press release, Little Leaf Farms has doubled its retail sales to $38 million since 2019. And last year, the company bought180 acres of land in Pennsylvania on which to build an additional facility. Still another greenhouse, slated for North Carolina, will serve the Southeast region of the U.S.
Little Leaf Farms joins the likes of Revol Greens, Gotham Greens, AppHarvest, and others in bringing local(ish) greens to a greater percentage of the population. These facilities generally pack and ship their greens on the day of or day after harvesting, and only supply retailers within a certain radius. Little Leaf Farms, for example, currently servers only parts of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey.
The list of regions the company serves will no doubt lengthen as the company builds up its greenhouse network in the coming months.
VIDEO: This Company Is Solving America's Food Issues One Backyard At A Time
Love & Carrots lowers our carbon footprint by making sustainable food sources very, very local
Love & Carrots lowers our carbon footprint by making sustainable food sources very, very local
By Richie Hertzberg | January 6, 2021
The average American has an annual carbon footprint of 16 tons, which ranks among the highest in the world. In fact, it's about quadruple the global average. One of the most significant contributing factors to our elevated carbon emissions is where we get out food, which is often shipped from far away, especially for those of us who live in cities.
A plucky business called Love & Carrots, which began a decade ago with one woman and a truck, is addressing this national issue by installing produce gardens across the Washington D.C. area. They’ve installed more than 1000 gardens in almost a decade of business.
Natalie Carver, director of horticulture said, “Our founder Meredith Sheperd saw so many sunny yards not being used for food. And saw the opportunity to start a business and start building gardens in all these sunny pockets across the city."
Unlike most businesses, as Love & Carrots scales, it reduces the overall carbon footprint by bringing city residents as close as possible to their food sources…their own backyards.
Nearly 30% of our food-related carbon emissions comes from transportation. Whether we’re importing bananas from Guatemala, or trucking carrots across the country from the main producer in Bakersfield, California, there is a tremendous amount of energy wasted by shipping perishable food long distances in short amounts of time.
The cost of convenience is not just environmental—you can taste it in the quality and freshness of the fruits and vegetables you eat. “When I first started harvesting in my garden, I realized that the food that I buy in local stores is not really what it tastes like,” says Yong Lee, a Love & Carrots garden owner. “So my palate had to get used to the fact that 'carrot' actually tastes like a stronger version of the carrot you get at a store.
Love & Carrots offers a full-service, turn-key operation. People interested in a garden receive a consultation on the optimal place for their garden as well as a top to bottom installation. If they want it, they can receive garden coaching to help them manage their produce and even have Love and Carrots staff manage the garden in its entirety.
The company's goal, however, stretches from Washington DC all the way back to America's biggest carrot patch in Bakersfield, California. It aims to be a national model, creating a ripple effect across the country. "Our goal is to expose as many people as possible to sustainable practices and smart growing," the company says, "so they can use that knowledge themselves and continue to share it with others."
Singapore’s Getting a New Govt Body – And Its Priority Is To Make Sure The Country Has Enough Food
The Singapore Food Agency will be responsible for developing Singapore’s food supply, improving food safety regulations, and handling food-borne disease outbreaks.
February 13, 2019
Come April 1, Singapore’s new food-related statutory board, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), will come into existence – and its most important job is to ensure the country has enough food supplies.
The new stat board was created to consolidate and handle food-related matters currently scattered under divisions in the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA), Health Sciences Authority and National Environment Agency.
SFA’s priority is to develop national strategies to obtain food, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli said in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 12).
According to Masagos, imports account for most of Singapore’s food supply, and the republic currently imports items from 180 countries – up from 140 countries in 2004.
The minister said the SFA would continue to look for more import sources to ensure Singapore is not overreliant on any country for food items. This would also reduce the republic’s “vulnerability to external volatility and price hikes,” he added.
In addition, it will also help local food companies based overseas to expand, thus reducing the price of imports.
Another way the stat board plans to develop food security is by increasing the supply from local farms. It is looking at educating farmers at institutes of higher learning (such as universities and polytechnics), so as to incorporate more technology and R&D in the farming sector, Masagos said.
Examples of these technologies include indoor vertical farms and deep sea fish farming.
On top of food security, the SFA will also be responsible for improving food safety regulations and handling food-borne disease outbreaks, such as tracing and recalling food products, and testing food samples.
Its “regulatory oversight over all food-related matters from farm to fork” would allow the government to “address lapses (in food safety) more quickly and more holistically,” the AVA said in a statement.
In addition, a food laboratory, the National Centre for Food Science, will be set up under the SFA to research food safety.
How Urban Agriculture Can Improve Food Security in US Cities
…researchers have calculated that Cleveland, with a population of 400,000, has the potential to meet 100 percent of its urban dwellers’ fresh vegetable needs, 50 percent of their poultry and egg requirements and 100 percent of their demand for honey.
February 13, 2019 10.49pm AEDT
City Farm is a working sustainable farm that has operated in Chicago for over 30 years. Linda from Chicago/Wikimedia, CC BY
Author Miguel Altieri
Professor of Agroecology, University of California, Berkeley
Disclosure statement
Miguel Altieri does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Partners University of California provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation US.
During the partial federal shutdown in December 2018 and January 2019, news reports showed furloughed government workers standing in line for donated meals. These images were reminders that for an estimated one out of eight Americans, food insecurity is a near-term risk.
In California, where I teach, 80 percent of the population lives in cities. Feeding the cities of the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area, with a total population of some 7 million involves importing 2.5 to 3 million tons of food per day over an average distance of 500 to 1,000 miles.
This system requires enormous amounts of energy and generates significant greenhouse gas emissions. It also is extremely vulnerable to large-scale disruptions, such as major earthquakes.
And the food it delivers fails to reach 1 of every 8 people in the region who live under the poverty line – mostly senior citizens, children and minorities. Access to quality food is limited both by poverty and the fact that on average, California’s low-income communities have 32.7 percent fewer supermarkets than high-income areas within the same cities.
Many organizations see urban agriculture as a way to enhance food security. It also offers environmental, health and social benefits. Although the full potential of urban agriculture is still to be determined, based on my own research I believe that raising fresh fruits, vegetables and some animal products near consumers in urban areas can improve local food security and nutrition, especially for underserved communities.
The growth of urban agriculture
Urban farming has grown by more than 30 percent in the United States in the past 30 years. Although it has been estimated that urban agriculture can meet 15 to 20 percent of global food demand, it remains to be seen what level of food self-sufficiency it can realistically ensure for cities.
One recent survey found that 51 countries do not have enough urban area to meet a recommended nutritional target of 300 grams per person per day of fresh vegetables. Moreover, it estimated, urban agriculture would require 30 percent of the total urban area of those countries to meet global demand for vegetables. Land tenure issues and urban sprawl could make it hard to free up this much land for food production.
Other studies suggest that urban agriculture could help cities achieve self-sufficiency. For example, researchers have calculated that Cleveland, with a population of 400,000, has the potential to meet 100 percent of its urban dwellers’ fresh vegetable needs, 50 percent of their poultry and egg requirements and 100 percent of their demand for honey.
Can Oakland’s urban farmers learn from Cuba?
Although urban agriculture has promise, a small proportion of the food produced in cities is consumed by food-insecure, low-income communities. Many of the most vulnerable people have little access to land and lack the skills needed to design and tend productive gardens.
Cities such as Oakland, with neighborhoods that have been identified as “food deserts,” can lie within a half-hour drive of vast stretches of productive agricultural land. But very little of the twenty million tons of food produced annually within 100 miles of Oakland reaches poor people.
Paradoxically, Oakland has 1,200 acres of undeveloped open space – mostly public parcels of arable land – which, if used for urban agriculture, could produce 5 to 10 percent of the city’s vegetable needs. This potential yield could be dramatically enhanced if, for example, local urban farmers were trained to use well-tested agroecological methods that are widely applied in Cuba to cultivate diverse vegetables, roots, tubers and herbs in relatively small spaces.
In Cuba, over 300,000 urban farms and gardens produce about 50 percent of the island’s fresh produce supply, along with 39,000 tons of meat and 216 million eggs. Most Cuban urban farmers reach yields of 44 pounds (20 kilograms) per square meter per year.
An organic farm in Havana, Cuba, that produces outputs averaging 20 kilograms (44 pounds) per square meter per year without agrochemical inputs.Miguel Altieri, CC BY-ND
If trained Oakland farmers could achieve just half of Cuban yields, 1,200 acres of land would produce 40 million kilograms of vegetables – enough to provide 100 kilograms per year per person to more than 90 percent of Oakland residents.
To see whether this was possible, my research team at the University of California at Berkeley established a diversified garden slightly larger than 1,000 square feet. It contained a total of 492 plants belonging to 10 crop species, grown in a mixed polycultural design.
In a three-month period, we were able to produce yields that were close to our desired annual level by using practices that improved soil health and biological pest control. They included rotations with green manures that are plowed under to benefit the soil; heavy applications of compost; and synergistic combinations of crop plants in various intercropping arrangements known to reduce insect pests.
Research plots in Berkeley, Calif., testing agroecological management practices such as intercropping, mulching and green composting. Miguel Altieri, CC BY-ND
Overcoming barriers to urban agriculture
Achieving such yields in a test garden does not mean they are feasible for urban farmers in the Bay Area. Most urban farmers in California lack ecological horticultural skills. They do not always optimize crop density or diversity, and the University of California’s extension program lacks the capacity to provide agroecological training.
The biggest challenge is access to land. University of California researchers estimate that over 79 percent of the state’s urban farmers do not own the property that they farm. Another issue is that water is frequently unaffordable. Cities could address this by providing water at discount rates for urban farmers, with a requirement that they use efficient irrigation practices.
In the Bay Area and elsewhere, most obstacles to scaling up urban agriculture are political, not technical. In 2014 California enacted AB511, which set out mechanisms for cities to establish urban agriculture incentive zones, but did not address land access.
One solution would be for cities to make vacant and unused public land available for urban farming under low-fee multiyear leases. Or they could follow the example of Rosario, Argentina, where 1,800 residents practice horticulture on about 175 acres of land. Some of this land is private, but property owners receive tax breaks for making it available for agriculture.
In my view, the ideal strategy would be to pursue land reform similar to that practiced in Cuba, where the government provides 32 acres to each farmer, within a few miles around major cities to anyone interested in producing food. Between 10 and 20 percent of their harvest is donated to social service organizations such as schools, hospitals and senior centers.
Similarly, Bay Area urban farmers might be required to provide donate a share of their output to the region’s growing homeless population, and allowed to sell the rest. The government could help to establish a system that would enable gardeners to directly market their produce to the public.
Cities have limited ability to deal with food issues within their boundaries, and many problems associated with food systems require action at the national and international level. However, city governments, local universities and nongovernment organizations can do a lot to strengthen food systems, including creating agroecological training programs and policies for land and water access. The first step is increasing public awareness of how urban farming can benefit modern cities.
Earth Notes: Urban Agriculture
Vertically stacked growing shelves, closely spaced plantings, and covered beds are helping farms fit in where space is often restricted.
By DIANE HOPE • FEB 13, 2019
In backyards and vacant lots, urban farming is on the rise in towns and cities across the Colorado Plateau. Vertically stacked growing shelves, closely spaced plantings, and covered beds are helping farms fit in where space is often restricted.
Roots Micro Farm
CREDIT MADELYN CHANCE
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Warehouse farming operations grow crops in sterile atmospheres that need costly nutrient inputs and energy for lighting. But small-scale urban farms offer lots of sustainable advantages.
These farms use natural sunlight and moisture, and make great use of local food waste, says Josh Chance. He and his wife Maddy established Roots Micro Farm on a neighborhood lot in downtown Flagstaff two and half years ago.
They mix organic waste from Northern Arizona University and local breweries with horse manure from nearby barns, creating deep fertile growing beds. Hoop houses let them extend the growing season from late April through December. They raise everything from kale to kohlrabi and tomatoes to edible flowers.
Such small urban farms can’t achieve the economies of scale that massive modern farming can – so their produce may cost a bit more than at large grocery chains. But, since they’re often located just a mile or two from consumers, local growers deliver fresh, healthy produce requiring little or no energy for transportation.
There are some extra benefits too--these farms provide pleasant green spaces within a city. And they can give young people the chance to see where food comes from, and how it’s grown. Some even provide training workshops for locals to learn - and trade - skills.
All in all, urban agriculture appears to be an idea ripe for the picking.
Edeka and Metro are Joining the Growers
In the farm, seedlings of various plants are being used. They are not growing in soil, but have been dipped in a thin layer of liquid that provides the necessary nutrients.
Vertical farming is a way to put an end to the climate-compromising import of vegetables from all parts of the world. Fruits and vegetables can also be grown in the supermarket, some manufacturers promise. But we are not there yet.
There is a large black box with Plexiglas windows, standing in the middle of the vegetable department of the Edeka market in Oberhausen. This is the "greenhouse of the future," explains Pascal Gerdes. In fact, it is a digitally networked herbal farm in which plants are to grow under optimal conditions.
After a critical appraisal of the plants and a smell test, a customer decides to buy some of the coriander, which she places in her almost empty shopping basket. Price: 1,29 Euro. The Gerdes family is not pleased with the customer's choice. This lady is the first buyer of the plants that are grown in the supermarket.
Only a few weeks ago, the futuristic-looking farm was set up in the store of the Gerdes family. It came from Berlin start-up Infarm, which is one of the major suppliers in the field of vertical farming. Infarm also cooperates with other retailers. The 'farm' is to be tested in the Edeka market for a whole year. If the mint, Greek basil, mountain coriander and the like prove to be worthwhile, the farm may remain there. It is, however, still too early to do away with the entire vegetable counter - that would be relying too much on this nascent technology.
Digital farms in Oberhausen, London and Paris
In the farm, seedlings of various plants are being used. They are not growing in soil, but have been dipped in a thin layer of liquid that provides the necessary nutrients. From above, LED lamps provide continuous lighting. Everything can be individually adjusted so that the optimal climate conditions can be created for every plant. Vertical farming promises efficient and, above all, rapid growth.
"Temperature and light intensity are adjusted completely autonomously," explains Martin Weber from Infarm. "We control the state and the growth of the plants via infrared cameras." An employee from Infarm will go to the Edeka stores to harvest. He or she will set the plants that are ready for sale apart, immediately inserting new ones in their place. Supermarket operators like the Gerdes family do not have to worry about anything. But that should change over time. With more experience, sowing and harvesting can be taken over by the supermarket operators.
Until now, Vertical Farming is limited to herbs, as in the Edeka store in Oberhausen. But one can grow any kind of fruit and vegetables, promises Infarms CFO Weber: "We would like to offer everything, without exception."
This optimism has apparently convinced some retailers: The incubators of Infarm are there at numerous German Edeka markets, including stores in the Swiss supermarket chain Migros and in metro markets - including a metro market in the suburb of Nanterre, Paris. And the internationalization is to go on: "In Paris and Zurich, we have already inaugurated the first farms outside Germany. And in early 2019, London will follow," said Weber. In the USA there is potential for the Berlin start-up as well.
Source: Wiwo.de
Publication date : 1/4/2019
Greenhouse In An Auchan Hypermarket
In Italy, Auchan is testing the installation of a greenhouse in a hypermarket. Fresh herbs and salads grow directly on the shelves and customers do their own “harvesting”.
In Italy, Auchan is testing the installation of a greenhouse in a hypermarket. Fresh herbs and salads grow directly on the shelves and customers do their own “harvesting”.
Agricooltur, a young company from the Turin region, is the originator of this scheme. The neighboring Auchan hypermarket placed the installation in its market area at the end of November; it is a spectacular complex of about thirty meters square. The plants are grown by aeroponics: the roots are hanging loose and are sprinkled with a nutrient solution.
Also in late November, Casino installed a showcase in which an assortment of fresh herbs were grown in its supermarket in La-Varenne-Saint-Hilaire, France.
Source: internationalsupermarketnews.com
Publication date : 1/17/2019
Meet The People Running A Farm In The Middle Of Andheri – Herbivore Farms
The young guns from Mumbai set themselves up on a mission to directly provide the citizens with vegetables through their hyperlocal, hydroponic farm, a first for the city.
By Mallika Dabke January 15, 2019
The minds behind Herbivore Farms
There’s no doubt that the awareness of eating clean food is growing by the day, but for most of us, it’s an ongoing struggle to make that lifestyle shift. Most of us are grossly unaware about where our produce comes from, and the authenticity of organic products is often left as an unanswered question at the back of our minds. Bringing clarity to our kitchens, is Herbivore Farms, which is an actual farm in the middle of Andheri, set up by duo Sakina Rajkotwala and Joshua Lewis. The young guns from Mumbai set themselves up on a mission to directly provide the citizens with vegetables through their hyperlocal, hydroponic farm, a first for the city. I spoke to Sakina and Joshua to know more about them and their work, read on to see what we spoke about!
Give us a quick introduction to Herbivore Farms.
Herbivore Farms is Mumbai’s first hyper local farm located in Andheri East. We grow the super healthy varieties of leafy green veggies like Swiss Chard, Kale, Rocket and Lettuce using hydroponic methods of cultivation.
Our produce is delivered to customer’s homes a few hours post-harvest, so it’s always at its peak of freshness, nutrition and flavour. Our indoor farm enables to grow in a clean, sterile environment and we use absolutely 0 pesticides so it’s 100% safe. We also use up to 80% less water to grow our produce using a recirculating irrigation system.
Talk us through your story – what inspired you, how you started, and the journey so far.
The journey that led us to start this project began in 2017 when we both quit our jobs – Sakina worked at an NGO called Magic Bus and Joshua was working with an ad company called Directi. While our jobs seemed to be working out well for us, we were missing a sense of purpose and were on a mission to find it. So, we decided to pack our bags and go live in Auroville for three months and work on a farm. We wanted to get our hands dirty and also reconnect with ourselves and nature.
We worked as farm labor for three months at Solitude Farm. The farm also had a cafe where lunch was served and made from ingredients that were harvested fresh off the farm the same morning. We ate meals post work there every day and food had never tasted better. It was always basic and simple food but it changed everything for us in terms of our energy levels, our mood and in general, our overall health. We felt happy and well.
This was the starting point of our inspiration. We wanted to create a way for people to enjoy fresh, healthy local produce. We also wanted people to revive their relationship with their food – understand where it comes from, who grows it, how it’s grown, why it’s good for you. We wanted people to be able to feel as good as we did. And that’s how Herbivore Farms was born.
Through extensive research we discovered how we could build a farm within the city and grow indoors. Hydroponics appealed to us because it saves two of the most precious urban resources – space and water. After a year of trial and error and lots of research, we built our small indoor farm. The two of us handle everything right from the farm tasks (planting, monitoring, harvesting) to deliveries, sales and marketing.
We believe that the food we eat is one of the most important factors in determining our health and more and more people are starting to realise it too. What we put in our bodies three times a day can impact just about everything in our lives and we are on a mission to get everyone to start valuing good food and make good choices. We also wanted to build a chain of supply that is completely transparent so people can trust what’s on their plate as opposed to the way our markets currently work.
Give us an overview of the set up and functioning of Herbivore Farms.
We have converted an old industrial warehouse in Andheri East into a climate controlled greenhouse. We’ve built vertical hydroponics systems that enable us to grow 10 times more in the same square footage. Our recirculating irrigation system also enables us to use 75% less water as compared to traditional agriculture. We’ve put in place processes that allow us to harvest on a daily basis, and each morning’s harvest is delivered to the customer’s homes a few hours later.
Up until a month ago it was the two of us managing absolutely everything, we personally went to people’s doors to hand them their produce. It was exhausting but extremely rewarding, and the motive was to dive into the depth of every little detail to put into place effective farm processes which we have been able to do now, and we’re still learning every day. A few weeks ago, we hired our first employee. He is learning quickly and developing into the role of Primary Farm Manager.
How has the feedback been? What are some of the things that customers are saying about you?
The response from customers who tried our free samples was phenomenal. About 90% of the people who took a sample home wrote back to us saying they loved how fresh and flavourful the leaves were and how they wanted to know how soon they can start buying. Some even said that we had changed their perception on leafy greens – what they previously associated with tasting “bitter” or “bland” and didn’t enjoy eating but would force themselves to, to try and be healthy. A lot of people we met at events told us were happy to finally have some transparency as to where their veggies are grown and where they come from, as they were skeptical of eating raw greens because of the fear of pesticides, unhygienic growing conditions, and not knowing who has handled the produce.
How does one place an order at the farm and what all do you currently grow to offer?
A Herbivore Harvest Box (Monthly Subscription) is INR 1500 (extra delivery charges for South Mumbai) for one month. One subscription = total four deliveries (one per week) on a fixed day depending on where the subscriber lives. Each week the subscriber will receive one box at their chosen address which will contain two to three varieties of leafy greens harvested that morning.
Our range of leafy greens – seven types of lettuce (lollo rosso, oakleaf, French romaine, summercrisp, butterhead), three types of Swiss chard (red, yellow, mangold), two types of rocket (wild and cultivated) and we are working on four kale varieties that will be part of our box soon!
Pick from a range of leafy greens!
Lastly, what’s next for Herbivore Farms?
We can’t wait to upgrade to a much larger facility and cater to a larger population of our city. We want to be more than just a farm. We want to teach kids how to grow their own food “kindly”, for that is the most essential foundation of a community of the future. Herbivore Farms aims to create jobs with meaning, and bring people closer together.
Calgary’s Indoor Urban Farms Breaking Down Barriers, Eye Expansion of Local Food Production
Growers at both NuLeaf farms and Deepwater farms say there’s still hurdles to overcome for Calgary to ramp up the harvest.
Megan Janz with Deepwater Farms looks over some of the greens the Calgary commercial aquaponics company grows. DARREN KRAUSE / LIVEWIRE CALGARY
The seeds of Calgary’s commercial food industry have been planted, but conditions aren’t yet ripe for the city to harvest the full rewards of urban food production, local producers say.
Former oil and gas engineers Paul and Ryan Wright, along with Dan Clayholt, launched NuLeaf farms, a hydroponic agriculture operation in a southeast Calgary garage.
“We really wanted to find something where we had some passion and where we could apply our skills to really solve some problems,” said Paul.
“Agriculture stood out like a sore thumb.”
They saw an opportunity to use high-end tech they’d been exposed to for the development of more sustainable and efficient year-round food production in Calgary.
“That led to the beginning of us not only developing something that was environmentally sustainable, but we wanted something that was economically sustainable,” Paul said.
They have a proprietary software that optimizes climate conditions and nutrient delivery, light conditions and amount of CO2. It’s allowed them to build a vertical growing system that produces 180 plants per square foot annually, enough to allow them to sell to smaller grocery stores and Calgary restaurants.
Now they’re scaling up. They have a module designed – similar to the size of the garage – but they also have plans for a full-sized manufacturing operation.
While headway’s been made in the adoption of land-uses for indoor commercial food growth in Calgary, Paul said accessibility to programs to help them scale up is a challenge.
(From left) Ryan Wright, Paul Wright and Dan Clayholt with NuLeaf Farms, a hydroponic operation based in southeast Calgary that grows basil. DARREN KRAUSE / LIVEWIRE CALGARY
“A lot of (granting) agencies are looking for innovation, but the parameters for grants aren’t tailored to anything like this. They seem pretty closed-minded to anything that far out of the norm,” Paul said.
He added that when setting up operations he’s cognizant of the business tax regime in the city and how it compares with jurisdictions like Rocky View County.
Kristi Peters Snider, sustainability consultant with the City of Calgary’s CalgaryEATS! Food Action Plan, said indoor commercial food operations are new in Calgary, with the city seeing mostly outdoor “spin farms” and other smaller urban farms over the past decade.
Peters Snider said the city’s land use bylaw amendments coupled with Calgary Economic Development’s saying agri-business should be an area of focus has boosted efforts to modernize Calgary’s food rules.
“There’s some work to do, and the role the city can play is in enabling more food distribution pathways to help these growers,” she said.
Paul Shumlich, founder and CEO of Calgary’s Deepwater Farms, an aquaponics operation in southeast Calgary, said it’s early days in all this and any movement forward should be done in consultation with the growers.
“If they go ahead and start implementing things, or drafting policy or bylaws without input from industry, they’ll screw it up. Or they’ll make hurdles that don’t need to exist,” Shumlich said.
“They (the city) need to understand what we need and then reverse engineer as if we’re the customer.”
Shumlich’s operation, which he started a number of years back, grows plants without soil and feeds the plants with water whose nutrients come from the waste of edible sea bass they’re raising in the same operation.
They’re at one-third capacity and will be expanding in their current space through 2019, also with eyes on a new facility. They’ve launched a crowdfunding campaign to push the production forward.
He said it’s been a challenge being a pioneer locally, as they’re paving the way through the civic bureaucracy.
“We’ve definitely been pioneering a lot of it in terms of getting through all the permitting, land use and through all the inspections,” said Shumlich.
“Everybody that we deal with, from a permitting perspective, has no idea what they’re looking at or how to deal with us, so that’s been a bit of a headache.”
Peters Snider said the city’s working on the development of an urban farm that will not only allow them to test a model of city-owned land used for food production, but also to help inform them on best practices for approaching things like permits and approvals.
She said they have a 17-point action plan that will help break down some of the barriers new operations face – including creating new pathways for the sale of urban farm products.
They piloted pop-up LRT markets for the sale of fresh produce and will continue to build out that program. They’re also hoping to open up more markets on city-owned land. More changes to land use are expected in 2019.
“There’s lots more work. I feel that each area of focus helps achieve that goal of producing more local food,” she said.
That’s the goal. Both NuLeaf and Deepwater Farms are committed to the safe, environmentally-friendly and sustainable growth of local food. They both want to scale up and push the boundaries of their business to deliver fresh produce (and in Shumlich’s case, sea bass) to the Calgary and Alberta market.
“We’re trying to supply the big guys,” said Paul from NuLeaf.
“We’re trying to eliminate as much imported product as possible.”
While there are some hiccups, Shumlich said that’s normal when breaking new ground.
“More than anything it’s exciting and fun because there’s no playbook, so what we’re doing is novel,” he said.
Urban Farm In Brooklyn Looking To Attract Young Farmers
Located in a former Pfizer factory in the Williamsburg district, the company said one of its main aims is to offer young people careers in agriculture.
So-called 'urban', or 'vertical', farms have been making their way into some US cities over the past few years. With limited land in major metropolitan areas, indoor urban farms offer the chance for city stores and restaurants to get their hands on locally-grown produce. Square Roots in Brooklyn, New York, is one of these next generation indoor farms. Located in a former Pfizer factory in the Williamsburg district, the company said one of its main aims is to offer young people careers in agriculture.
"The average age of the American farmer is 58," noted Karsten Ch'ien of Square Roots. "With more young people living in cities, we bought shipping containers into the city because that is where many of them live. Young people are very technology literate, and with the rise in demand for healthy, locally-grown foods, this is the perfect combination for them to get involved in the produce industry. As a result, the average age of our farmers is just 24."
Ch'ien said that Square Roots offers training and skill building as part of helping young farmers establish a firm foundation in the industry. "At the heart of Square Roots is the Next-Gen farmer training program, which creates opportunities for more people to become farmers—and future leaders in urban farming—through a year-long commitment on the Square Roots team."
Produce is grown in modified shipping containers. Ch'ien is on the far right.
Growing in shipping containers
Produce at Square Roots is grown in shipping containers, which have been climate controlled and fitted with the latest in vertical farming gadgetry. All the operations are controlled in the company's offices overlooking the parking lot where the ten containers lie. The shipping container model gives the company great flexibility.
"Growing in shipping containers requires less upfront capital to establish and maintain," Ch'ien explained. "They are easy to retrofit and move if we need to. Additionally, it's very simple to expand the farm. Instead of remodeling or building an extension, we simply add another shipping container and fit it out in the same manner. Here in the parking lot, we have plenty of room to grow horizontally. At this stage, it's not practical for us to stack containers due to the need for climbing up and down ladders with produce."
According to the company, each shipping container yields between 50 and 70 pounds of produce each week. The containers have been engineered to be environmentally friendly and food safe. "The mineral nutrient system cycles and recycles, so each container only requires eight to ten gallons of water per day. Any kind of food safety issue can be contained in each farm," Ch'ien said.
Culinary herbs the focus
Vertical farms still have a way to go to become a mainstream source of produce. Currently, they are typically restricted to leafy greens and other plants that have minimal energy requirements. Square Roots focuses on culinary herbs. The herbs are grown and packed inside the container and then delivered to local independent retailers on one of the company's tricycles.
"Leafy greens are the easiest to grow vertically," Ch'ien observed. "We can also grow things like grape tomatoes and other small vegetables. It really depends on the energy requirements of each plant. Here at Square Roots, we focus on culinary herbs, with each container specializing in a herb. Typically, the timeframe of maturity to harvest is four to six weeks, depending on the herb. We grow in sections and harvest each container twice per week, so that there is always produce that is ready to be picked."
Square Roots uses these tricycles to deliver their produce direct to customers in the NYC area.
Ch'ien notes that growing more energy-intensive commodities such as tomatoes and small root vegetables is not economical at this stage but said that this may soon become viable as technology continues to improve. "Outside of leafy greens and herbs, it's very challenging to grow other crops economically right now. However, technology is improving each year, providing us with increased opportunities to scale and moderate costs. Additionally, we want to ensure we balance sellable yields with quality."
As to the question of whether vertical farming is a threat to traditional farming, Ch'ien believes the two are not mutually exclusive, but rather the whole system can work side by side. "We don't see it as a competition between traditional land-based farming and urban, vertical farming. All growers have the same goal which is to deliver the freshest, best quality produce to customers. We believe vertical farming can work in tandem with traditional farming, each serving a useful purpose in the industry."
For more information:
Karsten Ch'ien
Square Roots
Ph: +1 (740) 337-6687
karsten@squarerootsgrow.com
www.squarerootsgrow.com
Publication date : 12/18/2018
Author: Dennis Rettke
© FreshPlaza.com
Grocers Are Failing to Meet $20bn Consumer Demand for Local Food
The local food market in the US grew from $5 billion in 2008 to $12BN in 2014, and is expected to rise to $20 billion by next year.
Forager, a local food digital procurement platform, recently conducted a survey of shoppers in New England and upstate New York. Results from the survey lent credence to their hypothesis: while the demand for local food has never been greater, many grocers are ill-equipped to serve customers who are willing to pay more for quality food that supports their local economy.
We asked David Stone, founder and CEO of the startup, to tell us more about the survey.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a very heavy and conventional rock for the last 10 years, it should come as no surprise that local food is on a meteoric rise. The local food market in the US grew from $5 billion in 2008 to $12BN in 2014, and is expected to rise to $20 billion by next year, according to Packaged Facts, the market research firm. The demand is as bright as a glistening fresh strawberry. Data from our survey supported this trend: when asked, 84% of survey respondents reported that they had locally-produced food on their shopping list.
What’s fueling this rise in demand? Some point to the environmental costs of large-scale, industrial farming and the toll of trucking produce thousands of miles across the country. Many believe that local produce tastes better, or has a longer shelf life, due in part to freshness. Yet the overwhelming reason that consumers said they were seeking out local food was to support their local farmers and economy, a rationale chosen by nearly nine out of every 10 survey respondents.
Clearly, consumers want to feel a connection to the land and those working the land to supply them food. Supporting this interest, small and independent farms are on the rise after several decades of decline. According to the USDA Census of Agriculture, in the last three decades the number of farms smaller than 49 acres has increased by 28%, fueled in part by youth and the organic movement, and further bolstered by a 25-year growth in farmland protection programs, which have risen from five in 1980 to 199 in 2015.
While small, independent farmers only supply a small portion of the US food market, this trend represents a significant amount of growth. Demographics are helping to fuel this shift as consumers, especially Millennials and Generation Z, are more interested than prior generations in where their food comes from. Yet most of the current demand cannot be met entirely through direct-to-consumer channels, even as the number of farmers markets in the US has surged to meet this demand, growing nearly 500% in the last decade, according to a 2015 report by American Farmland Trust. As exciting as this is, a 2015 study by the FDA found that only 36% of local food sales occurred through direct-to-consumer channels. Our data supports this: while farmers markets are certainly popular among consumers, 87% of survey respondents reported going to their local grocery store for local food purchases.
While the pressure from multiple directions for the grocer is approaching overwhelming– whether it’s the neighborhood independent, food co-op or the national chain supermarket — the grocer still remains the number one location for fresh and local food shopping needs.
Consumers clearly desire a selection of local products – with everything from veggies (70% of reported local purchases), to fruits (47%), or even flowers (22%), yet among conventional grocery shoppers, 55% of survey respondents reported barriers to buying local products because of limited offerings, versus 35% at independent and natural stores. And then there’s the huge delivery promise perception gap. While 81% of grocers believe they are delivering on the promise of fresh, 67% of consumers are completely dissatisfied with local fresh produce in their grocery store. Many consumers will abandon their carts and change stores if the grocer fails to deliver on the promise of fresh, according to a consumer survey by Blue Yonder.
So, what’s stopping grocers from delivering on this desire for local. With such a high and demonstrated demand for local food, shouldn’t grocers and other wholesalers be capitalizing on this trend?
Well, it turns out that it’s a lot simpler to source from one or two large distributors than from many local, small-scale producers. Furthermore, with an increasing number of local produce varieties, the complexity rises exponentially.
There is plenty of work to be done. Summer is here in the North East and many are reaping the benefits of this magnificent produce. Consumers are asking for it – whether it’s organic strawberries, purple kohlrabi, Skyphos Red Butterhead Lettuce, or Lacinato kale. And unless they’re near an especially robust grocer (such as Lucky’s Market), they’re going to score their seasonal bounty directly from their farmer. For conventional grocers, this is an opportunity that they cannot afford to miss. On average, consumers shop at six different grocery stores, and if these stores want to stay in business, they must be able to offer the fresh, local food that their customers are looking for.
Hydroponic Paradox: Saving Water With Water
Hydroponic Paradox: Saving Water With Water
June 6, 2017
by Mary Allen
The local food movement has deep roots in urban centers, but the juxtaposition of urbanites’ locavore enthusiasm with the shortage of arable land in cities raises the question: how local is local enough? In terms of geography, there is no consensus or regulation around what “local food” should be. Depending on your definition (or marketing strategy), the term could refer to anything from food produced in your own backyard to food produced 100 miles away or simply within the state.
Community gardens and urban farming are obvious—if partial—answers to this paradox. And while urban farming is nothing new, there’s no denying that in recent years, rooftops gardens, vertical farms, and the like have become increasingly seductive to enterprising young farmers. Consumers, the media, and even investors are climbing on board with new urban farming initiatives as 21st century innovation pushes the limits of how and where food is grown.
This hydroponically grown basil has never touched soil or seen sunlight. | Image Source: @plantnasty
Hydroponic farming, a system in which plants are grown without soil and are nourished instead by a mineral solution, has enjoyed a groundswell of entrepreneurial energy in particular. As hydroponics are well suited to indoor spaces and environments that would otherwise be unfit for plant life, city centers are primed for the proliferation these wunderkind farms.
From the sweeping Alexander Ranch greenhouse in California and Bowery’s warehouse farm in New Jersey, to the intimate indoor Farm.One nestled at the heart of the Manhattan’s Institute of Culinary Education and the shipping container farms of Square Roots in a parking lot in Brooklyn, hydroponic farms of all shapes and sizes are cropping up across the country. The hyperlocality they offer to city-dwellers means not only that the food travels fewer miles, thus reducing the transportation footprint, but that the produce can be harvested and delivered on the same day.
Baby kale and butterhead lettuce from the behemoths Gotham Greens and Bowery can be found in grocery stores. Square Roots farmers hand-deliver their greens to offices around New York City. Farm.One, which is a specialty grower of microgreens and garnishes, serves high-end chefs and restaurants from just a subway ride away. With greens being among the most perishable of produce, this rapid delivery is especially attractive from a food waste reduction standpoint. Hydroponics becomes a compelling alternative to soil-based urban farming practices in light of its unique sustainability solutions.
Namely, it is remarkably water efficient. Seventy percent of humans’ water usage is allocated to farming and animal agriculture. Nitrate-ladened fertilizer runoff from traditional agriculture is also one of the main causes of water pollution, catalyzing algae blooms that ultimately create dead zones in our rivers, lakes, and oceans. In hydroponics, water is continuously recycled, making these systems anywhere from 90 to 98 percent more water efficient than traditional farming while eliminating fertilizer runoff. Needless to say, this drastic improvement in water efficiency makes hydroponic farming especially interesting in places like California where water is in short supply.
Hydroponic farming can be tremendously space efficient, too. In an interview with the Natural Gourmet Institute, Gotham Greens’ Nicole Baum enthusiastically notes, “Our half acre rooftop farm on top of Whole Foods Market in Brooklyn actually produces that of a 10 acre soil based farm!” Even more impressively, Bowery asserts that it produces over one hundred times more food than a traditional farm on the same footprint of land.
Part of the reason that hydroponic farms are able to grow so much more is that the plants have continuous ideal growing conditions—just the right temperature, just the right light, with no hungry animal intruders and no winter. The clean, climate controlled environments also eliminate the need for pesticides and insecticides. For the odd pest that does wander in, farmers enlist beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, to keep the peace. Being pesticide-free is a point of pride for Farm.One, Square Roots, Gotham Greens, and Bowery alike, something Bowery refers to as “post-organic.”
Rock wool is made from spun fibers of molten rock. This is one medium that hydroponic farmers use in lieu of soil to germinate seeds. | Image Source: @plantnasty
And here we encounter the discomfort hydroponic farming engenders among the soil-loyalists in the good food movement. A central tenant of organic farming is to “feed the soil, not the plant.” With hydroponics, of course, there is no soil, just plants—and manufactured mineral solution. The long term viability of an entirely human-fabricated growing environment is a big question mark for many. So while the notion of “post-organic” produce may thrill the food tech enthusiasts, strong advocates of pre-agroindustrial sustainable farming practices balk at the idea of food grown in plastic containers with artificial light.
Despite its water-saving potential, indoor hydroponic farming poses its own sustainability risks. These operations rely on LEDs, which stay on approximately 18 hours per day. Does drastically reducing water usage and water pollution justify the carbon footprint of all that electricity? It’s a question that hydroponic farmers are already taking into consideration. Farm.One, for instance, purchases carbon offsets to help mitigate this environmental cost.
But then there’s the actual cost. For all its efficiencies, hydroponics is a capital intensive process in a highly competitive market. A small bag of greens from Square Roots is $5. As Square Roots Cofounder and CEO Tobias Peggs explained at the monthly open house, the heavier a plant is—the more biomass it has—the more costly it is to grow. At this point in the game, hydroponic growers are focusing on greens. Fruits, vegetables, and tuber roots are not quite financially viable. But as the technology continues to improve, the price points continue to drop.
According to Rob Laing, CEO and founder of Farm.One, the price of LEDs is roughly halving every four years. Farm.One keeps their profit margins viable by selling high-end microgreens and garnishes, but Laing is hopeful that, “in five years time people can use the techniques that we’re using and similar equipment to grow lettuce and kale underneath a bodega.” Peggs is even more sanguine: “We think, two years from now, we’ll be able to economically grow strawberries, tomatoes, and blueberries as well.”
Technology is not the only thing setting hydroponics on the fast track to improvement; robust data collection is supercharging production capacity. Modern hydroponic farms are outfitted with sensors to monitor the plants, water, air, and light, and the farmers are growing not just crops but databases of information about how different factors influence flavor and plant health.
Farm.One's Red Rubin Basil, Saltwort, Red Veined Sorrel & Stems | Image Source: @farm.one
With different light recipes and nutrients, farmers can adjust certain variables to bring out different flavors. Some farms are even using machine learning to integrate and deploy these learnings. It’s a prospect that is remarkable to some and off-putting to others. As Dan Barber said in a conversation with co-founder of Square Roots Kimbal Musk at the Food for Tomorrow conference, “When Kimbal says you can dial in the flavor and colors you want, I don’t know that I want that kind of power,” Barber said. “I’d rather have a region or environment express color and flavor.” Agree to disagree perhaps. New Yorkers might not be as enthused about the taste of the subway expressing itself in their salad greens.
So what role will hydroponics play in the future of food? “People on both sides of the issue tend to overstate how big hydroponic farming is going to be,” Laing told Food Future Co. “It’s part of the solution.” He reminds us that hydroponics works well for greens but not at all for crops like wheat or corn. It can’t replace pig farms (leave that to Memphis Meats). It can’t replace olive groves. What hydroponics can do, however, is expand the possibilities for local food in urban spaces. It has many promising implications for sustainable food production. It may even serve as a more viable on-ramp for the next generation of farmers. Who knows? At the rate technology and data are changing the world, we really may be able to buy a locally grown, freshly harvested strawberry in the dead of winter from the corner bodega.
Gussie Green Students Participate in Fresh Future Farm’s First STEAM Based Summer Camp
Gussie Green Students Participate in Fresh Future Farm’s First STEAM Based Summer Camp
Fresh Future Farm and North Charleston Recreation are excited about the first session of urban farm summer camp that started Tuesday, June 27.
Children from the Gussie Greene Community Center will journal, measure, map, cook and sing about eggs, okra and wood fired pizza prepared with ingredients harvested a few feet from where they are sold. The camp was originally planned for ten students, so Germaine Jenkins, FFF co-founder and CEO, recruited extra volunteers and held an online fundraiser to accommodate the Gussie Green’s twenty-five students. An anonymous donor generated excitement that helped the farm achieve its $2800 goal within a week. The camp focuses on STEAM learning (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics).
“Forty years ago, a trip to a neighborhood community garden changed my outlook on life and vegetables. I was determined that our neighbors would be the first to experience this hands-on camp.” says Jenkins. “We are humbled to join forces with Karen Latsbaugh of Cities + Shovels (Germaine’s first gardening mentor) and musician Chaquis Maliq and inspire children and families to garden and reconnect with fresh produce. Campers take home recipes and ingredients to recreate meals at home with their families. Who knows, the next BJ Dennis or Will Allen might be mixing fresh parsley and garlic to add to okra soup this summer.” Chef BJ Dennis taught the children about okra’s importance to the Lowcountry and helped campers harvest and prep farm fresh squash blossoms for fresh okra soup. Matt McIntosh of EVO pizzeria will donate dough, cheese and sauce and bake personal pizzas campers prepare with farm herbs and veggies tomorrow, Thursday, June 29.
The farm will host two additional summer camps on July 4-6 and July 25-27 from 8-10:30 am. There are still spaces available in each session. They are still seeking sponsors cover camp expenses – campers from the surrounding area pay $1 per day.
About Fresh Future Farm
Located in the Chicora-Cherokee area, a certified ‘food desert’, Fresh Future Farm uses urban agriculture to improve access to high quality foods in at-risk communities and as leverage to establish socially just economic development. The farm store is also among the small number black operated grocery businesses in the state. All proceeds from sales go back into operating expenses and programming. FFF’s sells fruit, vegetables, herbs and fresh eggs grown on the farm along with a mix of procured produce, fresh eggs, dairy, and basic and specialty grocery staples at fair prices where they are needed most. The farm store accepts SNAP (food stamp) benefits for food, seeds, and plants. Along with the store and now summer camp, the farm offered its first organic gardening class this past spring, and is actively seeking to train residents to help run the operation.
Fresh Future Farm is a non-profit social venture Mrs. Germaine Jenkins, a working class North Charleston resident who was recently recognized as one of the Top 50 Southerners by Southern Living Magazine and is a 2015 Charleston Magazine Community Catalyst award recipient. She created FFF with Growing Power Inc., the national nonprofit urban farm and land trust created by Will Allen, as a model. Fresh Future Farm strives to grow food, healthier lifestyles and the economy in the Charleston Heights area of North Charleston through the following products and services:
Commercial Urban Farm and nNeighborhood Farm Store
Educational farm tours and activities for school youth, families and out-of-town visitors ï Cooking demonstrations and organic gardening classes
Workshops on innovative urban farming techniques
New urban farmer and food entrepreneur incubator
Collaborative community development projects with strategic partners
Fresh Future Farm Mission:
To leverage healthy food and grocery products to create socially just economic development.
For more information about Fresh Future Farm, please visit www.freshfuturefarm.org.
ShopRite Expands Locally Grown Program
ShopRite Expands Locally Grown Program
JUNE 23, 2017
Continuing its long-held tradition of carrying locally grown products, ShopRite has expanded its Locally Grown program, offering a rich variety of products throughout the supermarket — from fresh fruits and vegetables to farm-raised beef, seafood, flowers, baked goods, honey, craft beer and roasted coffees.ShopRite associate Chun Hung of Cherry Hill, NJ.
ShopRite associate Chun Hung of Cherry Hill, NJ.
“ShopRite has been partnering with local farmers since our inception almost 70 years ago,” Derrick Jenkins, vice president of the produce and floral division at ShopRite, said in a press release. “But more than ever, we are meeting increased customer demand for locally sourced products by working hand-in-hand with local entrepreneurs, family farms and businesses to procure and sell products that have been locally grown.”
ShopRite recently joined state officials in announcing the debut of the “Grown in Monmouth” label. Its stores in New Jersey’s Monmouth and Ocean counties will feature flowers and plants branded with the new label and sourced from local farms.
Many seasonal and unique products can also be found on a store-by-store basis. These “hyperlocal” products are produced by local independent businesses and growers, including greens that have been grown on local hydroponic or indoor “vertical” farms.
“ShopRite is proud to work with local family farms and businesses because local is not only how we source our food, it’s who we are,” Jenkins said in the release. “We look forward to offering shoppers an ever-increasing assortment of locally made products and goods throughout the year.”
High-Tech Farms In Singapore Take On Cold-Weather Crops
High-Tech Farms In Singapore Take On Cold-Weather Crops
Kale is touted as a "superfood", eaten in salads and sandwiches, blended in green juices and even baked into chips.
08 Jun 2017 04:49PM (Updated: 08 Jun 2017 11:18PM)
SINGAPORE: Kale is touted as a "superfood", eaten in salads and sandwiches, blended in green juices and even baked into chips.
The trendy greens are typically grown in temperate countries such as Australia and the US, but with the help of technology, such cold-weather crops - which typically would not survive in Singapore's climate - are now being grown in some high-tech vertical farms.
Local farms currently produce 12 per cent of Singapore's total vegetable consumption, exceeding the 10 per cent target set in 2009.
In line with the Government's push for farming productivity - such as the recently enhanced Agriculture Productivity Fund and the announcement that farmland would be set aside to promote high-tech farming - more farms are exploring new methods to grow crops previously thought to be impossible to cultivate in Singapore's climate.
One such farm is Sustenir, which grows hydroponic crops in a fully controlled environment. This includes making use of technology such as LED lights, air-conditioning ducts and an automated irrigation system to grow temperate produce such as kale, cherry tomatoes and strawberries.
Co-founder Benjamin Swan explained that the firm leverages technology to manipulate every facet of growth within the room, from humidity and temperature, to the nutrients in the water.
This has helped the farm cut the growth time of crops to two weeks - half the time needed at conventional farms - as well as customise its crops to fit customer preferences. For example, it has successfully modified the naturally fibrous and indigestible stems of kale crops to become edible.
Da Paolo Group is one eatery chain that sources its kale from the farm, and its group executive chef Andrea Scarpa said he found the produce "very comparable" to that found overseas.
"The taste profile is very, very similar to what we get imported. But for us it's even better, simply because you get to eat the entire plant from the top of the leaf down to the root," he explained.
"Traditionally when you eat kale you import from overseas, you'd have to rip off the stem, which is a huge waste - 50 per cent of your weight gone. But it's great (that) we get to use the whole thing when it's done locally.”
The 740 sq m farm, which is located in an industrial building, also plans to expand to tailoring edible flowers and micro-greens for its customers.
Workers sort out kale produce at Sustenir. (Photo: Wendy Wong)
Another vertical farm thriving on technology is owned by Japanese electronics company Panasonic. The 1,154 sq m farm currently grows 81 tonnes of produce annually under its brand Veggie Lite, which supplies its vegetables to supermarket chains, hotels and restaurants. This includes more than 30 crop varieties such as green and red lettuce, swiss chards and sweet basil.
"By adopting technology from our parent company in Japan, we are able to control light, temperature and humidity to ensure optimum conditions,” a spokesperson for the farm told Channel NewsAsia.
"Through local production, we have the control to produce a stable supply of safe, fresh, high-nutrition and high-quality vegetables," the spokesperson said. "As importation involves more third parties and logistics arrangement, there are more concerns to be considered in ensuring the produce quality and freshness."
Veggie Lite aims to contribute 5 per cent of local vegetable production - or about 1,000 tonnes annually - by 2020.