Growth Industry: Libertyville Man Plants Urban Farm in Old Shipping Container

By Mick Zawislak

July 26, 2021

At the 5.5-mile mark of the North Shore Bike Path, east of Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville, a mural depicting microgreens has emerged as a calling card for a new business.

The canvas is the side of an old shipping container. Like the mural, which pictures the hands of Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug surrounded by greens, the location of Zach Paronto's urban farm inside the converted container is unexpected.

Sheet metal shelves hold racks of tiny plants -- like daikon radishes and tendril peas -- grown hydroponically and in various stages of development. Paronto framed and insulated the interior, ran vents, and installed plumbing and electric to create a sterile, climate-controlled environment to regulate the gourmet garnish crops.

The two-month build-out was a curiosity for some neighbors.

"A lot of people thought I was a homeless guy living out of there," Paronto said.

He launched Achaia Greens in Libertyville early this year to grow and sell microgreens, edible flowers and vegetables. Microgreens are highly nutritional and intensely flavorful seedlings of edible vegetables and herbs used in a variety of ways, from juices and salads to decorative garnishes.

Since its launch, the company has secured six businesses, some with multiple locations, as customers. They include Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters, Mainstreet Social and Timothy O'Toole's restaurants, and Real Clean Paleo, a pre-order meal service. Microgreen mixes also are sold and delivered to residential customers. Everything is harvested and delivered -- usually by bike, weather permitting -- the same day.

by signing up you agree to our terms of service

Michael Shipley, managing partner of Conscious Cup, uses Achaia Greens as a sustainable option for tendril peas. The venue has four locations including downtown Libertyville and is planning to open a fifth this fall in Palatine.

"Places like ours are always faced with these decisions to buy something that may be organic, but it's packaged and shipped from across the country or farther," Shipley said.

"When we can make these hyperlocal purchases and still maintain this really high-quality, it's a no-brainer."

Paronto grew up in Gages Lake with a passion for gardening and plants. While maintaining that intense interest in horticulture and native species, he made his living as a tradesman in various capacities.

After an unpaid internship in a microgreen business in Chicago, he founded Achaia Greens in Charleston, South Carolina. Within three years, the business had a local base and was growing, he said. But Charleston never felt like home, so Paronto and his wife, Geddy, moved to Libertyville last summer.

An attempt to launch the business in another Lake County town didn't work out, but Paronto noticed three nearly hidden shipping containers on the property behind the couple's rented home on Route 176 (Park Avenue) and had an idea.

Overgrown by invasive species and filled with scrap metal and debris, the area was a catchall for a neighboring heating and cooling company.

"You couldn't even walk through here," Paronto said.

After seeing his work on the container, Paronto's landlord, who also owns the heating and cooling business, offered him a job with a flexible schedule that allowed him to work on starting Achaia Greens.

Once the area was cleared and outdoor gardens planted, Paronto envisioned a mural to beautify the spot. His cousin, Jenny Gentry, a mural artist from Colorado, finished the piece July 16.

Microgreens are the focus of the mural, but the two hands of Borlaug, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, also are depicted. A microbiologist and plant geneticist, Borlaug developed a high-yield, disease resistant wheat. He put the new strains into extensive production to feed the hungry of the world and is regarded as a central figure in the "green revolution."

The mural shows Borlaug holding a wheat plant in one hand and a microgreen in another, Paronto said. It represents the progression from reliance solely on staple crops, he added.

To start, Paronto connected with Ellen Williams, program and marketing director for the Adler Arts Center, which operates under the auspices of the village.

Williams connected Paronto and the artist with partners at Rust-Oleum to help with paint, prep and materials. Though not a village project, it's part of Adler's plans to create and support public art initiatives, Williams said.

"We hope to continue to help create more public art in this community both on village and private properties," she said.

Paronto plans to expand.

"This is what I want to do for the rest of my life," he said. "There are thousands of varieties (of microgreens). My plan is to keep growing."

Lead Photo: Libertyville resident Zach Paronto's urban farm is in a converted shipping container behind his house. He grows microgreens inside his urban farm and edible flowers and veggies outside for fresh delivery to businesses and other customers. Paul Valade | Staff Photographer

USA - COLORADO: Sedalia-Based FarmBox Foods Sending Container Farms All Over The World

Posted by Chris Michlewicz

May 28, 2021

With increasingly unpredictable weather patterns impacting crops and a continuing global food crisis affecting millions, a Colorado company is using tech-based indoor farming to make sure no one goes without a reliable, secure source of nutrient-rich food.

FarmBox Foods, based in Sedalia, has spent the last four years developing automated farms in shipping containers to grow organic leafy greens, culinary herbs, tomatoes, and now pine tree seedlings. The company also has a first-of-its-kind gourmet mushroom farm that produces around 400 pounds of mushrooms per week.

The mission-driven company is focused on helping feed those living in food deserts while empowering local communities and providing jobs and educational opportunities. FarmBox Foods’ patented vertical hydroponic watering systems use 90% less water than traditional farms and yield the equivalent of 2 – 2.5 acres of farmland. The repurposed shipping containers that house these systems can be placed virtually anywhere in the world — from island nations to college campuses to the frozen reaches of Alaska — and produce food year-round.

The fully controlled enclosed growing environment is protected from pests and pathogens, which reduces and can eliminate entirely the need for pesticides, allowing people to harvest and eat untainted farm-fresh produce. Setting up containers in or near populated areas also reduces food waste, as the food is able to get to the table more quickly and can better retain its nutritional value.

“The real mission in this whole thing is to be able to feed the world in places that ordinarily wouldn’t be able to grow food,” said Rusty Walker, CEO of FarmBox Foods.

FarmBox Foods’ short-term goals include partnering with institutions that help provide the biggest possible impact for the most people, including food banks, schools, and hospitals.

Learn more at www.farmboxfoods.com.

Posted in Arapahoe County, Douglas County, Douglas County Business, Douglas County Front, Featured, Jefferson County, South Jeffco

Tagged agtech, climatecontrolledfarming, Colorado, coloradobusiness, containerag, containerfarms, eatorganic, farmboxfoods, farmboxfoodscolorado, farming, farmtotable, fooddeserts, foodinequality, foodinsecurity, foodsecurity, growyourownfood, indoorfarming, indoorfarms, mushroomcultivation, mushroomfarm, mushrooms, organic, sedalia, urbanfarming, verticalhydroponicfarm, verticalhydroponics

About the Author: Chris Michlewicz

Brick Street Farms Expands Through Florida and East Coast

"We Are As Much A

Technology Company

As We Are A Farm Operator”

“We really wanted to bring food production to the point of consumption, so we’re focused on embedding our farms in urban areas,” says Shannon O’Malley, CEO, and co-founder of Florida-based container farming company, Brick Street Farms.

The company was founded by Shannon and her husband Bradley, who combined her expertise in electrical engineering with his background in software development to design their own shipping container farms.

According to Shannon, a major differentiator of Brick Streets Farms is that the company manufactures and operates its own shipping container farms.

Brick Street Farms Hubs
Brick Street Farms has recently secured a significant investment from Lykes Brothers, which is reportedly one of the largest and longest-running private agricultural companies in the United States. During the official announcement last week, the financial investment will be used to aggressively expand Brick Street Farms hubs, which are the combination of container farms with a retail front in densely populated areas. 

View fullsize

Click here to Zoom the photo. (Photo courtesy of Brick Street Farms)

According to Shannon, this expansion will begin in west-central Florida then expand to the east coast. From these hubs, Brick Street Farms will also introduce home delivery and will support restaurant partners located within 50-100 miles of the hubs. Already in 272 Publix supermarkets, Brick Street Farms will continue this partnership and plans to expand into additional product categories.   

Building a resilient, multi-channel sales strategy
Brick Street Farms was first developed in 2015, and during its early years, the company predominantly sold its products to restaurants and directly to customers. However, the pandemic-induced shutdown in 2020 resulted in the loss of 70% of Brick Street Farms’ clients due to restaurant closures. As Shannon explains, Brick Street Farms was already selling its products in the GreenWise section at Publix supermarkets, which is reportedly the largest employee-owned supermarket chain in the US. This partnership allowed Brick Street Farms to quickly pivot following the mandated closure of restaurants.

“In the same month that Florida went into lockdown, grocery stores saw an incredible jump in demand so we were able to quickly pivot and provide our vegetables to grocery stores within a week. We are currently in 272 Publix stores and are working to expand into west-central Florida,” says Shannon. The state of Florida has since reopened and Brick Street Farms was able to bring back its previous accounts and sign new ones, according to Shannon.

Brick Street Farms also has its own gourmet market located at the farm that is open six days per week. Consumers can shop either on-site or online, with contactless delivery available. Shannon also explains that the company has adopted a unique twist to community-supported agriculture. By subscribing to a farm membership, consumers receive a discount and support the recently approved non-profit, Desert Farms Foundation.

“We established Desert Farms Foundation to help us bring container farms to food deserts within the United States. With a farm membership, 1% of the proceeds go to Desert Farms Foundation to really support community agriculture,” explains Shannon.

Thrive Containers
“Our containers are under the name Thrive Containers, which is wholly owned by Brick Street Farms. Our containers are the equivalent of 2-3 acres of traditional farmland. They use very little water, are energetically efficient, produce very little waste and use no chemicals. Since our products are wash-free, our customers get the benefits of long-lasting produce,” explains Shannon.

According to Shannon, Brick Street Farms is as much an agtech company as it is a farm operator. The company decided to establish Thrive Containers as its own entity within Brick Street Farms in order to differentiate between the food production and manufacturing aspect of the company. “When people see Brick Street Farms, we want them to think of butterhead lettuce, basil and our other vegetables,” notes Shannon. 

Thrive Containers does not sell its container farms to third parties, but instead continuously improves the farm design for current and future installations. As Shannon explains, the company focuses on designing intelligent systems that can adjust to indoor and outdoor environmental conditions. Thrive containers have more than 120 sensors in and around the farm to monitor and respond to ambient temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, vapor pressure deficit, etc.

Brick Street Farms and Thrive Containers work closely, with the engineers and designers having all undergone farmer training to ensure that the systems designed truly respond to the needs of Brick Street Farms’ growers.

View fullsize

Why Florida?
While warm and sunny Florida may seem ideal for outdoor agriculture, Shannon explains that soil conditions make soil-based agriculture somewhat difficult. She says that Florida soils are rather degraded and sandy, lack nutrients and lack natural bacteria, meaning farmers need to spend significant time and effort on rebuilding soils. Also, water sources are highly saline because of our position at level, near the coast, and with a low water table. Finally, the lack of winter makes it difficult to regulate pest cycles.

Lead photo: Co-founders Brad Doyle and Shannon O’Malley

For more information:
Madeline McNaughton, Head of Business Development
Brick Street Farms
madeline@brickstreetfarms.com 
www.brickstreetfarms.com 

Publication date: Thu 27 May 2021
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© VerticalFarmDaily.com

USA: Vertical Field Signs Agreement To Provide Vertical Farms of Fresh Vegetables To Senior Living Homes In California

Company To Deliver Unparalleled Produce Quality Via

Freshly-Harvested On-site Vertical Farms in 8 Calson

Management Nursing Homes Across The State

News & Photos by: Vertical Field

May 26, 2021

RA'AANA, Israel, May 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vertical Field - ("VF" or the "Company"), a global ag-tech company that develops vertical farming systems, has signed an agreement with Calson Management to supply assisted living homes with on-site vertical farming units. According to the agreement, Vertical Field will provide a demo unit to the Glen Cove senior living lodge in Vallejo, California, and after a successful pilot will expand to seven other centers.

Vertical Field has developed and commercialized unique soil-based, vertical farms that operate in 20 and 40-foot containers that produce freshly harvested and pesticide-free produce. The VF indoor farms are capable of growing a variety of fresh greens and other crops year-round with no seasonality barriers while minimizing supply chain logistics and storage, eliminating the need for transportation, and minimizing inventory losses.

Vertical Field's urban farms use 90% less water and 30 times less land than conventional farming methods. Each portable unit is made up recycled shipping containers that grow produce in controlled conditions. Advanced sensors and monitors, climate control technology, and state-of-the-art lighting create the optimum conditions for crops to grow quickly and efficiently year-round, regardless of the weather.

The Company provides vertical farming for supermarkets, restaurants and multi-site facilities in the United States, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Russia, and others.

"We are very excited to launch our first partnership with an assisted living center, providing senior citizens freshly harvested, high-quality produce grown right outside their residence" says Guy Elitzur, Vertical Field's CEO. "This partnership supports our values of ensuring that nutritious produce reaches the homes of all people- no matter where they live. We look forward to continuing to expand to many other assisted living centers, and to making delicious and quality food accessible to senior citizens and other marginalized communities throughout the world."

About Vertical Field: Vertical Field is an ag-tech company that develops innovative and proprietary vertical growing systems for the urban environment. Our urban farms make efficient use of city space by growing crops vertically and on-site, bringing healthy, fresh, and local produce all the way to the consumer.

About Calson Management:

Calson Management provides a full suite of services and solutions for every aspect of a Senior Living project, and is committed to excellence in providing personal services in a warm, loving, and supportive environment. The Reyes family (partners and managers) have been involved in Senior Living for more than 30 years, and is dedicated to creating unique, specialized communities for seniors throughout California. Our family and our team members work to provide safe, engaging, and comfortable communities.

"Enhancing the health and wellbeing of our seniors is a priority at Calson Management, which is why partnering with Vertical Field to supply senior living homes with fresh, nutritious, and on-site produce was a natural decision. By bringing the farm all the way to our residents, seniors can see where the food grows and enjoy high-quality produce, furthering a living home's ability to create a happy, safe, and comfortable community." – Jason Reyes, Principal, Calson Management

For further information https://www.verticalfield.com 

News & Photo Source: Vertical Field

USA - FLORIDA: St. Pete’s Brick Street Farms Gets Multi-Million-Dollar Investment From Lykes Bros

May 20, 2021

By Margie Manning

View fullsize

Photo credit: Brick Street Farms

Lykes Bros., one of the oldest and largest agribusinesses in Florida, is putting a big bet on the future of farming as it invests in Brick Street Farms, an urban farm and market in St. Petersburg.

Lykes is making a “significant” investment in Brick Street Farms, the two companies announced at a news conference Thursday. The amount of investment was not disclosed, but a news release described it as “multi-million dollar” investment. Lykes will take a 20 percent ownership stake in Brick Street Farms because of the deal, Mallory Dimmitt, vice president of strategic partnerships at Lykes, told the St. Pete Catalyst.

Brick Street Farms will use the investment to accelerate the expansion of Brick Street Farms hubs, an all-inclusive onsite farming and retail shopping experience in urban cores, said Shannon O’Malley, founder and CEO. The company has self-contained, environmentally sustainable THRIVE containers that will be placed in each hub. Each hub will grow between 16 to 20 acres of farmland on one-third acre lots.

View fullsize

Mallory Dimmitt, vice president at Lykes Bros., announces investment in Brick Street Farms while Nikki Fried, Florida Ag Commissioner, looks on.

The first new hub will open in St. Petersburg’s Warehouse Arts District in late 2021, with an expansion to Tampa in early 2022 followed by more hubs on the east coast, O’Malley said.

“We are the future of farming, and our new investors have the perfect expertise to help us take our successful business model in sustainable farming to feed more people healthy food,” O’Malley said.

The two companies first connected in November at the Florida-Israel Agriculture Innovation Summit, hosted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said Nikki Fried, Florida Department of Agriculture Commissioner.

The collaboration meets several goals, including feeding people in urban locations, fighting urban food deserts and food insecurity, bringing farm-to-fork produce closer to people and bringing cutting edge agriculture technology to everyone.

View fullsize

From left, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman and Shannon O’Malley, founder and CEO, Brick Street Farms

Brick Street Farms is a hub of innovation and creativity and is the only female-founded and led company in the vertical farming industry, said St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman. He also highlighted the work of the company’s non-profit Desert Farms Foundation.

“Not only is Brick Street Farms working to make us healthier by providing us some of the best and freshest food around, but through its 501c3, Brick Street Farms is working to end food deserts through the Tampa Bay area,” Kriseman said.

Every urban environment struggles with food deserts, said Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.

“The problems that occur from those food deserts are often times for many communities insurmountable. This is a solution to so many problems,” Castor said.

She also praised the company’s business model. It is financially successful by providing produce to a number of restaurants, Castor said.

While an urban focus might seem like an unusual fit for company like Lykes, which owns hundreds of thousands of rural acres throughout the state, “We know from our experience that innovation is what moves the agriculture industry forward,” said Dimmitt, who will join the Brick Street Farms board of directors.

“In addition to innovations in sustainable production and the technology it uses, the job opportunities and related job training and skills are key to Florida’s future and to our health and wellness,” Dimmitt said. “What could be better medicine than high-quality nutrient-dense greens grown close to the consumer where they have direct access, all while creating community.”

Brick Street Farms, at 2233 3rd Ave. S. was founded in 2016 by O’Malley and her husband, Brad Doyle. Read more about O’Malley in St. Pete Catalyst‘s Hustle profile.

Indoor Vertical Farming Grows Up

Bryan Walsh, author of Future

Indoor vertical farming, where crops are raised in automated stacks, often in or near cities, offers a way to sustainably meet the growing demand for food — if its energy demand can be reduced.

Why it matters: With the global population still rising — albeit more slowly — and more people moving to urban areas, the world needs ways to produce more food without clearing land for conventional farms.

Driving the news: New York-based vertical farming startup Bowery Farming on Tuesday announced a new $300 million funding round — the largest in the industry's history — that values the company at $2.3 billion.

• The deal accelerates the momentum in venture capital funding for vertical farming companies, which hit nearly $1.9 billion globally in 2020, almost tripling investment from the year before.

• "We're going to need 50–70% more food over the next 30 years, according to the UN," says Irving Fain, the CEO, and founder of Bowery Farming, which has two commercial vertical farms in New Jersey and Maryland and sells its leafy greens to 850 grocery stores. "Indoor farming is not the only answer to that challenge, but it's part of the solution."

How it works: Food has been grown indoors in greenhouses for decades, and it's industrialized to the point that the Netherlands has become the second-largest vegetable exporter in the world chiefly through greenhouses.

• Vertical farming takes greenhouses to the next level —literally — with crops grown in tower-like walls of plant-holding cells that require no soil. Like an apartment tower versus a suburban tract, that means more food can be grown on a smaller footprint, which is ideal for cities.

• Water and nutrients are delivered to crops either aeroponically — via the air through misting — or hydroponically, in which the plants are grown in nutrient-rich water. "You get high density and high output, while using 90% less water" than conventional farming, says Micki Seibel, VP of product at the vertical farming startup Unfold.

• Growing light is delivered via LED lamps. While more expensive than sunlight — which currently remains free — the LED lamps aren't weather-dependent, and like water, nutrients and temperature in the vertical farms, the light can be controlled precisely, vastly enhancing yield and reducing grow times.

• Because vertical farming uses so little space, "we can move the farm to the people rather than the food," says James Woolard, chief marketing officer at Freight Farms, which develops mobile hydroponic freight containers modified for indoor farming.

By the numbers: There are more than 2,000 vertical farms in the U.S. Most are run by small growers with a few bigger players, including Bowery Farming, Newark-based AeroFarms, and Wyoming-based Plenty.

• Internationally, says Seibel, "Japan has looked at vertical farming as a way to increase food security and reclaim production lost during the tsunami, while Singapore — which imports 90% of its food — is making significant investments in the sector to increase its own food security."

• A recent report pegs the size of the vertical farming market at $240 million in 2019 and projects it will grow to over $1 billion by 2027.

The catch: Even with that growth, vertical farming will likely still remain a niche player — the output of U.S. farms alone was worth $136 billion in 2019.

• In part because of the price of supplying artificial light, vertical farms have struggled to break even in the past, and they chiefly produce comparatively priced leafy greens rather than the commodity crops that make up the backbone of the food system.

What's next: Second-generation vertical farms are taking advantage of efficiency advances in LED technology, as well as automation and sensors that can reduce labor and setup costs and enhance yield.

• The ability of vertical farms to maintain the ideal environment for high-quality crops like tomatoes or lettuce anywhere in the world at any time of the year is turning agriculture into a high-tech industry.

• "All the externalities that have been uncontrollable [in farming] historically are now very much controllable," says Bowery's Fain.

What to watch: The development of AeroFarms's 136,000-square-foot Model 5 facility in Virginia, which is set to be the largest and most technologically advanced vertical aeroponic farm when it is scheduled to be completed in mid-2022.

The bottom line: Agriculture made cities possible. Now vertical farming holds out the possibility that cities could become farms themselves

Lead Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

Purpose At Work: How Square Roots Is Growing A Sustainable Food Movement

May 24, 2021

Simon Mainwaring Contributor

CMO Network

I write about how to drive growth for purpose-driven brands.

Purpose At Work: How Square Roots Is Growing A Sustainable Food Movement

PHOTO PROVIDED BY SQUARE ROOTS

How can we reduce the climate impacts of our food system? How can we get the freshest produce to people in urban areas? How can we offer fulfilling jobs to today’s youth? These are all issues that Square Roots is working to address. 

“The mission of the company is to bring locally grown food to people in cities, all across the world while empowering the next generation of leaders in urban agriculture,” Tobias Peggs, Co-founder, and CEO of Square Roots, tells We First.

The agriculture startup’s modular and technology-first design is transforming how food is grown and distributed in amazing ways. The scalability and data-driven approach make Square Roots an excellent example of a company demonstrating how to scale business growth and impact.

Founding story

Before Square Roots, Tobias received a Ph.D. in machine learning and had worked for a number of successful startups, one of which was acquired by Walmart. “I worked as a data scientist there for a year. One of the projects they had me do was study global grocery buying behaviors.”  With around 300 million customers, Tobias had a massive amount of data to pull insights from.

“That's a lot of bananas flying all over the world,” he says. “You begin to think about the impact of transportation on the planet. “As food is traveling, nutrients are breaking down and maybe the quality of food isn't as good at the end of long supply chains as it would be for local food. Customers don't have any idea of where that food comes from. The sense of community around food was just lost.”

MORE FOR YOU

Vertical Indoor Farms Make Sense

The insights Peggs was having lit a spark in his entrepreneurial engine. “People want food from all over the world. That's not going to change,” he says. “Instead of shipping food, how about we ship environmental data from one part of the world to the other?”  By collecting data on the best growing conditions, Tobias could hypothetically grow anything at any time of year in a controlled indoor environment made from repurposed shipping containers and deliver that to a nearby retail store on the day it’s picked. “It looks and smells amazing, which also means all the nutrients are intact,” he says. “That was the idea behind Square Roots.”

Peggs cofounded the company with Kimbal Musk, “He would say, ‘Can it feed the world? And are we going to make a massive positive impact? If so, let's figure out how to get this done,’” Peggs recalls. The two innovators began by working together in a WeWork office. “With the experience of being involved in a number of startup companies before—some successful, some failure—I know for sure that if you don't get started, you're going to fail.”   

In the two-man brainstorming sessions, Peggs and Musk would visualize the business at scale. “We saw these modular farms in every city across the world. That is the way that we're able to think about feeding every consumer on the planet with locally-grown food,” Peggs says. “There was a missing piece of the puzzle. There wouldn't be enough farmers to hire to staff all of those farms.” That realization was the foundation of the second pillar of Square Roots’ purpose, “To provide pathways for young people to come into the farming industry and become the future leaders,” he shares. 

Leading with purpose

Purpose At Work: How Square Roots Is Growing A Sustainable Food Movement

PHOTO PROVIDED BY SQUARE ROOTS

Square Roots’ core business was structured to address some of the world’s biggest challenges. Food is interconnected with climate, which also poses risks on outdoor crops. It is also fundamental to public health and prosperity. As the global population rises, our planet’s carrying capacity will be tested. We need to innovate to meet that rising global demand for food. 

The model relies on able-bodied young people to tend to the crops. The talent pool of skilled farmers in the U.S. is aging. The average farmer is 58 years old. “Who the hell is going to grow all the food when our current farmers retire in five or 10 years’ time? ” Tobias proposes. “We had to figure out a way to bring young people into the industry and train them quickly so they could be not just productive farmers, but feel infused about a career in a completely new industry.”

To overcome the hurdle, the founders developed hardware, software and teaching methods. “We had an investment banker who was bored sitting behind a spreadsheet all day. He quit his job to join Square Roots because he wanted to make an impact on the world. He was growing the most delicious kale, you've ever tasted in your life,” Peggs says. “That was six months after making the transition, it was magic to see that.” Within a year they trained 10 people, many with no previous farming experience.

In addition to creating purpose-driven employment opportunities, Square Roots is addressing climate through transportation and waste. “Forty percent of food from industrial systems is wasted. We waste around 3%,” Tobias says. A significant portion of wasted food is discarded before it even hits the shelf, due to damages during shipping or spoiling quickly.  “Because we're indoor, there's a lot of precision, a lot of control. We can grow food for demand.”

Modular design

Square Roots’ structure allows it to be replicated and optimized from a systems approach. It's a distributed model.  “We deploy clusters of these modular farms together so there's some operational scale and the business economics work,” Peggs explains. “Each farm serves its local market and runs its own independent business entity, set on top of a standard technology platform.” Every compound grows, harvests packages and delivers produce to local retailers. “We look after everything from seed to shelf.” 

The growing startup has set up operations in Brooklyn, New York, and Grand Rapids, Michigan with plans for expansion across the Midwest, the North East in cities around the world where demand is large enough. People can see inside the shipping containers and when Covid-19 is under control, you can schedule a farm tour.  “While its a very scalable platform, the consumer experience is a hyper-local one.”

Leveraging data & technology

When it comes to deciding what to grow, Square Roots focuses on crops that require the least amount of energy. “Walk into a supermarket. Lineup every single fruit and vegetable from the lightest to the heaviest. And that's essentially our product roadmap for the next 20 years,” Peggs says. 

They also choose crops based on economic yields based on competitive market prices. “This is where data science and technology marry,” Tobias says. “Outdoor farmers can’t suddenly look at the sun, make it twice as efficient and reduce costs or double their yield. Indoor farmers can.”

Integration of AI machine learning empowers Square Roots to optimize at scale. “We're building a network of cloud-connected modular farms,” Tobias says. The company monitors and collects data from each of those farms every second. “We’re looking at temperature, humidity, nutrients, yield, taste and texture,” Peggs says. “ If in one particular box, a farmer did something or we changed an environmental parameter that increased yield or improves efficiency, we can spot that information from the data and push that new instruction out across the whole network. The whole network is learning how to farm better as we go about building the business.”

Building community

Food has the potential to unite people.  While Square Roots farms are indoors, they connect and share knowledge with outdoor farmers. “ I'll give you an example,” Tobias says. “A good technique in organic farming is known as integrated pest management, where a farmer might release beneficial insects onto the crop, essentially ridding the nasty insects that we don't want. We use that technique inside the farm.”

“The farmers that we work with are very much on the same mission, which is how do we get people more connected with where their food comes from? How do we build that sense of community around food? And I think the common enemy is the industrial food system,” Peggs says. That common enemy also resonates with employees, consumers and other key stakeholders who join together around a set of core values.

“I know pretty much every founder or CEO of every indoor farming company. There's remarkable alignment around that mission,”  Tobias says. “Everybody understands that we've got to change the food system and if we're helping each other out, it's better for all of us,” Tobias mentions companies like Gotham Greens and Oishii that are also innovating in the indoor farming space.

Purpose also informs Square Roots’ investor strategy. “We’re a venture-backed company. When we're talking with investors, we want to make sure that they're mission aligned. I can’t tell you how many investors have talked to me about considering cannabis. It’s not aligned with our mission.” A lot of people don't realize that the power of purpose is just as compelling in terms of what you don't do, as opposed to what you do.

The takeaway here is that building your community around shared purpose fosters goodwill amongst team members and customers. It also presents collaborative opportunities with other brands and organizations working towards the same goal.

Challenges and opportunities

With the opaque information in the industrial food system and increased health consciousness, consumers are looking for transparency.  In addition to its open invitation to check out the farms, the company includes a QR code on each product. You can scan the code and learn all about where it's made and the value chain.

View fullsize

Purpose At Work: How Square Roots Is Growing A Sustainable Food Movement

PHOTO PROVIDED BY SQUARE ROOTS

Covid-19 has also presented challenges for businesses across sectors and Square Roots is no exception. Before the pandemic, they trained new hires to be farmers in classrooms. “If we didn't have our mission, it would have been easy to say, ‘We got to keep growing, forget this farmer training stuff. We're just going to go hire experienced people.’ Or we could have developed a robot to do part of the job of a farmer,” Tobias says.

“The mission allowed us to focus on solving issues with our current business model,” he continues. “It was already misaligned. Everyone was able to get behind it very quickly. And we were actually able to solve problems and put in place new programs and new policies ridiculously quickly. Never waste a good crisis.”

Despite adversity, the startup has started true to its mission and transitioned to digital and socially distanced training, and built a more robust system than before.

The future of food

Technology and data are a critical aspect of emerging agriculture trends. “Food is a $12 trillion industry,” Peggs states. “There's about 20 companies that have raised a bunch of money and are doing this stuff in America.” 

“Indoor farming actually reminds me of the internet in the early '90s,” he says. “We know this thing is inevitable, but no one can quite yet tell you what shape it's going to take in the future. Indoor farming is like that. We're all helping each other figure out how this eventually feeds every consumer in the world.”

While innovation is budding, “The food system has to become a lot more responsible and sustainable,” Peggs says. “The current food system cannot feed the new future world, which has 10 billion people, 70% living in urban areas that are not near these industrial farms.” 

We’ve seen changes over the last two decades with the organic food movement, which now grosses $25 to $30 billion annually, Tobias says.  He thinks that Covid-19 will accelerate the shift towards healthy and sustainable food. “People were forced to stay at home and cook. You get more curious about the food that you're buying, and you observe how long it lasts in your refrigerator. You get more educated,” Tobias says. “We are in the first inning of indoor farming. We're just getting started.”

Lessons for entrepreneurs

With his experience from Square Roots and beyond, Tobias Peggs’ insights offer valuable lessons for entrepreneurs looking to Lead With We. Here are three teachings from Peggs on how to build a successful startup.

1. “Be prepared to be told, "No, we're not interested."

2. “You have to be a bit of a missionary and sign up for having a lot of stamina. Just be consistent with the drumbeat that this idea—no matter how crazy it might seem—you can do it.”

3. “There are going to be bumps in the road, there are going to be things that don't go quite right. If there's a shared purpose articulation of what the mission is, you move through those things and you make it happen. Purpose is a very powerful multiplier.”

Simon Mainwaring

Simon Mainwaring is the founder and CEO of We First, a strategic consultancy that accelerates growth and impact for purpose-driven brands by putting 'We' first. I specialize in brand strategy, culture building and impact storytelling for startups, high-growth companies, and Fortune 500 corporations. My national podcast is LeadWithWe.com on Spotify, Google and Apple. My book, We First: How brands and consumers use social media to build a better world is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon bestseller, and strategy+business named it the Best Business Marketing Book of the Year. I deliver keynotes, training, and workshops that help brands define, integrate and activate their purpose to drive growth and scale impact.

Visit SimonMainwaring.com for speaking and WeFirstBranding.com for consulting

A Lot of Promise’: Vertical Farming Takes Root In Virginia

By Sarah Vogelsong

May 24, 2021

Imagine a field of lettuce. 

Say the lettuces are all buttercrunch, and they dot the field like crisp rosettes. Each has been seeded by a farmer, kept free of pests, watered for weeks, and finally cut at the base before being rinsed and packed for transport. Each is destined for a different meal: a lazy evening salad on the porch, an artfully arranged plate at a restaurant two-top, the vegetarian alternative at grandma’s 80th. 

Now imagine six of these fields, all stacked on top of one another. 

The idea isn’t far-fetched. In fact, it’s already a reality in Virginia, where a new, more technologically oriented form of agriculture known as vertical farming is quietly taking root. 

“There’s a lot of promise,” said Tony Banks, senior assistant director of agriculture, development, and innovation for the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. “As we continue to watch urban encroachment and we have this demand to have food produced closer to where people actually live, we’re going to see more and more of it.” 

Since its inception at the turn of the millennium, vertical farming — which in its simplest form is any system where plants are grown in vertical stacks — has promised to revolutionize yields by allowing producers to multiply their crop outputs by six to eight or even more times without expanding their footprint.  

“You’re trying to use an area more intensively. Because you’re limited by horizontal space, you want to maximize vertical space,” said Leonard Githinji, a professor of sustainable and urban agriculture at Virginia State University who also works with Virginia Cooperative Extension. 

The concept is flexible and scalable. The stacks can be small, nothing more than a narrow shelf installed at a restaurant or in a convenience store to grow produce within a customer’s reach. Or they can fill a warehouse, bringing an industrial dimension to agriculture. 

“There’s a wide range. On one end, it’s almost you have a greenhouse that’s highly automated,” said Banks. “On the other end, you could be in a warehouse and everything is grown on huge assemblies of racks and you have complete artificial lighting and hydroponics.” 

The latter type of vertical farming is “high-tech manufacturing, essentially,” said Scott Lowman, director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, where scientists and other experts are exploring the promise of various types of indoor agriculture can hold for Virginia. 

Hopes are high, particularly in the historic tobacco region of Southside, where state officials have been working for several decades to encourage farmers who once depended on the golden leaf to diversify their enterprises. It’s no accident that the Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center was sited in a region with a rich agricultural history and an abundance of old warehouses once devoted to tobacco and now empty. 

Nor was it an accident that in 2019, Gov. Ralph Northam’s office announced that vertical farming company AeroFarms had decided to build a $42 million facility in an industrial park jointly operated by Danville and Pittsylvania County. Virginia aggressively courted the project with some $1.5 million in state grant funds and incentives. In exchange, AeroFarms promised to build the facility, employ 92 people and purchase roughly $20 million of Virginia agricultural or forest products. 

But while AeroFarms’ Virginia location will be the largest vertical farm in the state once built, it won’t be the only one. Over the past few years, other operations have quietly been putting down roots. Shenandoah Farms in Rockingham operates a large-scale facility that grows herbs and lettuces. In Lorton, Beanstalk grows a range of greens. Fresh Impact Farms in Arlington, which grows herbs, greens, and edible flowers, announced an expansion this spring in conjunction with the governor’s office. Babylon Micro-Farms in Richmond is developing sophisticated technology to spread small-scale vertical farms around the country. Other efforts are underway.   

“We’re in a great position on the East Coast in terms of population centers,” said Lowman. “And it’s a friendly environment for business, and we have a legacy of hard-working labor.” 

Controlled environment agriculture

While vertical farming is relatively new, its lineage is much longer, nesting within the family tree of controlled environment agriculture, which encompasses any type of production that takes place within a structure. 

From Roman orangeries to modern-day greenhouses, controlled environment agriculture offers the advantage embedded in its first descriptor: control. 

Outdoors, farmers are at the whim of the weather, plagued by pests and disease, and caught in a never-ending struggle to keep water and fertilizer confined to their fields. 

Indoors, the equation changes. Because of the precision-engineered systems, controlled environment agriculture tends to require less water, less fertilizer, and few or no pesticides compared to conventional agriculture. And, depending on a particular system’s design, it can allow producers to grow crops 24/7, 365 days a year. AeroFarms has said that its technology allows it to produce leafy greens “at a rate 390 times more productive than field-grown plants.” 

View fullsize

A vertical micro-farm known as a cropbox. (Virginia State University)

 “I can now schedule my crops,” said Michael Evans, director of Virginia Tech’s School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. “I can basically optimize the environment for that crop.” 

There are, of course, drawbacks. Everything nature once provided to a plant must now be provided by a human — or a machine. 

“With a greenhouse, you’re taking advantage of natural sunlight. You’re not paying for that,” said Evans. “But you’re paying quite a bit for heating and cooling. When you flip to an indoor vertical system, the disadvantage is that now you have to supply the light.” Other costs diminish at the same time: without the translucent walls of a greenhouse, “your heating and cooling can go down because it’s better insulated.” 

For years, prohibitively high energy costs boxed out vertical farming as a viable option for producers working in controlled environment agriculture. What would change the playing field was a technological innovation: the high-powered and highly efficient LED.

“The thing that really changed that made indoor vertical farming work and become an economic possibility was really the development of LED lighting, because that changes the energy equation a lot,” said Evans. “It makes providing the light the crops need much economically viable.” 

A new generation of farmers

Despite its promise, vertical farming won’t replace conventional agriculture, experts say. Many of Virginia’s biggest commodity crops — soybeans, corn, hay — are grown at such a large scale that trying to transport them indoors would be an exercise in absurdity. 

Where controlled environment agriculture has found a growing niche is in the produce most familiar to the average Virginian: lettuces, herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, herbs, microgreens, and more. Experiments in growing strawberries indoors are also underway, and Evans pointed out that once legalized, marijuana may not be far behind, although the federal government’s continued classification of the plant as illegal will keep institutions like Virginia Tech from working with it. 

For consumers of these products, the idea of local food grown only a short distance away is increasingly appealing. That can be an argument in favor of controlled environment agriculture and vertical farming, said Banks. 

“When we import food into this country, what we import is fruits and vegetables that require a lot of hand labor,” he said. “So there’s opportunity there to offset some of those imports and reduce our reliance on food produced overseas.” 

Both Banks and Evans also noted an unusual aspect of vertical farming: its allure for younger and often more urban Virginians. 

“It’s getting a whole new generation of folks interested in agriculture. It’s a different type of agriculture, but it’s getting a lot of students,” said Evans. At Virginia Tech’s School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, he added, “we have to change our curriculum for what we’re teaching to prepare students interested in controlled environment agriculture.” 

For a younger generation increasingly concerned with social and political justice, the opportunity offered by controlled environment agriculture and vertical farming to fill food deserts and involve local workers in local food systems is an attractive prospect. Many students are eager to look beyond the existing agricultural structures, said Githinji, who recently received a $600,000 grant from the U.S. National Institute of Food and Agriculture to explore the use of “micro-farms,” which incorporate vertical farming systems, as a way to address food deserts in urban neighborhoods. 

It’s not unusual for extension agents to get calls in which people are saying, “‘As much as I want to grow more food, I can’t afford to buy even another quarter acre,” he said. “So you get people asking what they can do with what they have.” 

The other draw is the technology. While vertical farming can be small- or large-scale, its larger applications rely on evolving and increasingly sophisticated technology that has piqued interest among the startup community. 

“This is a really exciting industry that’s rapidly entering the mainstream,” said Alexander Olesen, CEO, and co-founder of Babylon Micro-Farms, a Richmond-based startup that develops indoor growing systems for institutional food service settings, such as hospitals, schools, and universities. Babylon, which in 2020 was the recipient of a $75,000 grant from the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund that aims to support small businesses in emerging research and technology sectors, builds small-scale vertical farms “as a sustainable amenity for these locations.” 

The field’s growing popularity is also driving a need for more workers, more expertise, and more training, said many of the people interviewed for this story. The Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center in Danville, itself a recipient of $365,000 in state grant funds in 2020, is key to that effort. So too are plans announced by the governor’s office last month that will see hydroponic greenhouse startup Sunny Farms build a 1.2 million square foot greenhouse in Virginia Beach — one of the largest on the East Coast — and work with Virginia Tech and the Virginia community college system to develop educational training in controlled environment agriculture. 

“Our goal is really to support the controlled environment agriculture industry in Virginia, but we’re also working on creating an innovative controlled environment agriculture ecosystem in Virginia,” said Evans. 

These enterprises may be only the beginning. 

“Once people see that it’s working, we’re going to see them flourishing all across the commonwealth,” said Githinji. 

Lead photo: Controlled digital lights help produce high-density feed grass in a Grov Olympus vertical farming machine in Utah. The Olympus Tower Farm uses a controlled environment to grow sprouted wheat and barley grass in 857 square feet of space and uses 95 percent less water to produce 5,000 to 6,000 pounds of grass per day, replacing 35-50 acres of land. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

Sarah Vogelsong

Sarah covers environment and energy for the Mercury. Originally from McLean, she has spent over a decade in journalism and academic publishing. Most recently she covered environmental issues in Central Virginia for Chesapeake Bay Journal, and she has also written for the Progress-Index, the Caroline Progress, and multiple regional publications. In 2017, she was honored as one of Gatehouse’s Feature Writers of the Year, and she has been the recipient of numerous awards from the Virginia Press Association. She is a graduate of the College of William & Mary. Contact her at svogelsong@virginiamercury.com

CubicFarm Systems Corp. Appoints Technology Industry Executive Janet Wood to the Company’s Board of Directors

VANCOUVER, B.C., May 14, 2021 – CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (TSXV:CUB) (“CubicFarms” or the “Company”), a local chain agricultural technology company, announced today that Janet Wood has been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors.

Janet Wood is recognized globally as a leader in the technology sector and as a successful executive who retired from a rewarding career with several major technology companies including IBM, Crystal Decisions, Business Objects, and SAP. Her success in building global channel partnerships and alliances with leading technology companies will bring invaluable insight to CubicFarms’ Board of Directors.

“It’s clear that the automated indoor growing technologies developed by CubicFarms will empower farmers to grow produce and livestock feed locally, directly addressing critical food security issues,” said Wood. “CubicFarms’ unique patented technologies use less land, less water, and no pesticides or herbicides, using our natural resources respectfully and sustainably.”

“We’re thrilled to welcome Janet Wood, a strong Canadian technology leader, to our Board of Directors. Janet is a trailblazer in the tech industry and an influential leader within every organization fortunate enough to benefit from her vision and expertise,” said Jeff Booth, Chair, CubicFarms. “Her significant experience with large software and technology companies will help CubicFarms continue to grow, innovate, and expand internationally.”

“Janet has been instrumental in contributing to the impressive growth of several large multi-national tech giants like SAP, and her experience will be critical as we enter into the high-growth phase of our business in 2021 and beyond,” said Dave Dinesen, CEO, CubicFarms. “Janet is a proven leader and the exact type of person we need to guide our company as we scale our business globally.”

After joining SAP in 2008, Wood's executive roles included Global Human Resources leader for the Office of the CEO, Global Head of Talent and Leadership, Executive Vice President (EVP) of Global Strategic Partners, and EVP of Global Maintenance Go To Market. At Business Objects, she worked as Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships. Wood also served as Vice President of Business Development at Crystal Decisions and held various management positions during her 16-year tenure at IBM. Wood holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Alberta, graduating with distinction.

Wood has been recognized with a YWCA Women of Distinction Award and is a past recipient of the Canadian Women's Executive Network Top 100 Women Award.

An active member of the technology community and known for her leadership skills, Wood served for a year as the interim President and CEO of Science World shortly after retiring from SAP in 2019. Science World is a world-class science centre in Vancouver, B.C., that typically welcomes

over 800,000 visitors annually and connects with an additional 140,000 students throughout B.C. to advance STEAM learning for science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics.

Wood is active in her community as a partner in B.C. Social Venture Partners, a not-for-profit organization that supports children and families at risk. She is a Board member of ICBC, Pureweb Technologies, and Junior Achievement of B.C. She sits on the University of Alberta Business School Advisory Committee and is the Canadian Regional Member Engagement Officer for Young Presidents Organization – Gold.

Wood will replace John de Jonge, a founding member of the Company’s Board of Directors. He will continue providing guidance in a different capacity by joining the Company’s newly-formed HydroGreen Business Advisory Board.

“We would like to thank John for his many years of service and contributions to the Board of Directors,” said Dinesen. “The HydroGreen Business Advisory Board will benefit from his significant agriculture and dairy experience with Artex and his commitment to our automated indoor growing technologies for farmers and ranchers to produce fresh, nutritious green livestock feed for their animals.”

About CubicFarms

CubicFarms is a local chain, agricultural technology company developing and deploying technology to feed a changing world. Its proprietary ag-tech solutions enable growers to produce high quality, predictable produce and fresh livestock feed with HydroGreen Nutrition Technology, a division of CubicFarm Systems Corp. The CubicFarmsTM system contains patented technology for growing leafy greens and other crops onsite, indoors, all year round. CubicFarms provides an efficient, localized food supply solution that benefits our people, planet, and economy.

For more information, please visit www.cubicfarms.com

. On behalf of the Board of Directors
“Dave Dinesen”
Dave Dinesen, Chief Executive Officer

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements in this release may constitute “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may vary materially from those statements. General business conditions are factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from forward-looking statements.

Media Contact:

Andrea Magee
T: 236.885.7608
E: andrea.magee@cubicfarms.com

Investor Contact:

Tom Liston
T: 416.721.9531
E: tom.liston@cubicfarms.com

Squamish Nation Grows Plans For Food Security With A Hydroponic Farm

While The Outside of This 40-Foot Container Is Rather Striking,

It’s What’s On The Inside That Counts. 🌱

May 19, 2021

By: Elisia Seeber

A big bright orange container has just landed in the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) community of X̱wemelch'stn in North Vancouver.

While the outside of the 40-foot container is rather striking, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

The container is a Growcer hydroponic modular farm that will support the community's wellness by allowing them to grow a year-round supply of fresh produce, including leafy greens, herbs and traditional medicinal plants.

Creating a sustainable healthy source of produce and increasing food sovereignty has long been a goal for the Squamish Nation, and the hydroponic farm is another piece of the puzzle, said Kelley McReynolds, director of Squamish Nation’s Ayás Méńmen Child and Family Services.

“Part of the reason that we started to look at ways that we could [provide food] was working from our values as Squamish people and our values around food sharing,” she said.

“Traditionally, we as a community, and as families, would go out and hunt and we would gather out on the lands and the waters and we’d bring it back to our community and people would only take what they need, and the rest of it would be shared.”

Through the launch of a food distribution program about four years ago, McReynolds said the team began breaking down the stigmas and fears around food insecurity and shifting back to their traditional ways, to ensure everyone in the community felt comfortable receiving food.

“We didn't want to look at the food as being a form of charity, or only for those who don’t have food,” she said.

Hydroponic farm idea sprouts 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, McReynolds said food security worries increased for some members and the team started thinking further outside of the box about how they could address future food scarcity. 

That’s when the idea for the hydroponic farm sprouted.

Squamish Nation has looked at more traditional styles of farming, and also has 19 garden boxes set up outside of their office where they grow fruit and vegetables and a traditional medicine garden.

“We plant every year and we harvest that to give to community,” McReynolds said. “We do a lot of training with our youth and our families to help them understand the plants, gardening and harvesting."

She said a thought they always had was, “think what we could do if we had farmland, we could feed so many more people.”

“But, you know, we live in a city and you don't have access to that kind of open space,” McReynolds said.

“So, when we looked at this option of the hydroponic farm and saw that it's the size of a shipping container, we thought, ‘that's pretty cool.’ It comes with all the equipment you need inside there. And, you can get it set up and within five to six weeks you are ready to make your first harvest and it yields approximately 450 heads of produce per week. That's a lot.

“We thought, ‘wow, that's amazing.’”

View fullsize

To View The Video, Please Click Here

 The founders of the ingenious technology and social enterprise came up with the idea based on their firsthand experience of food insecurity in Nunavut in 2015 and wanted to create a system that allowed communities to grow fresh produce anytime, anywhere, in any climate.

The growing technology was first deployed in food insecure, remote communities, but has since expanded to partner with schools, non-profits, and non-remote communities who see value in growing food locally – like Squamish Nation.

The electronically run hydroponic farms cost around $180,000 to set up and will produce fresh food for around 30 years, according to Growcer.

How does the modular hydroponic farm work?

Hydroponics is a soil-free growing method that uses nutrient-rich water to grow plants using less space, time, and crop inputs.

“The modular farms are automated to provide full environmental control,” Growcer’s website states, adding that plant growth factors such as light, nutrients, temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, and water are monitored in real-time.

Once set up, a range of 140 leafy green plants can be grown in as little as six weeks.

“It's all brand new to us,” McReynolds said, adding that Growcer would be training staff this week and continue to provide support through their hydroponic farming journey.

“We’re all really excited.”

Squamish Nation to open Food Pantry and Community Kitchen

Produce from the new farm will be shared with families serviced by Ayás Méńmen, the youth centre and the future Smeḵw'ú7ts (Food Sharing) Community Kitchen and S7ílhen (Food) Pantry, which is hoped to be up and running by the summertime.

“We will continue to do monthly food distribution, but we will also have food on our shelves and in the freezers for any of our members who are in need … whatever the situation may be,” McReynolds said.

The hope for the community kitchen is to build a healthy community by providing a safe place for members to learn and improve their food preparation and cooking skills through workshops, which may start on Zoom during the pandemic. Ayás Méńmen also plans to host a six-week program for community members to meet once a week to cook and take a meal home for their families.

“I think what excites me about that is we are such relational people,” McReynolds said. “To be able to come together and learn and share and grow and laugh and tell stories, that's so healthy and therapeutic and it brings joy to your heart just being able to be together.”

While there’s still a bit of work to be done before the hydroponic farm starts producing the goods, McReynolds has more big plans.

“I have this vision of us being able to do a Friday night or Saturday afternoon market where we can have the fresh produce, we can have music, we can maybe have food trucks and we can gather together,” she said.

“I just think it's just a great opportunity for us to celebrate who we are as farmers and come together as a community.”

Elisia Seeber is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.

Modular Hydroponic Growing Spaces In Freight Containers For Local Food Production

May 17, 2021

Art Petrosemolo

Southeastern Pennsylvania Correspondent

A Massachusetts company has developed a unique, hydroponic growing environment in closed 40-foot freight containers that are being used world-wide to grow produce in areas with bad soil or weather conditions not conducive to outdoor growing.

Bay State natives Jon Friedman and Brad McNamara were developing rooftop greenhouses in the early 2000s when they realized a modular, hydroponic container might be a more viable solution.

Hydroponics wasn’t something new. Historians believe this soilless gardening can be traced back to hanging gardens of Babylon in Iraq built by King Nebuchadnezzar about 600 BC. Nutrient-rich water was pumped to the gardens from the Euphrates river to sustain its plants. A water-based growing thread continued through history and in the 1930s a University of California scientist, William Gericke, coined the term from the Greek word “hydro” (water) and “ponics” (work).

Friedman and McNamara, who were building outdoor, roof-based gardens on older residential buildings, looked outside the box, and turned their focus to widely available shipping containers.

They thought they could provide the equivalent of 2 acres of growing space in traditional 40-foot-by-8-foot containers and extend growing seasons year-round everywhere — especially in areas that couldn’t support traditional outdoor agriculture or in parts of the world affected most by climate change.

They named their company Freight Farms and placed their first container less than a decade ago. Now the concept is catching on worldwide.

View Photos From Freight Farms

Freight Farms’ design was the first containerized vertical growing environment using hydroponic technology. It was initially funded by a Kickstarter campaign in 2012, where they raised the funds to build a prototype to allow local food production to be available to everyone, anywhere.

The first commercial unit was installed at Boston Latin School, the oldest public school in the U.S., to produce fresh produce for the school cafeteria as well as serving as a teaching classroom for high school students.

“The company has placed 350 units in 48 states and 32 foreign countries,” Friedman said.

The company also introduced proprietary software called “farmhand” to help automate many farm processes, and is manufacturing its 10th generation container, the Greenery S, incorporating the latest technology and automation for vertical, hydroponics growing.

Growing Strong

SOUTHERN REGION

Hydroponic Operation Supplies High-End Restaurants

• Art Petrosemolo, Southeastern Pennsylvania Correspondent

Although the Freight Farms container units are capable of growing a variety of produce, leafy greens are its specialty and the best choice for farmers looking to sell their harvests year-round.

Containers also have been embraced by educational institutions to supply fresh vegetables for cafeterias and serve as learning and teaching space.

St. Joseph College in Standish, Maine, has been operating a Freight Farms unit for years to both supply fresh vegetables to its dining facilities as well as for student employment.

The site also has been a tool for community involvement with St. Joseph students working with a town Institute for Local Food System Innovation utilizing the Freight Farms container in partnership with a large hydroponic farm and commercial processing kitchen for events and agritourism.

With a decade head start in the business, Freight Farms does not have major competition in hydroponics container gardening production, although, in recent years, it has seen significant growth in multiple indoor soil- and water-based farming formats including warehouses, greenhouses and pods that are addressing growing produce year-round.

Climate change has increased concern about food production for growing populations worldwide with extreme weather conditions and higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Friedman and McNamara have always been aware that the challenge to expansion for stand-alone, container gardening is the cost of power and each new rendition of their growing units has addressed both power consumption and automation to be more efficient.

Their latest Greenery S model uses growing lights that are 50% more efficient than previous models and the technology allows farmers to choose pre-set growing modes to maintain higher yields — 20% higher than earlier models — while prioritizing energy use.

Addressing affordable and clean power for customers, Freight Farms recently partnered with Arcadia, a Washington, D.C., energy company to offer affordable, renewable power options for customers.

Going forward, Friedman said growing container units will continue to become more efficient, allowing owners to increase their growing yield while having more control of their energy use to power the unit.

Slide Show Photos:

Lights and plant arrangements in Freight Farms new Greenery S model container.

• Photo provided by Freight Farms

Leafy greens grow in Freight Farms’ own Greenery Farm container.

• Photo provided by Freight Farms

This Freight Farms container is ready for shipment.

• Photo provided by Freight Farms

Freight Farms' containers under construction in their Vermont facility.

• Photo provided by Freight Farms

Lexy Basquette, Freight Farm’s on-site farmer, checks on some of her growing plants.

• Photo provided by Freight Farms

MAIN EDITION

Greenhouses, Vertical Farming and Urban Ag: Controlled-Environment Agriculture Has Growth Potential

• Paul Post, New York Correspondent

USA-VIRGINIA: New Moneta Farm Redefines Method of Growing Fresh Produce

Its Growing 6,000 Greens A Month In A 40-Foot Box

To View The Video, Please Click Here

MONETA, Va. – A new veteran-owned farm in Moneta is revamping traditional farming with advanced technology to serve up the freshest greens all year long.

Ditching the soil and bringing in a laptop, there’s a new hydroponic farm in Moneta.

Using selective lighting, balancing pH and nutrient levels, and releasing water through a bar of foam, Vittone Farms is growing 6,000 greens a month in a 40-foot box.

“365 days a year is what we can do,” Jeff Vittone, owner of Vittone Farms, said. “Which is also busting some paradigms. Like, ‘how do you do this and why is it ready and why is it so green?’ And it’s like well, it’s all grown here.”

The farm also uses green power by using a solar panel to produce a variety of foods stemming from lettuce to radishes to even carrots.

A lover of salads, Vittone said he got into hydroponics after noticing major food waste after E. coli scares.

After serving eight years active duty in the Air Force and a total of 12 years in the Virginia Air National Guard, Vittone turned his hobby into a business to put more fresh food on local tables.

“I believe if you ask any veteran they will say that after my duty to my country was served,” he said. “It’s like going without water. You still want to serve to some capacity.”

Now, he is calling on other veterans to get into the business.

By using only about five gallons of water a day, he encourages people to try container farming if they don’t have much land.

“If you have two, three acres of land that is just not enough to produce to make money but that’s enough for this to be there…small local communities and food deserts need this kind of technology.”

Hosting the Smith Mountain Lake Farmer’s Market, Vittone plans to highlight other local businesses from now till the week before Thanksgiving.

The farmer’s market is open on Fridays from 2 p.m to 6 p.m and Saturdays from 10 a.m to 2 p.m.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alexus Davila

Alexus joined 10 News in October 2020.

email facebook

Copyright 2021 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.

Czech Startup Introduces New Container Farm To The Market

Delivering To Prague, Dubai, And Shanghai

A container farm supplied by GreeenTech will soon be parked in Prague's Smíchov district. The hydroponic container farm will grow herbs, vegetables, and small fruits. The other two containers will go to Dubai and Shanghai. 

"We bring a unique and modern approach to agriculture. With vertical hydroponics we will start food self-sufficiency not only in the Czech Republic," promises co-founder of GreeenTech Karolína Pumprová, who three years ago was at the birth of the Prague urban hydroponic farm HerbaFabrica, which supplies herbs to Prague restaurants. 

The co-founders of Greeentech

She was later joined by entrepreneur Dmitrij Lipovský, who, after a year-long working stay in China, where he focused on ecology and sustainability issues, saw a TV report about the HerbaFabrica farm, and was so intrigued by it that together with Karolína Pumprová and technology director Milan Souček, they created the concept of GreeenTech, a technology, and cultivation company that was officially established last July. Dmitry Lipovsky invested six million crowns of his own money in the start-up and became CEO of the company. 

Modular solution
GreeenTech currently has three divisions, each with its own unique product and business and marketing direction. Urbanio is a modular system whereby the company builds an urban hydroponic farm according to the customer's requirements. The price in this case starts at one and a half million crowns and depends on the number of modules purchased and the environment where it will be built. The technology was to be officially launched at Expo 2020 in Dubai.

GreeenBoxes are containers coming with GreeenTech's technology. The price for the smallest size supplied, 13 x 3 x 3 meters, is in the lower units of millions of crowns. The third division is HerbaFabrica, which sells crops to distributors and end customers. The company intends to offer its franchise in the future.

These containers make it possible to grow crops practically anywhere and anytime, even in the desert. According to Lipovský, the company will produce three containers this year, the first of which will be located in Prague's Smíchov, while the others will also be presented at the EXPO in Dubai. It is to Dubai and also Shanghai that the company wants to expand in the medium term.

"The goal is to build full container farms and to continuously improve our technology. But we are a startup, so we are constantly in a turbulent process," smiles the CEO of the company over the next plans and reveals that the final investment round with external investors is also now underway.

Everything from the container design to the software solution is being developed in-house. Some of the technical equipment is supplied by Siemens CR, which is also a long-term technology partner.

GreeenTech wants its technology to contribute to a sustainable solution to a potential future crisis around food shortages. The founders of GreeenTech promise a recurring harvest of local vegetables full of vitamins and intense flavor. Since the crops do not undergo protective spraying, they are suitable for children and allergy sufferers. 

The business model for GreeenBox and Urbanio technologies work on both a sales and rental basis. "For both options, there is an 'after-sales service, where we supply seeds, substrates, fertilizers, as well as spare components for the technology and remote farm management," Lipovský explains.

He adds that GreeenTech also started offering the HerbaShare service to businesses, shops and restaurants a month ago. This is a structure with a cold box for preserving produce, where the company regularly delivers microgreens and vegetables. "Now we want to focus more on businesses as people come back to the office. We believe this is a really interesting employee benefit and a way to have a vitamin bomb right in the workplace," he concludes. 

View fullsize

Source: StartupJobs

For more information:
Greeentech
info@greeen.tech 
www.greeen.tech 

View fullsize

18 May 2021

N.Thing To Export Smart Farms To UAE After $3 Million Deal

By Kim Byung-wook

May 17, 2021

South Korean agriculture technology company N.Thing said Monday that it has recently inked a $3 million deal with Sarya Holdings in the United Arab Emirates to export smart farms.

The contract, set to proceed next month, will allow the firm to construct vertical smart farming containers in the UAE by December this year. The container can reduce the use of water up to 98 percent compared to a typical farm and cultivate crops in any environment, whether that is in Siberia, the Middle East, or Seoul.

“The UAE reached out to N.Thing as food security emerged as a key issue amid the coronavirus outbreak,” a company official said.

In February last year, Sarya Holdings conducted a proof of concept test on N.Thing’s container to verify the technology. During the test, Sarya planted four different vegetables -- batavia, kale, Boston lettuce, and oakleaf -- in eight test containers and observed their growth cycles, nutrients, quality, and more.

The test proved that N.Thing’s smart farm containers built in the UAE can produce up to 1.5 metric tons of crops per container, which was 42 percent more than initial estimates.

N.Thing received the best innovation award at the Consumer Electronics Show last year.

Lead photo: The interior of N.Thing’s smart farm container (N.Thing)

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)

Florida Native Brick Street Farms Takes On Global Agriculture With Multi-Million Dollar Investment

The Ag Tech Innovator Scales its Local Approach to More Sustainably Feed Urban Communities

St Petersburg, FL (May 19th, 2020)- Brick Street Farms announces their new investors, Lykes Bros., a milestone championed by Florida Department of Agriculture Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried, Mayor Rick Kriseman, St. Petersburg, FL, and Mayor Jane Castor, Tampa, FL. With Lykes Bros financial commitment to Brick Street Farms, the AgTech leader will scale its mission to lead the way in disrupting agriculture and reinventing possibilities to sustainably feed more people from urban locations, offer Brick Street Farm’s expertise so we can bring farm to fork in cities and contribute to healthier lives.

COVID-19 and climate change have accelerated existing strains in global food accessibility and supply chains, highlighting the need to rethink the world’s agriculture systems, particularly in dense city areas. In response to this crisis, Crunchbase News has cited that agriculture technology investments have grown 250% in the past 5 years alone. Brick Street Farms has been at the forefront of this industry because of their unique experience in both design and manufacturing of their THRIVE Containers as well as the operation of those farms for financial sustainability.

The AgTech’s ground-breaking approach is to bring to life cultivation centers, also known as Brick Street Farms hubs, which will serve as an all-inclusive onsite farming and retail shopping experience in urban cores. Brick Street Farms is reinventing urban farming with our self-contained, environmentally sustainable THRIVE Containers placed in Hubs. These hubs will grow between 16-20 acres of farmland on 1/3 acre lots. This Climate-Controlled Agriculture (CEA) maximizes output and minimizes water resources.

Brick Street Farms Founder and CEO, Shannon O’Malley observed “We could not be more honored to have Lykes Bros. as our newest investor. Brick Street Farms hubs will be the first of its kind and we can’t wait to share this innovation with the world. Our farming expertise combined with Lykes 121 years of experience in agriculture brings unparalleled leadership to feed more people ‘farm to fork’.”

“Lykes Bros. is excited to be advancing and investing in the future of agriculture. We see Brick Street Farms’ leadership and innovation in the controlled environment sector as the perfect fit for our company. They share our commitment to pioneering the future, and their hub innovation is a bold blueprint for producing healthy food locally and sustainably,” says Mallory Dimmitt, VP of Strategic Partnerships, Lykes Bros.

For more information about Brick Street Farms visit www.brickstreetfarms.com.

About Brick Street Farms

Brick Street Farms produce is grown and sold out of its St. Petersburg, Florida headquarters with a mission to ignite a sustainable farm revolution by dramatically reshaping the global population’s ability to access to clean, healthy food. Built for farming in all environments, Brick Street Farms provides healthy, fresh greens, year-round.

About Lykes Bros.:

Founded by Dr. Howell Tyson Lykes and his seven sons in 1900, Lykes Bros. Inc. is a leading Florida-based agribusiness with cattle, citrus, farming, forestry, hunting, and land and water resources operations as well as major landholdings in Florida and Texas. www.lykes.com.

More Than Simply Housing

While “Housing” is in our name, CASS isn’t just about building homes. CASS is about holistically partnering with people with developmental disabilities to create opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise exist.

Employment for people with disabilities is one of the largest hurdles that many folks will ever face. Whether it is obtaining a job, the workplace environment, or transportation to and from the workplace, the enjoyment, meaning, and income that comes from a job is not available to millions of people with disabilities across the nation.

In Summer 2020, we were introduced to a company called Freight Farms out of Boston. Freight Farms converts shipping containers into hydroponic gardens. In these 10’x40’ climate-controlled boxes, over an acre’s worth of produce can be grown year-round. Leafy greens, herbs, root vegetables, and flowers grow extremely well in these containers.

image courtesy of freightfarms.com

As we looked further into Freight Farms, we realized that not only would these container gardens create employment opportunities for our Core Members, but they would give them access and working knowledge of produce, local food, gardening, and more.

View fullsize

image courtesy of freightfarms.com

By the end of April, our first 2 containers will be delivered to our existing neighborhood on Constance Ave. (just north of Turnstone). We expect produce to be available by mid to late summer 2021.

Are you a restaurant, business, or grocery store interested in sustainable, year-round, local greens and herbs with a greater cause? Reach out to us by emailing robert@casshousing.org today.

Vertical Future And Crate To Plate Plot Fleet of Shipping Container Farms In London

Jessica Rawnsley

14 May 2021

View fullsize

Credit: Vertical Future

Each of The 'Container Farms' Will Be Able To produce Up To Five Tonnes of Leafy Greens And Veg Each Year With Zero Carbon Footprint, The Firms Claim

Urban farming specialists Vertical Future and Crate to Plate are together gearing up to rollout a fleet of indoor container farms in London, with each capable of producing zero carbon fresh salad and vegetables for swift delivery across the UK capital city, they announced yesterday.

Crate to Plate, an urban farming start-up, plans to use the 'container farms' designed by Vertical Future - a technology company focused on controlled-environment-agriculture (CEA) - across several new sites in London's Bermondsey and Stratford.

By using the container farms, Crate to Plate said it would be able to produce up to five tonnes of fresh produce - including lettuce, kale, and rocket - per year, and then deliver it to customers within 24 hours with a zero-carbon footprint, all without any use of pesticides or toxic chemicals. The firm counts Ollie Dabbous, chef-patron of Michelin-starred restaurant, HIDE, as well as independent grocers such as The Notting Hill Fish Shop and Artichoke in Hampstead among its customers.

Vertical Future's innovative farms, built within 40ft shipping containers, allow for highly-controlled indoor growing conditions, harnessing LED lighting, full climate control, and dual irrigation in order to create the optimal conditions for cultivating leafy salad and vegetables. 

Proponents of vertical farming argue producing crops in such circumstances can reduce the amount of countryside land used for farming, better protect crops against the impacts of increasingly volatile outdoor climate conditions, and cut down on transport and logistics typically needed to ferry food from farms to urban centres. They also require far less water and zero pesticides. 

"Our Container Labs create the optimal growth environment for growing fresh produce and can be deployed close to point of consumption, using minimal space," said Jamie Burrows, Vertical Future's CEO. "Using zero chemicals and growing crops in a controlled environment enables our partners to meet demand all-year-round, as opposed to regular food production systems which are reliant on seasonal limitations."

By shifting towards using Vertical Future's 'Container Labs', Crate to Plate's founder Sebastien Sainsbury said the firm would be able to scale up its systems across the UK while offering more efficient growing capabilities to improve both output and product quality.

"It's been incredibly encouraging and exciting to align with other dynamic, innovative, and enterprising British business, which will help us to scale up our vision and execute our exciting opportunities both nationally and internationally," Sainsbury said.

Square Roots Expands Premium Herbs Range With Fresh And Aromatic Cilantro, Dill, And Parsley Grown In Climate Controlled Local Farms Across The Country

Indoor farming company takes the next step in bringing local, real food to cities using modular farm technology that empowers both farmers and consumers

May 17, 2021 (New York, NY) — Square Roots, the technology leader in urban indoor farming, is expanding its herb range by introducing three premium fresh offerings - Cilantro, Dill, and Parsley - to complement its widely successful signature Basil. Co-founded by Kimbal Musk, Square Roots’ herbs are grown across the company’s network of cloud-connected and climate-controlled indoor farms in New York and Michigan and are now available in more than 200 retail stores - including Whole Foods Market, Fresh Thyme Market, SpartanNash, and FreshDirect. 

View fullsize

“COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of locally grown indoor produce”, said Raji Margolin, EVP of Sales and Marketing at Square Roots. “The habits of at-home cooking and using fresh, local produce are here to stay. Now more than ever, people care about the food they eat, and where it's grown - and our goal is to make sure that fresh and local food is available to consumers year-round. These herbs are just the beginning of our product offerings and we can’t wait to expand into additional categories.”

View fullsize

Square Roots has a strategic partnership with Gordon Food Service (GFS), one of the country’s leading food service providers, to deploy farms across the country together and provide fresh, high-quality, local food to consumers across cities, year-round.  Square Roots broke ground on its latest indoor farm in Grand Rapids, Michigan in December 2020 and began planting seeds just three months later, in March 2021. This rapid deployment capability is enabled by the company’s modular farm-tech platform. 

View fullsize

“We’re using technology a little differently at Square Roots farms”, said Tobias https://www.igrow.news/igrownews/indoor-ag-science-cafe-may-18th, Co-Founder, and CEO at Square Roots. “Food, farmers, and consumers are all connected at the center of our system. We surround our farmers with data, tools, and insights to help them grow more, better-tasting food with fewer resources. At the same time, with features like our unique Transparency Timeline, we help our consumers understand exactly where their food comes from and who grew it.”

The expanded herb range is available in both the New York City area and the Great Lakes Region.

About Square Roots

Square Roots is the technology leader in urban indoor farming. Its mission is to bring local, fresh, real food to people in cities around the world - setting new standards for transparency and responsibility while empowering the next generation of leaders in agriculture. Founded by serial entrepreneurs, Kimbal Musk and Tobias Peggs, its range of fresh produce is available in more than 200 retail locations around the country including Whole Foods Market, Fresh Thyme Market, SpartanNash, and FreshDirect. Square Roots’ strategic partnership with Gordon Food Service reinforces a larger shared ambition to build commercial scale, climate-controlled indoor farms together across the continent - enabling local food at a global scale, year-round.

For more information, please visit www.squarerootsgrow.com.

USA: INDIANA - CASS Housing Is Growing, In More Ways Than One

NEWS

by: Breann Boswell

May 13, 2021

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – A local organization keeps growing, in more ways than one. CASS Housing is adding CASS Gardens, an opportunity for residents to grow produce and create jobs.

The mission of CASS Housing is to create and maintain customizable, affordable, sustainable, and safe living arrangements for individuals with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities that promote independent living skills.

These residents will now have the opportunity to work in shipping containers transformed into a garden. Each container will grow 2.5 acres of leafy greens and herbs. The idea was grown from a parent of a future resident and the partnership with Freight Farms was developed. The containers can grow produce year-round and only use 5 gallons of water a day, saving 95% over traditional farming. The LED technology grows the plants on panels inside the containers.

Currently, CASS Housing has two containers and has plans to add 15 in the future. Each container will supply two part-time jobs that residents with CASS Housing are able to walk to.

Planting begins Thursday. The produce will be harvested, processed and sold or distributed to customers individually or through wholesale.

“We believe that this employment program could change the national discussion for people with disabilities, starting here in Fort Wayne,” Executive Director David Buuck says.

This is the second Freight Farm in the state of Indiana.

To find out more or to donate, visit casshousing.org.

USA - ILLINOIS - Tasty, Fresh And Sustainable

Glenview Man's Hydroponic Farm

Uses Technology To Grow Garden Variety Produce

View fullsize

5/12/2021

By Dave Oberhelman
doberhelman@dailyherald.com

This is not your grandfather's farm.

It's not Aviad Sheinfeld's grandfather's farm, either -- but Wiseacre Farm is a bridge between childhood days spent on grandparents Yechezkel and Hadassah Gluzman's farm in an Israeli moshav and Sheinfeld's modern training.

That combination has resulted in some of the best greens his customers have ever tasted, grown indoors by futuristic, sustainable methods.

View fullsize

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

"I don't know if it was a goal. I never thought about becoming a farmer. I was always good with computers, so working with computers was kind of the assumed path," said Sheinfeld, 49, of Glenview.

"I think my childhood experiences on the farm really gave me more of an ingrained appreciation for what it takes to grow food. The thing I remember most is the apple orchards and the peaches my grandparents grew, but they also grew roses and sheep, so also animals."

There are no animals, roses, or peaches at Wiseacre Farm, a rectangular, 320-square-foot container farm inside a warehouse Sheinfeld rents in an industrial area at 1975 N. Lake Terrace, Glenview.

Wiseacre's specialty, available by 10-week subscriptions through www.wiseacre.farm, is leafy greens. A recent delivery included six heads of lettuce of differing varieties. Another package will offer the lettuce plus herbs and other greens -- things like parsley, chives, Thai basil, red-veined sorrel, curly kale with chard.

Sheinfeld sometimes delivers his produce the day it's harvested. Reviews are strong.

"Most of our customers have remarked that they had no idea that lettuce, basil -- fill in the blank, whatever produce -- tastes that way," said Sheinfeld's daughter, Yael, who is finishing her last semester at Northeastern University in Boston, but also handling Wiseacre marketing and communications.

"I think it's hard to understand just how much the taste disappears with travel, with chemicals, herbicides, and pesticides, with just time, honestly, and sitting on a grocery store shelf," she said.

Growing crops indoors in Wiseacre Farm's controlled hydroponic environment eliminates the need for herbicides and pesticides. Serving customers within about a 10-mile radius also lends a neighborly appeal.

"It's not just buying your food from anonymous company X," Aviad said.

His father, Sam, also works on the farm. Yael -- and occasionally Aviad and Kari Sheinfeld's two teenage boys, Rahm and Lev -- are fourth-generation farmhands.

Finalizing financing and incorporation in 2018, in November 2019 Sheinfeld received his container farm from Freight Farms of Boston. He said there's a couple hundred of these repurposed shipping container farms worldwide. When he needs advice he reaches farmers in Alaska, Minnesota, Tennessee, even Tasmania.

The interior includes vertical panels about 10 feet tall in which the plants soak up rays of LED lights embedded into opposing panels. The plant panels can be removed and placed horizontally when the plants are ready for harvesting.

The media is not soil but water, to which nutrients are added automatically, manually controlled by computer. Hydroponic methods are 98% more water-efficient than traditional farming, Yael said. Through recycling irrigation water and capturing the water transpired by the plants, on average the farm uses less than 5 gallons of water a day. On very humid days, the farm will capture more water than it uses.

Nutrients, drip irrigation, temperature, humidity, lighting -- all are computer-controlled.

"As farming goes, it's kind of posh," Aviad Sheinfeld said.

"The thing about this farm is it's very technically advanced, so it kind of marries my initial interest in agriculture and my insatiable appetite for technological gadgets all into one big toy," he said.

He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania and added DePaul University master's degrees in network communications and information security and in computational finance.

First working as a software engineer with Motorola, he veered into stay-at-home dad mode after he and Kari, an attorney, started having children. The couple sent their kids to the Science & Arts Academy in Des Plaines, where Aviad served three years as board chairman. During that time, the academy explored hydroponics as part of the curriculum.

"That's kind of where I caught the bug, so to speak," he said.

No bugs at Wiseacre Farm. There is lots of energy consumption.

"We have lights that are powered by electricity and we use a lot of technology, so that is one resource that we use a lot of," Yael Sheinfeld said.

And still ...

"What's wonderful is, due to our partnership with Arcadia (Power, a renewable energy company out of Washington, D.C.) all of the electricity that we consume now is 100 percent offset with wind-generated, renewable energy. So it sort of allows us to keep that focus, knowing that's the main resource we still need to use, but doing that in a more sustainable way," she said.

For lettuce, from seed to harvest it takes only 8 weeks for the container farm to grow the equivalent of 2 acres of traditional farmland, Aviad said. He plans on about six annual growing cycles.

His first crop came through last March, right at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially targeting restaurants for his produce, he shifted to a farm-to-table model. Customers also can now pick up goods at the farm itself on Saturdays, though preordering is a must. All packages and purchasing options are available at www.wiseacre.farm.

In its short time, Wiseacre Farm has gained acclaim beyond consumer taste buds. It won Silver for innovation in the Glenview Natural Resources Department's 2020 Environmental Sustainability Awards, and on March 28 the farm was featured in a segment of the History channel's "Modern Marvels" series highlighting "The Future of Food."

After a year, Aviad Sheinfeld said the process has become "a little less magical," but he still gets a kick out of it. Imagine what Hadassah and Yechezkel Gluzman might think.

"You put seed in a plug, and even a few days later when it pops out, I'm amazed," Aviad said.

"I do understand it, but I still don't believe how amazing it is that a plant grows out of this little, tiny seed and a few weeks later you have a head of lettuce or arugula."

Lead Photo: Wiseacre Farm owner Aviad Sheinfeld looks over some of the plants grown at his hydroponic farm in Glenview. Brian Hill | Staff Photographer