This Former Restaurant Exec Is Using IoT Tech To Address Food Insecurity
Host of the Podcast, DisruptED
February 9, 2023
What happens after Panera and Wahlburgers? Saving the planet!
After successful stints in the executive suite growing Panera, and then Wahlburgers into restaurant juggernauts, Rick Vanzura started thinking about his next opportunity. He remembers his middle daughter asked him: Why don’t you work on saving the planet?
CEO Freight Farms, Rick Vanzura was recruited by Brad and John as part of a plan to grow exponentially
Fast forward, and Rick Vanzura is doing exactly what his daughter implored him to do by growing a business to eliminate global food insecurity. That's a big item on Freight Farms menu for growth. Two food entrepreneurs, Brad McNamara and John Freidman started Freight Farms in 2010 before Agriculture Technology was even being talked about. Fast forward to 2020, and armed with state of the art IoT tech to maximize growth, and minimize water and energy usage, Brad and John recruited Rick for their next level growth. Freight Farm is now actively working to end food insecurity across the globe.
Inside one of Freight Farms growing containers. Version 1.0 used recycled shipping containers.
Judging by the numbers, they seem to be making great progress. After crafting an iterative container farm using the quantitative data to reduce waste (using over a billion data points),they have grown the business impressively over the past several years and redefining what "farm-to-table" means.
Freight Farms is in 48 U.S. States and Territories, 40 countries and are supporting 550+ container farms.
Acres of yield from a 40 x 8' container, with growing conditions regulated by IoT tech
Most impressive is their use of Industry 4.0 and IoT to create Farmhand, which is an IoT-connected app that creates optimal climates using live and historical data. They are now on their 10th iteration of the container. And after growing several businesses, Rick is well on his way to growing another, working to save the planet and bring fresh food to people across the globe as he does it.
Published by Ron J Stefanski
Host of the Podcast, DisruptED
Who takes career advice from their Middle school daughter? Rick Vanzura is grateful he did! When his daughter asked him 'Why don't you work on saving the planet?' he took her up on it, and took on his most ambitious assignment yet. Rick was recruited as CEO by Freight Farms founders Brad McNamara and John Friedman, food entreprenuers who were passionate about growing food sustainably using a fraction of the earth's resources. They decided to pursue IoT tech and data-driven AgTech to increase yields with less water and energy. This year they entered into agreements in their 40th country. With over 550+ farms, the company is working to eliminate food insecurity across the globe and redefine what "farm to table" really means. If you want to see what a disruptED food supply looks like, listen to our podcast with Rick on DisruptED! Join our community. A truly amazing innovation.
hashtag#community hashtag#innovation hashtag#tech hashtag#iot MarketScale Shanee Moret Anne Kubek US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) World Economic Forum Francisco Betti Alison Trumble US Center for Advanced Manufacturing