WYOMING, MI - A prosperous partnership has been further rooted as indoor farming company Square Roots and food distributor Gordon Food Service held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate their new indoor farm opening in Michigan, taking another step to expand a shared vision to build indoor farms together across the continent and enabling local food at a global scale.
“This new indoor farm in Michigan means we can grow delicious, local food all year round in responsible ways,” said Tobias Peggs, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Square Roots. “We have an exciting roadmap to build additional indoor farms across the continent with Gordon Food Service, as we work to ensure that the future of food can be good for people and the planet, as well as good business."
Located at the Gordon Food Service headquarters in Wyoming, Michigan, the new farm was deployed in just three months using Square Roots’ modular, smart-farm technology platform. Inside the farm, noted Gordon’s company release, Square Roots uses its proprietary, cloud-connected software to constantly monitor and control multiple climates, enabling its farmers to grow a wide range of crops to meet a variety of local market needs.
“In partnering with Square Roots, we are delivering on our ambitions to make nutritious, local produce available to everyone throughout the year, regardless of the local climate,” said Rich Wolowski, Chief Executive Officer of Gordon Food Service.
Square Roots continues to invest in the Midwest alongside its current farming operations, recently opening a 5,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the region, where it now creates and assembles key components for future farms. Currently, Square Roots operates two indoor farms in Michigan with the capacity to produce over 2.4 million packages of herbs and leafy greens annually. Approximately 50,000 plants are grown at any given time in each farm. The company grows a wide variety of produce, including herbs like basil, dill, parsley, and cilantro, as well as microgreens and salad mixes.
Additionally, Square Roots’ commitment to the local community has created over 30 jobs in the Great Lakes region. The indoor growing company offers extensive ongoing training opportunities for employees, in addition to full benefits, ownership in Square Roots, and accelerated career paths to propel professional advancement.
According to the release, the indoor farms are built in cities to dramatically reduce food miles and are Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certified, in line with the USDA’s standards, and operate to strict COVID-19 protocols to keep farmers and the local community safe. This results in ultra-high-quality produce for consumers and practically eliminates food waste in the supply chain. The company's hydroponic growing systems re-circulate the water used to grow crops, allowing for the use of 95 percent less water than conventional farming methods. All Square Roots produce comes packaged in 100 percent recyclable packaging.
All Square Roots farms are Square Roots produce is widely available at grocery stores including in Gordon Food Service Stores, through Gordon Food Service customer restaurants, and on e-commerce platforms across the Great Lakes region. As noted in the release, Square Roots is seeking to address a $35.4 billion total produce category at retail.
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