NEW JERSEY
A rising food revolution
Inside a converted steel warehouse in Newark, thousands of trays stacked 36 feet high house seeds that will soon become baby arugula, kale, and bok choy—all without the help of sunlight, soil, or even a whole lot of water. The nearly 70,000-square-foot site, among the world’s most productive vertical farms, is the new headquarters of AeroFarms and a demonstration of what cofounder David Rosenberg thinks could be the solution to food shortages. The Newark space, which will ultimately farm up to 2 million pounds of sustainable produce per year via a high-tech aeroponic growing system, has been transformative for Newark. The company’s greens are sold in area grocery stores, and AeroFarms hires local talent to run its facilities, a practice Rosenberg plans to continue as he expands. His goal is to continue opening farms around the country, and eventually the world. “We want to feed mass populations,” he says.
Tags: Fast Company, FastCo, Innovation, vertical farming