SHEPHERDSVILLE, KY (June 6, 2023) — Square Roots, the technology leader in indoor farming, and Gordon Food Service, one of the largest food distributors in North America, celebrated the opening of a new climate-controlled, indoor farm in Shepherdsville, Kentucky with an official ribbon cutting ceremony. The newly opened farm will supply fresh produce to Gordon Food Service customer restaurants, schools, hospitals and local retailers throughout Kentucky and surrounding states.
Together, Square Roots and Gordon Food Service have deployed five co-located farms on Gordon Food Service distribution centers in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Kenosha, Wisconsin; Springfield, Ohio; and now Shepherdsville, Kentucky. By operating farms directly on distribution centers, Square Roots and Gordon Food Service are dramatically shortening fresh food supply chains, reducing food miles and giving back days of freshness to consumers.
“Our vision is to make responsibly grown, local food available to every consumer,” said Square Roots co-founder and CEO Tobias Peggs. “This farm is the latest step in Square Roots and Gordon Food Service’s strategic partnership, realizing our shared vision of making incredibly fresh, locally grown food available year-round to more people across the country, regardless of outdoor weather conditions.”
Co-founded by technology and impact entrepreneurs Tobias Peggs and Kimbal Musk in 2016, Square Roots is the only indoor farming company that co-locates its farms with major food distributors. Inside the company’s modular, climate-proof farms that can be deployed anywhere, Square Roots can recreate the ideal growing conditions for plants in a controlled setting, allowing the production of fresh food in any location and at any time of year. Furthering their commitment to responsibly grown, local food, Square Roots has developed a smart-farm technology platform that contributes to a more sustainable footprint; using significantly less land and 90% less water than a traditional farm.
Square Roots aims to hire locally at all of its farms and open new pathways for more people to enter the high-tech agriculture industry. All of the company’s farmers in Shepherdsville are local hires who live in communities directly served by the farm.
“We’re excited to bring responsibly grown, hyper-local, and really delicious produce to our customers and the local community through our local Shepherdsville farm,” said Brett Michel, General Manager of the Gordon Food Service Shepherdsville Distribution Center. “The technology innovations in this farm paired with local team execution means high quality, locally grown produce on the table in restaurants you love, whether it’s June or January.”
The Shepherdsville farm is the first to use the latest version of Square Roots’ tech platform, which increases yields by 30% and features a range of automation technologies for key functions including seeding, harvesting, and sanitization. Inside the farm, the local team uses Square Roots’ proprietary software to manage every aspect of growing—from planning production tasks to monitoring plant health. All Square Roots farms are USDA Harmonized GAP+ Certified for the highest levels of food safety.
About Square Roots:
Square Roots is the technology leader in indoor farming with a mission to responsibly bring its locally grown food to people in cities around the world, all year round. Square Roots is setting new standards for transparency and responsibility, while training a new generation of leaders in agriculture to create a more sustainable food system. Founded by technology and impact entrepreneurs, Kimbal Musk and Tobias Peggs, its range of fresh produce is available in restaurants, schools, hospitals, and retail locations around the country, including Gordon Food Service Stores, Whole Foods Market, Meijer, Fresh Thyme Market, SpartanNash corporate stores, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Festival Foods, Busch’s Fresh Food Market and Getir. Square Roots has strategic partnerships with major food distributors Gordon Food Service and United Natural Foods Inc. (NYSE:UNFI), co-locating commercial-scale, climate-controlled indoor farms across the continent—enabling local food at a global scale, year-round. For more information, please visit www.squarerootsgrow.com.
About Gordon Food Service:
For more than 125 years, Gordon Food Service has delivered uncompromising quality and heartfelt service for our customers. Beginning as a simple butter-and-egg delivery service, we’ve grown to become the largest family business in the food service industry by upholding the same approach since 1897—remaining passionately committed to the people we serve. Today, we serve food service operators in the Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest regions of the United States and coast-to-coast in Canada. We also operate more than 170 Gordon Food Service Store locations in the U.S. By partnering with organizations from across industries—healthcare to education, independent and chain restaurants, and event planners— Gordon Food Service helps customers create food experiences that people choose, enjoy and remember. For more information, please visit www.gfs.com.
CONTACT: Square Roots, squareroots@jbc-pr.com / Gordon Food Service, media@gfs.com
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