You may know we’re an indoor farming and fresh food brand, but did you know that our passion for safeguarding our natural resources informs every decision we make?

At Gotham Greens, we strive to do more with less. It’s all rooted in our love for the planet and our belief that we can farm more thoughtfully. Let’s dive into four ways we are growing greens, in greener ways.

We grow our greens using less water. 

We believe in being good stewards of water – one of our most precious resources. We’re proud to grow our greens using up to 90% less water than traditional, open-field farms. This is equivalent to saving over 450 million gallons of water annually – that’s equal to more than 680 Olympic-sized swimming pools! 70% of global freshwater withdrawals are used for agriculture, which takes a massive toll on Earth’s natural resources. Using water thoughtfully means caring for and protecting our local water systems, and in turn providing more clean water for those who need it. 

And the water we do use? We recycle.

Our greenhouses use hydroponic growing methods without soil, and the water we use is constantly being filtered and recycled back to feed the plants. Food systems are the largest consumer of land and fresh water on the planet, and the leading cause of global water pollution. We designed our farms to keep water recirculating indoors — and out of local rivers, streams and lakes. 

We grow using less land.

Did you know that half of the world’s habitable (ice- and desert-free) land is used for agriculture? It’s true — and contributes to pollution of groundwater and land. We use advanced greenhouse technology and automation to grow much more, with much less space. At Gotham Greens, we use up to 97% less land than traditional farming. That’s around 30 times more lettuce per acre of land!  

And the land we do use? It’s closer to you. 

To reduce emissions related to food production, we must move production closer to consumers, increase yields, decrease food waste, improve farming practices, and shift to a plant-rich diet. We believe that greenhouse farming technology is a solution that addresses many of the issues caused by traditional agriculture. We also build our greenhouses closer to you — meaning our products don’t have to travel as far. Less miles traveled means keeping less trucks on the road, and less transportation pollution. 

So, what does this mean for you? When you buy a package of lettuce at your local store, you’re not just eating more greens. You’re supporting our vision for a more sustainable future. 

What’s your favorite benefit of sustainable indoor farming? Write to us at info@gothamgreens.com explaining why, and we’ll send you back a special surprise. 

The post Ways We’re Growing Greener appeared first on Gotham Greens.

Climate impact is real, and a rapidly growing concern. At Gotham Greens, we are on a mission to reimagine how and where fresh food is grown. 

The Problem
When it comes to open-field farming, it may be surprising to learn these three critical statistics: 

• Food systems are responsible for 34% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions globally.
  
•  70% of global freshwater withdrawals are used for agriculture.

• Half of the world’s habitable (ice- and desert-free) land is used for agriculture.

Our Solution
In order to reduce emissions related to food production, we must increase yields, decrease food waste, improve farming practices, and shift to a plant-rich diet.

• Gotham Greens uses less than 3 gallons of water to grow a pound of lettuce, while conventional farming uses around 30 gallons of water to grow the same pound of lettuce. In 2022, this was equivalent to saving over 450 million gallons of water annually compared with a conventional farm – that’s the volume of more than 680 Olympic-sized swimming pools!

• We use up to 97% less land than conventional farming.

• And with a footprint of 1.8 million square feet, Gotham Greens will produce more than 30 times more lettuce per acre of land than conventional farming — or the equivalent of an 900-acre conventional soil-based farm.

As individuals, it may seem daunting to tackle the climate crisis, but there are small sustainable changes we can all make towards a healthier planet. See “7 Small Sustainable Changes to Make This Week” for ideas on how to get started.

The post Agriculture and Climate Impact appeared first on Gotham Greens.

In the spirit of Earth Day, our Chief Greenhouse Officer Jenn Frymark is sharing her 5 essential reading recommendations to help you celebrate, learn and grow.

Looking to connect deeper to nature this month? There’s no time like the present. Visit your local library or bookstore this week to pick up one of these transformative books on sustainability, food systems, plant wisdom, and caring for our home planet.

The Nature Fix by Florence Williams
“Delving into completely new research, Williams uncovers the powers of the natural world to improve health, promote reflection and innovation, and ultimately strengthen our relationships. As our modern lives shift dramatically indoors, these ideas—and the answers they yield—are more urgent than ever.” – Goodreads 

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
“As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these lenses of knowledge together to show that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world.” – Goodreads 

Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard
“From the world’s leading forest ecologist who forever changed how people view trees and their connections to one another and to other living things in the forest–a moving, deeply personal journey of discovery.” – Goodreads 

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
“Acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren has built three laboratories in which she’s studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Her first book is a revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also so much more.” – Goodreads 

Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection
“In Full Moon Feast, accomplished chef and passionate food activist Jessica Prentice champions locally grown, humanely raised, nutrient-rich foods and traditional cooking methods. The book follows the thirteen lunar cycles of an agrarian year, from the midwinter Hunger Moon and the springtime sweetness of the Sap Moon to the bounty of the Moon When Salmon Return to Earth in autumn. Each chapter includes recipes that display the richly satisfying flavors of foods tied to the ancient rhythm of the seasons.” – Goodreads 

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Tune into these podcasts featuring Gotham Greens Co-Founder & CEO Viraj Puri and Chief Greenhouse Officer Jenn Frymark. 

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1. Fast Company World Changing Ideas 

The Episode: How Can We Farm Against Climate Change and Grow Crops Sustainably? (23 minutes) 

“You can really grow food anywhere, regardless of geography.” 

Listen to the episode here

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2. Vertical Farming Podcast 

The Episode: Transforming Local Produce, One Rooftop Greenhouse at a Time with Gotham Greens’ Viraj Puri (47 minutes) 

“We continue to be a mission-driven organization that’s deeply rooted in this ethos of trying to make the world a better place and to use fewer resources to produce healthier food.” 

Listen to the episode here

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3. The Urban Farm Podcast 

The Episode: Jenn Frymark on Growing Fresh and Closer to Home. (43 minutes) 

“Everyone should spend much more time outdoors in nature.” 

Listen to the episode here

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4. HBR Idea Cast 

The Episode: Inside Companies that Get the Purpose-Profit Balance Right (31 Minutes) 

“I found it fascinating to look at Gotham Greens, which is an urban agro-farming company that has grown massively doing urban farming on rooftops and cities around the country.” 

Listen to the episode here

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Want to hear more? Check out our exclusive Grateful Dead Cooking Playlist! 

The post Tune In: 4 Great Podcasts About Gotham Greens & Sustainable Agriculture appeared first on Gotham Greens.

Huge news: Gotham Greens is officially a B Corp! 

What does this mean? 

Certified B Corporations meet the highest possible standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability. The “B” stands for benefit. As a company, Gotham Greens balances profit and purpose, prioritizing positive impact for employees, communities and the environment. The certification is a huge milestone in our mission of driving toward a more sustainable food system through industry-leading social and environmental practices. 

In order to become a B Corp, companies have to undergo a rigorous third-party audit of all practices to ensure the business benefits not just shareholders, but all stakeholders: employees, communities, and the planet.

B Corp isn’t just a label—it’s a commitment. As Gotham Greens looks towards the future, we’re pleased announce three new sustainability commitments:

– Goal 1: Reduce plastic packaging for leafy greens and herbs by 40% by 2024
– Goal 2: Achieve a reduction of 5% in our electricity use intensity by 2024 and reduce our Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emission intensity by 5% by the end of 2024
– Goal 3: Provide at least 75% of our leafy greens and herbs to partners located within 50 miles or less of our regional greenhouses.

From day one, our founders wanted to start a business that would reimagine agriculture, use resources more efficiently, deliver better food to people, improve people’s health, and better the communities where we have our greenhouses. We’ve always believed that business could be a force for good. In the decade since we’ve launched Gotham Greens, we’ve scaled the company tremendously and we now have the largest network of greenhouses serving people from coast-to-coast. Becoming a Certified B Corporation is our next step in committing to make an even bigger impact.

For more information, follow @gothamgreens and check out the B Corp website.

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For the very first time, our friends on the West Coast will get to try our tasty, sustainably grown greens. We’re excited about what this means for Californians’ lunch routines, but beyond that, there’s a major environmental element to our West Coast expansion.

“California is the center of North America’s leafy greens production, where water shortages, wildfires and other results of climate change are straining critical agricultural resources,” said Viraj Puri, Co-Founder and CEO of Gotham Greens. “By putting down roots in California, we aspire to be a part of the agricultural industry’s solution to the increasingly visible impacts of climate change.”

Find Gotham Greens now at your favorite local grocery stores like Whole Foods, Raley’s, Berkeley Bowl, Good Eggs and many more coming soon.

To celebrate the launch, we teamed up with some favorite Bay Area restaurants Wildseed, Waterbar, Epic Steak, Mersea and Mulvaney’s B&L. For the month of December, you’ll find a signature cocktail featuring our delicious and sustainably grown basil – ask your server to give it a try and learn more here.

Follow @gothamgreens for more!

The post It’s Official: Our California Greenhouse Is Open! appeared first on Gotham Greens.

Some food trends seem to come out of nowhere, but if you know how we do things here at Gotham Greens, you might’ve been able to see this big one coming.

Each year, Whole Foods taps over 50 global buyers and culinary experts to predict the upcoming year’s top food trends, and newly released 2022 list did not disappoint. At the very top of the list, we’re thrilled to see Ultraurban Farming as the number one trend! 

Whole Foods writes: “In 2013, we opened a pioneering Whole Foods Market store in Brooklyn with a Gotham Greens greenhouse on top, providing fresh and sustainably grown herbs and salad greens in greenhouse systems using sunlight and 100% renewable electricity.

“Since then, innovation in indoor farming has ballooned, from hydroponics and aquaponics to mushrooms grown above our grocery aisles — and even fresh produce grown by robots. Producers are finding new, boundary-pushing ways to grow hyper-local crops and maximize efficiency.” 

As a proud partner of Whole Foods for the past 10 years, we’re so excited to see this at the top the list. Gotham Greens grows salad greens and herbs using recirculating hydroponics, the most water-efficient form of agriculture in the world, in urban-adjacent sites across the country. We started out on rooftops in NYC and will soon open our newest greenhouse in Northern California.

With each new greenhouse we open, our technology gets more and more advanced — and we’re excited to see what the future of urban farming holds, in 2022 and beyond.

You can learn more about our growing practices here. Shop Gotham Greens at Whole Foods here.

Follow @gothamgreens for more!

The post Whole Foods #1 Food Trend for 2022 is Ultraurban Farming appeared first on Gotham Greens.

In honor of Climate Week 2021, join us in taking small steps each day this week to reduce your environmental impact.

Monday: Eat more plants

When you’re planning out your dinners this week, consider going meatless. It’s no surprise that plant-based diets are better for you, but they’re also much better for the planet—studies show that the meat and dairy industry uses 83% of farmland and produces 60% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions. Use this week to build up your vegetarian recipe repertoire so you can come back to your favorites long after Climate Week is over.

Tuesday: Learn something new at a virtual event

Take some time to learn about how businesses, governments and organizations are showing up to the climate change conversation.Climate Week 2021 is back this week with many virtual events you can attend from anywhere, including Building a Just Climate Future: Centering Equity in Climate Solutions and Corporate Climate Action That Actually Matters. You can learn more and check out the full event list here

Wednesday: Audit your shopping habits

Think about the power of your purchase. Make a list of the 5 grocery brands you buy most frequently and do a bit of research—do your favorite brands have environmental practices that align with your values? Our friends at Oatly, for example, sum it up pretty well: “We are not a perfect company, not even close, but our intentions are true. We would like to be judged by the good we do and not just the pretty words we say.” You can learn more about Gotham Greens’ story, values, and vision here

Thursday: Try a greener cleaner

Next time you make a mess, hold off on the harsh cleaners and try a non-toxic, DIY solution instead. Start with everyday items you already have—like baking soda, white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and fresh herbs—then stock up on extras like essential oils and castile soap to take your green cleaning arsenal to the next level. Check out some DIY cleaner recipes here.

Friday: Get thrifty

Out with the old, in with the thrifted. Take stock of your fall/winter wardrobe today and donate the gently used clothing you don’t see yourself wearing this coming season. Then, instead of replacing those items with brand new fast-fashion pieces, start your search at a secondhand shop. Circular fashion is the future and sustainably sourced clothing will never go out of style.

Saturday: Give your mailbox a break

No one likes an over-stuffed mailbox, especially when it’s full of junk mail and catalogs you never wanted in the first place. Set aside a few minutes to finally set up paperless billing once and for all—gas, electric, credit card, and so on. Cancel subscriptions you no longer need, and if you find yourself getting a lot of junk mail, use this guide to opt out of mailing lists you probably don’t even realize you’re on.

Sunday: Refresh your laundry routine

If your typical Laundry Day involves lots of hot water and several dryer cycles, make these easy swaps for a more sustainable life. Save energy by washing your clothes in cold water instead of hot when you can. Hang-dry your clothes, too, and if you can do it outside, even better. And only wash your clothes when you can fill the washing machine—no more half-full cycles.

Follow @gothamgreens for more!

The post Climate Week: 7 Small Sustainable Changes To Make This Week appeared first on Gotham Greens.

The post Jenn Talks to the Next Generation of Innovators appeared first on Gotham Greens.

Why California? California is responsible for growing one-third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the nation’s fruits, yet in recent years, issues surrounding drought, food safety and worker welfare have demonstrated the need for innovation.

We’re thrilled to partner with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources and the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to advance research and innovation in indoor agriculture and advanced greenhouse technology.

“We are building a Controlled Environment Agriculture Consortium to support and advance the indoor farming industry, grow more fresh produce on less land and create new jobs for Californians,” said Gabriel Youtsey, UC ANR Chief Innovation Officer. “Gotham Greens is an anchoring partner of this research and industry collaboration that we hope will spur innovation, create a new indoor farming workforce and support industry growth.”

“We’re excited about collaborating with Gotham Greens, which is a coveted employer for tomorrow’s leaders in agriculture and engineering,” said Helene Dillard, Dean of UCD CAES. “This partnership will offer our students the chance to learn best practices from leading experts in indoor farming.”

Read more on Food Navigator!

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