United Natural Foods, Inc. and Square Roots, an indoor farming company, have announced an agreement to co-locate Square Roots' indoor farms on-site at select UNFI distribution centers. The first Square Roots farm, approximately 20,000 square feet in size, is planned for the distributor’s Prescott, Wisconsin facility and is slated to open in 2023.
The distributor is focused on building an efficient supply chain network to shorten the time it takes to deliver produce to retail customers. Farmed goods from the co-located farm are intended to serve UNFI's retail customers in Wisconsin and Minnesota, including the Twin Cities metro area.
“Today’s consumer is focused on the quality and freshness of their produce and relies on their local grocer to provide consistent access to high quality, locally grown food, all year round that won’t spoil the day after they bring it home,” said Dorn Wenninger, SVP of produce at UNFI, in a statement. “Our relationship with Square Roots and their innovative indoor farming model not only strengthens our supply chain and gives back days of freshness to consumers, but also furthers our ambitious ESG initiatives and helps UNFI make progress toward our goals to reduce waste, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and advance sustainable agriculture and operations.”
Square Roots farms utilize a vertically integrated indoor model to maximize output in a smaller footprint. The process uses less water than a traditional farm. The produce is pesticide-free and Non-GMO Project Verified. Inside its farms, Square Roots’ farmers uses software to manage every aspect of growing, from planning production tasks to monitoring plant health.
“Whether we’re learning lessons from COVID-19, or considering the future impact of climate change, it’s clear that we need more resilience in our food system,” said Square Roots co-founder and executive chairman Kimbal Musk, in a statement. “With this partnership we can now bring local food, grown by local farmers, to UNFI’s network of retail customers, and their shoppers, consistently and reliably, all year round. We can’t wait to get started.”
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