Just months after growing its first tomato, MightyVine, a Rochelle-based hydroponic tomato farm, is doubling its operation to meet rising demand in grocery stores and restaurants in the Chicago area.
Beginning in late spring, another 7.5-acre greenhouse will be constructed adjacent to the existing facility in Rochelle, about 80 miles west of Chicago, said MightyVine Chairman Jim Murphy, doubling production to about 900,000 pounds of tomatoes a month in peak conditions.
Among the new wave of farms supplying the growing local food movement in Chicago, MightyVine has tapped into a previously unmet desire among Chicagoans: fresh, local tomatoes in the cold winter months. MightyVine tomatoes are sold in stores including Jewel-Osco, Whole Foods Market and Treasure Island, and used in more than 100 restaurants in the Chicago area, Murphy said.
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