(Springfield, Ohio) — Square Roots, the technology leader in indoor farming, and Gordon Food Service, one of the largest food distributors in North America, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Springfield, Ohio, to celebrate their newest co-located farm, taking another step in their shared journey to build indoor farms together across the continent—ultimately enabling locally-grown food at a global scale.
“From our new indoor farm, co-located with Gordon Food Service at their distribution center in Ohio, we are now able to consistently supply delicious, high-quality produce to local chefs and retailers, all year round, and often within hours of harvest,” said Tobias Peggs, Co-Founder and CEO of Square Roots. “Square Roots’ modular, climate-controlled, smart-farm platform allows us to rapidly deploy commercial-scale facilities at strategic locations across the country—employing local farmers, growing local food, and strengthening local food systems, everywhere.”
“Since 2019, we’ve been on a journey with Square Roots, delivering on our vision to make locally grown, nutritious produce available to our customers, regardless of outdoor weather conditions or the time of year,” said Rich Wolowski, President and CEO of Gordon Food Service. “Together we have now built a network of indoor farms in the Midwest, bringing us closer to enabling local food at a global scale.”
Square Roots produce is available at Gordon Food Service customer restaurants, schools, and hospitals, as well as local retail stores in Ohio and Pennsylvania, including Gordon Food Service Stores.
The new Square Roots farm in Springfield was deployed using Square Roots’ modular, smart-farm technology platform, which can be constructed at any location on a small footprint at quick speed. To help manage the facility, Square Roots farmers use the company’s proprietary, cloud-connected software to constantly monitor and control multiple climates, enabling a wide range of crops to be grown to meet local market needs.
Key Stats:
- The Springfield farm has over 2 million plants growing at any given time and has the capacity to grow more than 2.4 million packages of herbs and leafy greens annually.
- Square Roots has created more than 20 jobs in the Springfield region, recruiting locally to open new pathways for more young people to enter the high-tech agriculture industry.
- Square Roots offers extensive ongoing training opportunities for employees, in addition to a compensation package that is competitive and equitable, when it comes to pay, benefits and stock options. Square Roots also offers all employees accelerated career paths to propel professional advancement.
- The Square Roots Springfield farm is a USDA, Harmonized GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) Plus+ certified facility. The farm is in line with a GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) Standard and operates to strict COVID-19 protocols to keep farmers and the local community safe.
- The Square Roots Transparency Timeline can be accessed via QR code on every package of Square Roots produce sold, connecting consumers to the local Springfield farm and showing the complete journey the company’s greens take from seed to shelf.
- Square Roots farms are built in close proximity to cities, creating an incredibly short supply chain that drastically reduces food miles and food waste. The company’s hydroponic growing systems allow Square Roots to grow abundant, delicious produce with far less land and water than conventional field farms. All Square Roots produce is sold in 100% recyclable packaging.
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 serial 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, Fresh Thyme Market, Meijer, Family Fare, D&W Fresh Market, Busch’s Fresh Food Market, Jungle Jim’s International Market, Fresh Direct, and Getir. Square Roots’ strategic partnership with Gordon Food Service reinforces a larger shared ambition to build commercial-scale, climate-controlled indoor farms together 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 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 foodservice industry by upholding the same approach since 1897—remaining passionately committed to the people we serve. Today, we serve foodservice 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—we help our customers create food experiences that people choose, enjoy, and remember.
