Draft:Vertical Harvest Farms

Vertical Harvest Farms
Vertical Harvest is an American indoor vertical farming enterprise and inclusive employer focused on disability. The company was founded and headquartered in Jackson, Wyoming. The company is focused on building hyper-local infrastructure solutions aimed at feeding locals first.

History
Vertical Harvest was born of a public-private partnership with the city of Jackson, WY. The city issued an RFP for a small parcel of land in downtown Jackson, asking the community how it could best be put to use. The winning idea married local/sustainable food production and employment for people with disabilities into a design for North America’s first vertical greenhouse.

In 2009, Nona Yehia, Caroline Croft Estay and Penny McBride founded Vertical Harvest. Yehia brought her background as an architect, Croft Estay as a Wyoming case manager and a behavioral specialist, and McBride a background in urban agriculture and sustainability. Together they recognized the potential of utilizing vertical space to cultivate fresh, nutritious produce year-round and create meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Yehia and Croft Estay also both had histories as disability advocates. Yehia has a brother with developmental disabilities and from an early age noticed that, “our social systems are not designed to support him the way that they support me,” which was an observation Croft Estay had confirmed with her clients time and again. The two continue to lead the company today, Yehia as CEO and Croft Estay as Chief Potential Officer.

In 2016, in collaboration with the Jackson community, Vertical Harvest unveiled its flagship project – a three-story indoor vertical hydroponic greenhouse located on an unused 1/10 of an acre plot in downtown Jackson, Wyoming. The design, inspired by the work of Dickson Despommier (who also advised the project), combined the benefits of vertical farming (space optimization) and greenhouse growing (harnessing natural light) to create a groundbreaking structure that maximized canopy yield by vertically stacking crops, optimized the limited space and leveraged a hydroponic growing system to utilize 95% less water than traditional agricultural methods.

Growth & Expansion
In 2021, leveraging the Jackson farm as a proof of concept, Vertical Harvest embarked on a Series A raise to fund its expansion plans for a national network of local farms. And in 2022 they raised $10M and broke ground on their second farm in Westbrook, ME in the greater Portland area which is projected to open in 2024.

Since then, they have also announced plans for a third farm in partnership with Bedrock Detroit, the development company of Dan Gilbert of Rocket Mortgage, for the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood in Detroit, MI, which is slated to break ground in 2024.

The company continues to evaluate cities as potential sites for future farms.

Recognition & Awards
Vertical Harvest Farms has received widespread recognition and accolades for its innovative approach to urban farming and inclusive employment. The company has been named by Fast Company as a Best Workplace for Innovators Finalist (twice) and has been featured by several notable platforms including CNN, CBS Sunday Morning , The Today Show ,  and Forbes among others. And in 2023, Yehia, shared the company’s mission at Clinton Global Initiative. The company was also the recipient of the Tony Hsieh Award in 2023, in honor of the late CEO of Zappos, and recognizing their efforts to reimagine the future of work and human capital.

The success of their customized employment model and positive reception, has fueled Vertical Harvest’s expansion into new markets.

Product
Vertical Harvest Farms grows herbs, microgreens, petite greens and lettuce.

Product is sold locally at Whole Foods Market, Albertsons, and small retail grocery stores and restaurants in Jackson WY, and Driggs, ID. Vertical Harvest also partners with Jackson Hole Food Rescue and the Food Bank of Wyoming, channeling 5% of its product into low income / low access outlets.

Sustainability
The farms incorporate several high-performance technologies that result in considerable energy savings when compared with traditional greenhouse cultivation, including: LED horticultural lighting and vertical racking systems, efficient HVAC equipment and integrated HVAC, lighting, and irrigation controls. Vertical Harvest was recognized by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for its use of integrated lighting.

The company’s next generation of farms (informed by the original Jackson facility) are designed to be all-electric and grow over 2.5 million pounds of produce annually in 200,000 sq ft of growing space.

Disability Advocacy
Since the company’s inception, it has been committed to amplifying the voices of people with disabilities. The farm’s origin story and early years were documented by the Hearts of Glass documentary, which has aired on PBS in select markets. And employee voices have been included in numerous national press opportunities, podcasts and publications.

Dr. Temple Grandin visited the Jackson Hole facility in 2023 and spoke with employees. The company has also endorsed and helps advocate her call-to-action to reorient American manufacturing to include more “visual thinkers,” who are often neuro-non-typical.