- Title: An urban farm grows in Brooklyn
- Date: 6th June 2017
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) SQUARE ROOTS FARMER, ERIK GROSZYK, SLIDING VERTICAL PLANTER DOWN HALLWAY LETTUCE LEAVES AND STRING LIGHTS VARIOUS OF GROASZYK CHECKING WATER VARIOUS OF SHIPPING CONTAINERS IN WHICH FARMS ARE LOCATED GROSZYK SEEN THROUGH WINDOW OF SHIPPING CONTAINER VARIOUS OF GROSZYK INSPECTING PLANTS VARIOUS OF GROSZYK CLIPPING LETTUCE AND PUTTING IT IN CONTAINER CONTAINER (SOUNDBITE) (English) SQUARE ROOTS FARMER, ERIK GROSZYK, SAYING: "I graduated from Harvard with a degree in government, and it just kind of felt like a natural progression from there, but when I got in that position, I found myself not satisfied and kind of yearning for more. And one of the things...I always grew up gardening with my parents and being in the outdoors. So I went and sought out some of the community gardens all over the city and just started volunteering there and find that I really like the work and just enjoy being outside again and reconnecting with nature a little bit." LETTUCE GROSZK TENDING TO PLANTS PLANTS HANCING (SOUNDBITE) (English) SQUARE ROOTS FARMER, ERIK GROSZYK, SAYING: "So they have a direct relationship with me. I kind of call myself their personal farmer the way someone has like a personal shopper or something something else like that. And, you know, they know me, they know how I'm growing, they can come see my farm at any time, and they kind of get that insight into how their food is being grown. And that they can trust where it comes from." VARIOUS OF SQUARE ROOTS FARMER, NABEELA LAKHANI, INSPECTING PLANTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SQUARE ROOTS FARMER, NABEELA LAKHANI, SAYING: "I've always been interested in food ever since I was in high school. I read 'Fast Food Nation', and I was like, this is insane. I have to do something about it." PACKAGES OF LETTUCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SQUARE ROOTS FARMER, NABEELA LAKHANI, SAYING: "In my mind I was like if we just nourish our populations better, then we wouldn't have to, you know, use medical nutrition therapy to treat diabetes. So I was like I want to figure out the problem before, you know, before the food ruins our society." PLANTS LAKHANI SLIDING PLANTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) SQUARE ROOTS CO-FOUNDER, TOBIAS PEGGS, SAYING: "People have lost all trust in the food system, right? They want real food, where they know their farmer, they know where the food is coming from, and they can trust that food. Now increasingly these people live in the city. By 2050 there'll be 9 billion people on the planet, and 70 percent of those will live in urban areas. These people will need feeding and they will want local real food." VARIOUS OF LAKHANI PACKAGING GREENS LAHKANI SETTING CONTROLS IN FARM LIST OF TASKS ON WALL LAMP IN FARM (SOUNDBITE) (English) SQUARE ROOTS CO-FOUNDER, TOBIAS PEGGS, SAYING: "Our game plan for the next five or 10 years is to spread out to as many American cities as we possibly can. America is the world's great, greatest exporter. Right? We exported rock'n'roll, we exported Levis jeans, we also exported obesity. And the feeling is is that if we can solve that in America through initiatives like Square Roots - bringing real food to everyone, getting more people a healthy, local sustainable food system - that will also be able to export that solution as well." VARIOUS OF GROSZYK GETTING OUT OF CAR AND WALKING INTO KICKSTARTER VARIOUS OF GROSZYK GIVING PACKAGE OF KALE TO MAN GROSZYK'S KALE ON TABLE GROSZYK TALKING TO KICKSTARTER SOFTWARE ENGINEER, TIEG ZAHARIA ZAHARIA'S HANDS/BAG OF GREENS (SOUNDBITE) (English) KICKSTARTER SOFTWARE ENGINEER, TIEG ZAHARIA, SAYING: "I guess it gives you more information about the food chain and where your food comes from. Maybe it gives you more trust into the food system, and, you know, how your food is being grown and what kind of pesticides are being used on it - or none at all, hopefully." VARIOUS OF GROSZYK TALKING TO ZAHARIA
- Embargoed: 20th June 2017 13:50
- Keywords: hydroponic farming urban sustainable Harvard Business School Brooklyn Square Roots
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Life Sciences,Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Science
- Reuters ID: LVA0016K51XEH
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Erik Groszyk, 30, used to spend the workday at his desk as an investment banker. Now, he harvests leafy greens in his own urban farm out of a 40-foot shipping container in a Brooklyn parking lot.
"I just found myself not satisfied and kind of yearning for more," Groszyk said of his past life as a banker.
The Harvard grad is one of 10 "entrepreneurial farmers," selected from a batch of 500 applicants, working with Square Roots, an indoor urban farming company launched in November that grows local food year round in the heart of New York City.
Now six months into the program, Groszyk said his training in farming, artificial lighting, water chemistry and nutrient balance allows him to harvest roughly 15 to 20 pounds of produce each week. He said growing in an urban setting helped him establish trust with his customers.
"I kind of call myself their personal farmer the way someone has like a personal shopper or something something else like that. And, you know, they know me, they know how I'm growing, they can come see my farm at any time, and they kind of get that insight into how their food is being grown. And that they can trust where it comes from," he said.
Nabeela Lakhani, 23, also an entrepreneurial farmer with Square Roots, is the resident urban chef at Chalk Point Kitchen, a market-to-table restaurant in lower Manhattan, three nights per week.
The Edison, New Jersey-native drives one hour each way to get to and from work so she can sell them her Tuscan kale and rainbow chard.
"I've always been interested in food ever since I was in high school," Lakhani, who studied nutrition and public health at New York University, said as she neatly packaged her produce for delivery. "I read Fast Food Nation and I was like, 'This is insane. I have to do something about it."
"I want to figure out the problem before, you know, before the food ruins our society."
The startup, co-founded by Tobias Peggs and Kimbal Musk, younger brother of Tesla Inc founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk, aims to spread out to as many American cities as they possibly can in the next five to 10 years.
"America is the world's great, greatest exporter. Right? We exported rock'n'roll, we exported Levis jeans, we also exported obesity. And the feeling is is that if we can solve that in America through initiatives like Square Roots - bringing real food to everyone, getting more people a healthy local sustainable food system - that will also be able to export that solution as well," Peggs told Reuters.
On a recent Friday, Groszyk got to his farm by 7:30 a.m., started harvesting kale and mustard greens, and was ready to make deliveries to Kickstarter and Tesla, two of his regular customers, just in time for lunch.
Groszyk popped into the offices, handing workers a bag of fresh produce at their desks.
One of his customers, Tieg Zaharia, started eating right out of the bag as he and Groszyk talked.
"It gives you more information about the food chain and where your food comes from. Maybe it gives you more trust into the food system," said Zaharia, 35, a software engineer at Kickstarter.
For now, Square Roots offers weekly deliveries to subscribers in New York offices for $7-$35, depending on the size of the delivery. The organization also hosts regular farm tours for the public. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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