Fresh Direct has partnered with GrowUp Farms as it continues to support vertical farming technology, with three connections now in place that cover a wide range of herbs, salad and baby leaves, providing year-round access to these crops.
The vertical farms also help address food security concerns and weather-related issues with harvests that have caused significant challenges for conventional growers over the past few years.
Certified B Corp GrowUp produces salad leaves at its modern vertical farm, designed to reduce its carbon emissions. The farm, which is powered by renewable energy from the bioenergy plant next to the facility, does not cause soil erosion, and produces long-lasting products year-round in the UK, which cuts down food waste and lorry miles.
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GrowUp also aims to use 90% less water when fully operational and, because the farm is a completely enclosed process, requires no pesticides, fungicides or weed killer. In addition, Fresh Direct’s development chefs rigorously tested the new products and found that, as well as the sustainability benefits, the produce significantly outperformed conventional leaves for quality and freshness.
Paul Nieduszynski, chief executive at Sysco GB, said: “Vertical farming has made some fantastic strides forward in the past couple of years, and has become a much more practical solution, helping to support conventionally grown produce. We want to support British agriculture in all its forms and have been an early adopter of this technology, which gives us a year-round solution with enviable quality.
