US (PA): BrightFarms' greenhouse goes a littler greener with pond rafts

Bright Farms’ first greenhouse just got a little greener. The start-up company, based in Manhattan, N.Y., recently upgraded the facilities at its greenhouse in Yardley. It’s the company’s first property, which Bright Farms hopes will be the template for its goal to provide fresh produce to nearby supermarkets, instead of having to have food shipped cross-country.

“There are a number of benefits to cutting out cross-country transportation of produce,” explains Toby Tiktinsky, director of business development at Bright Farms. “Trucks will take five to seven days [to deliver food]. That’s a lot of diesel, and it requires a pretty complex system to ferry it across the country.”

Instead, Bright Farms signed long-term purchase agreements with supermarkets that will stock their produce. In return, the company builds a greenhouse within an hour’s drive of the location. The advantage for local consumers is fresher food. “If you pick it and eat it within a few hours, it’s going to taste better and have better quality,” he continued “It’s closer to eating lettuce from a home garden.”

The idea is for Bright Farms to replicate what’s happening in Yardley nationwide, so the company “scoured the globe” for an even better model. And in Italy, it found a growing system that used pond rafts. “Rafts literally float on the water. We put seeds on that, the roots grow into the waters and fertilizer is absorbed through the water,” Tiktinsky explained.

Now, the greenhouse is primed for further success. Bright Farms produce will be back on store shelves locally this month, said Tiktinsky, and the company has plans for more greenhouses with this system across the country. “We plan to break ground on six greenhouses over the next 18 months,” said Tiktinsky.

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