Square Roots, GFS expand Midwest reach with new indoor farm in Ohio

Square Roots, GFS expand Midwest reach with new indoor farm in Ohio
Square Roots indoor farm in Springfield, Ohio

Indoor farming operator Square Roots Urban Growers has again teamed up with Gordon Food Service Inc. to launch a fourth farm and further expand the duo’s Midwest reach.

In partnership with Wyoming-based Gordon Food Service (GFS), Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Square Roots today announced that it has opened a climate-controlled, indoor farm in Springfield, Ohio. 

The new farm is located at a GFS distribution center there and is designed to service customers in the metropolitan areas of Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton.

Square Roots farms consist of upcycled, vertically stacked shipping containers. These containers house Cloud-connected and software-controlled hydroponic growing systems that are capable of growing produce all year round.

The Springfield farm is configured to harvest herbs such as basil, cilantro, dill and parsley along with salad mixes. The new farm’s capacity is capable of producing 2.4 million packages of herbs and greens each year.

The Springfield farm’s first commercial harvest is slated for this summer.

“The new farm we’ve announced with Square Roots in Springfield accelerates our shared vision to build more indoor farms together across the continent,” GFS President and CEO Rich Wolowski said in a statement. “Together, we are enabling local food at a global scale, meeting the rising demand for produce that is fresher, responsibly grown and traceable from seed to shelf.”

Since forming a strategic partnership with Square Roots back in 2019, GFS has welcomed the company to install two indoor farms at its headquarters in Wyoming. Earlier this year, GFS and Square Roots also announced that they have opened an indoor farm in Kenosha, Wis., also located on the grounds of a GFS distribution center.

Square Roots also operates a facility in Brooklyn, which is home to its center for plant science and research and development.

“Our partnership with Gordon Food Service, combined with our scalable smart-farm technology platform, means Square Roots is able to rapidly open a number of new indoor farms this years,” said Square Roots CEO Tobias Peggs, who co-founded the company with Kimbal Musk, the brother of tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.

“With this new facility in Springfield, we are now making locally-grown food available, all year, to new consumers across Ohio while also creating exciting jobs in the community.”