Salad News
Massive hydroponic greenhouse from NY opens in Dallas, its first in Texas
Gotham Greens
A major new hydroponic greenhouse has debuted in Dallas: Gotham Greens, an indoor farming pioneer founded in New York, has opened its first location in Texas, in Seagoville.
Located 20 miles southeast of downtown Dallas, the 210,000-square-foot facility will provide a year-round supply of fresh produce always in season to grocery and foodservice customers throughout the state.
Since its launch in 2011, Gotham Greens has grown from a single urban rooftop greenhouse in Brooklyn to one of the largest producers of hydroponic leafy greens in North America with more than 40 acres (1.8 million square feet) of greenhouse production. Texas marks its 13th greenhouse nationwide, across nine U.S. states: New York, Illinois, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia, Colorado, California, Georgia, and now Texas.
Gotham Greens products are currently available across Texas and throughout the South, at Whole Foods Market, Kroger, Sprouts Farmers Market, AmazonFresh, plus natural and independent grocery stores.
The company is introducing a full line of GO TEXAN locally grown, pesticide-free, non-GMO produce, such as the regionally inspired Lone Star Crunch lettuce and a new line of fresh, convenient salad kits, available in three flavors: Southwest Ranch, Caesar, and Green Goddess.
“Instead of shipping in lettuce and salad greens from California and Arizona, which provide more than 90 percent of all leafy greens in the country, Gotham Greens grows and delivers fresh, high-quality and longer lasting produce right in the heart of Texas using up to 90 percent less water and 97 percent less land compared to conventional open-field farming methods,” says Gotham Greens cofounder and CEO Viraj Puri.
“At Gotham Greens, we’re committed to growing more with less, especially as changing climates are creating less favorable growing conditions across the country," Puri says.
According to Puri, the new Texas greenhouse uses state-of-the-arat technology that includes enhanced automation, climate control, and data science capabilities in a fully closed system to grow food no matter the weather outside. Greenhouses like this are more important as Texas faces ongoing extreme weather events and increased risk of drought.
Gotham Greens saves 300 million gallons of water every year compared to field-grown farming, which is equivalent to around 450 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Gotham Greens’ national network of greenhouses provides a consistent and reliable supply of fresh greens for customers while eliminating the need for long-distance transportation, allowing its produce to stay fresher longer, thus increasing shelf life and decreasing food waste.
In addition to grocery stores, Gotham Greens products also are available at foodservice customers through distributors such as Hardie’s Fresh Foods.
Gotham Greens is a Certified B Corporation and Public Benefit Corporation that champions quality, efficiency, dedication, and freshness in all forms, both inside its greenhouses and throughout the communities where it operates. The facility adds 100 new year-round full-time jobs and is also pushing society toward a more sustainable food system through industry-leading social and environmental practices.
