Founded: 2016

Farm locations: Brooklyn, NY

Examples of Crops Grown: Salad Greens, Herbs, Microgreens

Where to Buy: Morton Williams, Food Emporium, Foodtown, Key Food

Vision: “Bringing local, real food to people in cities around the world while empowering next-gen leaders in urban, indoor farming”

Sustainability Backstory:  While many vertical farms are set up in already standing buildings, Square Roots utilizes old shipping containers for their growing operations. Collaborating with the company, Freight Farms, they were able to purchase repurposed containers for their urban farms in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn and Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

In an effort to connect consumers with their produce, they created the Transparency Timeline process. Tracing each step of the production process, consumers can scan a QR code on their package of Square Roots produce and see the life cycle of what they’re buying; form where the seeds were sourced to its harvest date. 

Square Roots also manages the Next-Gen Farming Program with up and coming farmers. The new farmers sign on as Apprentice Growers. “One of the many ways Square Roots invests in the future of farming is through our Next-Gen Farmer Training Program...Through [their] proprietary training methodology—supported by [their] intuitive technology platform—Apprentice Growers rapidly learn the essential farm skills needed to move into permanent roles on the farm team and accelerate their careers” (Square Roots, 2020).