“Ty is our tomato guy,” said Nona Yehia, co-founder and CEO of Vertical Harvest, an innovative three-story greenhouse in downtown Jackson, Wyoming.
Yehia smiled proudly as she watched the slender 6’5 ” Warner carefully work his way through the towering canopy of plants, dragging the ripe tomatoes overhead. “Tai is good at all aspects of growing tomatoes. It’s really impressive. ”
Running a covered farm in Wyoming’s snowy northwest corner wasn’t quite the job Yehia envisioned years ago. In 2008, after a New York-based architect moved to Jackson to start a new firm, Yehia wanted to try something innovative in her new community.
“We really wanted to tackle the problem of a sustainable local food source,” she said.
Idea to climb
Jackson is located at just over 6,000 feet, between Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Teton National Forest, and its location means that farmers have very little space and good weather to grow fresh produce for the bustling tourist town. …
“We came together to find a custom solution, and that’s where the idea came from,” said Yehia.
Ap was located on a 1/10-acre lot adjacent to an existing garage.
In the spring of 2016, Vertical Harvest began growing its first lettuce, microgreens and tomatoes. The farm’s current staff of 40 now grows year-round and grows an amount equivalent to ten acres of traditional outdoor farming.
Yehia says all of the produce is distributed to 40 local restaurants and four grocery stores.
“Nona approached this as something unique to chefs that they can enjoy year round,” said Ben Westenburg, Persephone’s chef and partner in the West Bank in nearby Wilson, Wyoming. “It’s so easy to call Vertical Harvest and say, ‘I need some greens and tomatoes for the salad and some really pretty greens.’ And they’re like, “Okay, we’ll be there tomorrow.”
“We combine innovation with an underserved population”
While planning a new greenhouse, Yehia and her design team realized they needed to do more than just grow fresh greens for the locals.
“There was a bigger problem,” Yehia said. “People with physical and mental disabilities in our city who wanted to work, who wanted to find consistent and meaningful work, could not do it. We are combining innovation with low-income people and are truly changing the mindset of what that population can do. ”
Half of Vertical Harvest’s employees are physically or mentally disabled. Yehia, whose older brother is disabled, says every employee, including Warner, who has autism, is critical to keeping Vertical Harvest running.
“We can empower the poorest in our communities simply by giving them a chance and giving them the opportunity to give something back,” explained Yehia.
“People with disabilities have a hard time finding work,” says Sean Stone, who washed dishes at several restaurants in the city before joining Vertical Harvest as a farmer. “I am happy to help the community and grow fresh food for them.”
Growing outside of Wyoming
In July, Yehia announced that Vertical Harvest would expand to serve a second community. The new farm, located in Westbrook, Maine, will open in 2022 and will be five times larger than the original greenhouse in Wyoming.
The goal is to grow 1 million pounds of produce annually for local restaurants, grocery stores, hospitals and schools.
“As we move to Maine and have a much more spacious space, we are excited to play the model of delivering local products in an urban setting,” she says.
Yehia believes this year’s global pandemic has prompted consumers and communities across the country to explore new ways to get fresher produce from closer sources.
“Covid has shed light on what we knew a decade ago when we looked at this vertical model: we have a centralized food system and it doesn’t allow us to get fresh, good-tasting local produce,” said Yehia. “I think Covid-19 made people ask why this is and how they can now get the local food they like in the summer and get it all year round. This is exactly what Vertical Harvest is. ”