FROM SHIPPING CONTAINER TO YOUR TABLE

When Michael Bissanti opened Four Burgers in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2008, he wanted to create a fast food restaurant whose ingredients were natural and sourced from organic and local farms. Today, Bissanti only needs to walk out the back door of his restaurant to pick all the fresh lettuce, arugula, mustard greens, and herbs he needs. Even in cold Boston winters, Bissanti is just feet away from fresh produce, despite his restaurant being located between Harvard and MIT. That’s because Bissanti is one of more than 50 farmers across the country growing produce in refrigerated shipping containers known as Leafy Green Machines, created by the Boston-based start-up Freight Farms. Outfitted with vertical hydroponics and LED light systems, the Leafy Green Machines are 320 square-foot self-contained farming units that can grow as much produce as two acres of farmland using less water per day than the average American needs for a single shower.

Source: Think Progress, 2/4/16, New Urban Farms