FOOD & DRINK
Fresh Direct Stands Up for Vertical Farming
- FRESH DIRECT -
Fresh Direct , the UK ’ s leading provider of foodservice fresh produce , has partnered with a third British vertical farming business , GrowUp Farms , as it continues to support this innovative technology .
All Fresh Direct ’ s vertical farming partners are British and cover a wide range of herbs , salad and baby leaves , providing year-round access to these crops , helping address food security concerns and weatherrelated issues with harvests that have caused significant challenges for conventional growers over the past few years .
The latest supplier to partner with Fresh Direct is certified B Corp , GrowUp , which produces salad leaves at its modern vertical farm , designed to reduce its carbon emissions . The farm , which is powered by renewable energy from the bioenergy plant next to the facility , does not cause soil erosion , and produces long-lasting products year-round in the UK , which cuts down food waste and lorry miles . GrowUp also aims to use 90 % less water when fully operational and , because the farm is a completely enclosed process , requires no pesticides , fungicides or weedkiller .
In addition , Fresh Direct ’ s development chefs rigorously tested the new products and found that , as well as the sustainability benefits , the produce significantly outperformed conventional leaves for quality and freshness .
Paul Nieduszynski , CEO at Sysco GB , said : “ Vertical farming has made some fantastic strides forward in the past couple of years , and has become a much more practical solution , helping to support conventionally grown produce . We want to support British agriculture in all its forms and have been an early adopter of this technology , which gives us a year-round solution with enviable quality .
“ Adding GrowUp to our portfolio of vertical growers gives our customers even greater access to high quality , locally grown produce with no concerns about the weather , seasonal changes or quality .”
www . sysco . com
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