April 11, 2024 • 23 mins
Chris Michlewicz talks about FarmBox Foods: Designing, building and selling controlled-climate container farms that grow gourmet mushrooms, leafy greens, culinary herbs, micro greens, peppers, tree seedlings and barley fodder.
FarmBox provides you with the tools and knowledge to sustainably grow locally sourced food year-round in any climate, anywhere in the world. They handle all of your transportation logistics and shipping, and their deployment team will even help you get up and running once the farm arrives at your site. https://farmboxfoods.com/
FarmBox provides you with the tools and knowledge to sustainably grow locally sourced food year-round in any climate, anywhere in the world. They handle all of your transportation logistics and shipping, and their deployment team will even help you get up and running once the farm arrives at your site. https://farmboxfoods.com/
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
This week on the Art of Improvement, I'll be speaking with Chris michael Witz.
He's VP of communications for farm BoxFoods. If you haven't heard about
it, Farmbox Foods is a companythat develops hydroponic container farms that are sustainable,
eco friendly methods that promote locally grownfood and year long harvest. My
conversation with Chris is coming up nexton the Art of Improvement. Thank you
(00:28):
so much for listening to the Artof Improvement. I'm Karen Klaus and my
guest is someone i've spoken with before. Chris michael Witz is VP of Communications
for farm Box Foods. Hi,Chris, how are you doing. I'm
doing good, as Karen. Howare you doing? Oh, I'm great.
If you have not heard of farmBox Foods, I mean I know
what it is, but maybe Chris, you could give us an explanation of
(00:52):
what is it. Yeah. Absolutely, So what we do is we take
repurposed shipping containers and we outfit themwith all the plumbing, electrical and sensor
technology needed to grow food year roundanywhere in the world. So these farm
boxes are forty feet long. Itcan be put on the bed of a
truck, on a boat, ona train and get them to wherever food
(01:14):
production is needed. So it's protectedgrowing. Like I said, you're able
to grow year round, kind oftaking out the variables in a lot of
traditional farmer's face like freezes, heatwaves, droughts, pests, stuff like
that. So that's kind of whatwe do in a nutshell with the manufacture
of those farm boxes. And that'syou know, my second question that I
wanted you to elaborate on because Iwas wondering, Okay, I totally get
(01:38):
it, you know, hydroponic containerfarms, but why and I understand with
the weather, especially you know,me being in Texas when it's a thousand
degrees you know during the summer,you have to understand, Okay, this
is what I can grow this season, this is what I can grow that
season when it comes to season.Is that something that farm box Foods has
(02:04):
to be aware of or is it? Or do seasons go away? Growing
seasons? Yeah, growing seasons reallydo go away. So our boxes operate
all the way as far north asAlaska and Canada and as far south as
Jamaica and TGD So that kind ofgives you an idea of the climate,
so they can operate in we seekout specifically the insulated boxes, so they
(02:24):
used to be refrigerated containers. Sothat's a small percentage of what's out there.
But we take the refrigeration you off, kind of close out that wall,
and like I said, outfit itwith everything needed to grow food.
We've got three different types of farmsthat we've developed in our six and a
half years that we've been around,and we deliver these farms wherever they need
(02:44):
to go. So there's just alot going on in the world right now
as far as climate shifts conflict.You know, there's various reasons why people
can't really farm traditionally, and sothis is giving them kind of an alternative
means to grow food with you atresources. So if someone gets well,
first, let me ask you.So you said that there are all different
(03:06):
types of situations where you would needa container growing. Can you give me
some examples. Yeah. So onething that we saw during the pandemic was
the supply chain completely shut down.So suddenly, you know, there were
restaurants and grocery stores that weren't ableto get the food that they were used
to getting, the fresh veggies thatthey were used to getting. So a
(03:27):
lot of them decided to kind ofshift their approach to it. So the
grocery store chain that were with isNatural Grocers. They were one of our
first customers and they were one ofthe ones that were hit hard by the
pandemic, and a lot of peoplestarted thinking about, you know, where
does my food come from? SoNatural Grocers decided to launch a pilot program
(03:49):
at their flagship store in Lakewood,Colorado, where they put one of our
vertical hydroponic farms behind the store andthey were growing there lettuce eighty steps away
from the display case. Nice.Yeah, that means you're greatly reducing your
carbon footprint. It's associated with farmingbecause you're not trucking the veggies from point
eight to point b. The averagekind of lettuce travels about two thousand miles
(04:12):
before it ends up on a platein the US. So taking those trucks
off the road, reducing the carbonfuels and giving people the ability to grow
their own food. So that's whatNatural Grocers decide to do. The food
has its entire nutritional density still intact, because that's something that's usually lost when
(04:33):
it's shipped across the country. It'son a truck or in a distribution center
for seven to ten days. Alot of times within the lettuce that people
are buying from that display case washarvested within the last twenty four hours,
so it also has its entire shelflife, which means people have longer to
eat it, so there's less foodwaste. So there's a lot of different
(04:53):
benefits that go with this, asidefrom the water efficiency and the hyperlocal growing.
I could talk about it all day, but there's people are still figuring
out, you know, how thesefarms apply to their industry specifically, and
we've managed to get proof of conceptin eight industries so far in our six
and a half years. That's amazing. So you mentioned something about, like
(05:15):
you said, vertical hydroponic farming.What can you go into a little bit
about what that is and what isthe difference between that and container a container.
Yeah, so we're growing pretty muchfrom Florida ceilings, so we're using
all the available vertical space within thatforty foot long shippy contain about nine hundred
cubic feet of growing space. Sowe have a gravity fed system and grow
(05:38):
tubes that kind of hang from thesebrackets. There are three separate grow walls
they're dual sided, and they haveholes where we put the plug that has
the seed inside of it. Sowe stagger our growing schedules to make sure
that we have veggies to harvest everysingle week, and we encourage our customers
(05:59):
to do the exact name. We'vesuccessfully grown about seventy five eighty different types
of plants in that vertical hydroponic farm. We did about two two and a
half years worth of research and developmentafter we created that farm and learn what
grows in there, what doesn't,and we pass all of that knowledge onto
our customers so they don't have tofigure it out on their own. So
may we provide that that full training, the full SOPs, the manual to
(06:24):
make sure that they can grow successfully. So you mentioned natural Well, let
me just reintroduce to you if you'rejust now joining us. This is Chris
Michael Whitsy's VP of Communications for FarmBox Foods and I think it's just Farmboxfoods
dot com where can find out moreinformation. So when you were talking about
how many different varieties of vegetables youhave grown, I can, of course
(06:49):
I can see Natural Grocers as beingone of the UH I guess the companies
that came to you and said,you know, what can we do?
How can this work for us?But is there who else can who else
could this possibly be good for besidesa grocery store, which is obviously such
a natural match. Yeah, Sowe're in the restaurant industry because they saw
(07:13):
the same thing during the pandemic,just an inability to source the food that
they were used to getting and thestuff that they were getting wasn't that good
equality and it was it was prettyhigh priced. So grocery, we're in
healthcare, we're in hospitality, agriculture, nonprofit education, grocery, as I
mentioned, And a few months agowe dropped our first farm box off at
(07:35):
a prison in Florida. Wow.Yeah, So they're using that not just
for food production, but they're usingit to kind of give the people that
are behind bars, give them asense of purpose and a skill set that
they can use upon the release.You know, we've done a little bit
of research and we found that,you know, people are just less likely
to reoffend if they kind of havethat skill set and that sense of purpose.
(07:57):
So it's something that we're trying toinstill while they're still you know,
behind bars. So so a workforcedevelopment element to that program, which,
uh, that's kind of what we'redoing in the education space as well,
is uh, you know, thereare high schools that have you know,
trade schools within them, so teachingthe kids this skill set. We dropped
(08:18):
a farm off on a campus inLilton, Colorado about eight or nine months
ago, and they're using it asa hydroponic research lab, but they're also
selling the food that they're growing outof there, so that they are learning
to become entrepreneurs. Because these boxestouched so many areas of interest, so
many subjects in school, you know, building a business plan, data analytics,
(08:39):
building a marketing plan. There's justso much that goes into it.
And these kids are learning all ofthat in high school before they even are
you head off into the world.So we're really big on education. We're
on four school campuses so far withanother two to come. Uh. And
if you're going to take a differentapproach to farming, it's it's really got
to start with the younger generations thatare going to be taking this industry forward.
(09:01):
So inspiring them at a young ageand getting them to realize that the
potential of these farm boxes going intothe future that is so great to hear,
and farming it is such. Thereare so many different professions today that
young people don't even think about.They don't think this is a possibility for
(09:24):
me. And I love the ideathat you're introducing that to young people.
I mean, what is have youhad any feedback? What has the reception
been? Two young people that arenow part of Farm Box Foods, It's
inspiring. I mean, I havethe best job in the world, so
I know, I get the leadtours of our farms and a lot of
those tours are school kids ages youknow, five to eighteen. Nice and
(09:48):
when they step inside, especially asthe vertical hydroponic farm where we've got the
LED lights. You know, itsmells, you know, like plants in
there. It's very therapeutic. Assoon as they walk in there, that
reaction it never gets old me.Their mouth you know, open and you
know, you get the oohs andahs and everything, and then you start
to talk about, you know,how the farm operates and the tech that
(10:09):
assists it. We've got hardware andsoftware in there that makes it as labor
efficient as possible. It takes aboutfifteen to twenty hours per week to run
a vertical hydroponic farm, and really, like I said, it's kind of
inspiring the next generation getting them torealize this technology exists now and this is
something that you could potentially do.You know, given that kids are so
(10:30):
savvyous tech, there's just so muchthat you know, they have the ability
to do. Within this industry,We're just scratching the surface, and it's
going to be those young folks thatare going to really see this industry through
into the future and expand it fromwhere it is right now. I so
agree with you. So whenever Ithink about if you if you haven't been
(10:50):
to farm Boxfoods dot com, pleasego because the website is just absolutely gorgeous.
But if you have not been,in my mind before I ever heard
about you, guys, I said, oh, okay, you walk in
and then there's a bunch of lettuce. I know, don't kill me,
Chris, But it's not just lettuce, right. And the reason I say
(11:11):
that is because when I think ofkids and I think of tomatoes and lettuce,
that's the first thing in my mind. They're like, yuck, I'm
not going to eat this. Butin a way, if they are growing
it, I mean of course they'regoing to want to eat it because it's
like about being proud that you've donesomething. But it is more than just
lettuce and tomatoes, right it is. Yeah, So the vertical hydroponic farm,
(11:33):
Yeah, you're right, it's it'slettuce, it's kale, it's cabbages,
but it's also those cherry tomatoes,culinary herbs, a few different dozen
a few dozen different culinary herbs.So everything from cilantro and basil to rosemary
and thyme. You're able to growmicrogreens in there. Peppers like jalapenos and
ghost peppers, so's there's a bigvariety of stuff that you can grow in
(11:58):
there. And we developed a secondfarm about two or three years into our
existence. It's a gourmet mushroom farm. And everything within these farms is from
seed to harvest or in the mushroomfarm, you know, from sport to
harvest. Everything happens within that threehundred and twenty square foot space. So
the gourmet mushroom farm start to finishgrowing of eighteen different gourmet mushrooms. So
(12:20):
it's the stuff that's really popular thesedays, like lions, main rayci,
you know, the stuff that peopleare using in extracts, and then most
recently, about a year year anda half ago, we introduced our third
type of container farm, and itis a hydroponic fodder farm, and fodder
is basically hay for livestock, andwe're using yeah, we're using barley grain,
(12:41):
and we're sprouting that barley grain,and that farm box within that three
hundred and twenty square feet is generatingeight hundred and fifty pounds per day like
hydroponic fodder. It's insane. It'sabout three tons per week. And one
of the best parts of my jobis, you know, we do research
and develop, you know, wework with ranchers and farmers, and I
get to go out to these ranchesand film these animals eating this fodder that
(13:05):
comes out of our farm, andit is fascinating how quickly it disappears.
Animals just love it. It's atreat for them. So we've tested it
out on alpacas, rabbits, horses, cows, goats, sheep, chickens,
and I think I'm missing one ortwo. But we're starting to work
with zoos because zoos are interested inbringing our fodder farm onto their ground so
(13:28):
they can grow food year round forvarious types of animals. That's amazing and
it takes, you know, beingsustainable to another level almost because really,
yeah, it really does. Andthat's one of the biggest benefits of this
is we're using as little water aspossible. We have farms that are zero
(13:50):
waste, so that's huge going intothe future. The energy draw isn't that
great, and the footprint, likeI said, is only three hundred and
twenty square feet, so you canreally put these wherever they're needed in urban,
suburban, and rural areas. Ifyou're in an urban area and urban
farming is getting huge right now,this farm takes up only five parking spaces,
so that gives you an idea ofthe footprint and the volume of food
(14:13):
you can grow out of that footprint. That's one of our biggest goals is
bringing these farms to food deserts andworking with the organizations that are already working
on food security within those areas andfiguring out how our farm boxes maybe fit
into that. So it's bringing thataccess to nutritious food to communities that typically
don't have it. So when yougrow I kind of think I know the
(14:37):
answer to this, But when yougrow something in water versus soil. Is
there a change in the flavor.There's not a change in the flavor.
So what we're doing is we're dosingin nutrients that the plants would normally get
from the soil. Okay, yeah, so we are. We're giving the
plants everything that they like, youknow, like potassium, magnesium, coppers,
(15:00):
none of the stuff that they don'tneed. You know, in a
traditional growing environment, the plants insome cases really have to work to to
you know, gather those nutrients upright when we're targeting, targeting and specifically
dosing certain amounts into the water that'sbeing run through our system that's providing that
the nutrients. So the plant actuallyhas either equivalent nutrients nutritional value or slightly
(15:28):
higher because of the ability to reallytarget that. So the flavor, in
my opinion, is outstanding. Ifyou pop a cherry tomato that was grown
in our vertical hydroponic farm into yourmouth, it's insane how good the flavor
is. It just kind of burstsin your mouth and you know it's it's
something. We haven't heard any negativereviews on the stuff that's grown in our
(15:50):
farm. Boxes. It's so funnybecause you say that with such passion.
But when I go to the grocerystore, I honestly go to other grocery
stores to get my vegetables and fruitsbecause there was a time several years ago
that I just realized, you know, this tomato doesn't taste like a tomato.
(16:12):
It looks like a tomato, itacts like a tomato, but it
doesn't taste like the tomatoes that Iremember. And that was because my grandpa
had a farm when we were little, and we got to pick everything,
and you would eat it right thereand say, that's a tomato. I
mean, what is it? Isit because of it having to be transported
(16:32):
and picked too early that tomatoes tastedifferent. That's part of it, you
know, the genetic modifications that havebeen made over the last couple of years.
I think it's really it has changedthat flavor profile. What we're what
we're trying to do is is bea little bit more old school and bring
back those traditional flavors that you thatyou're used to getting in your veggies as
a kid. It's something that youknow, people have to enjoy what comes
(16:59):
out of those boxes for them tobe successful. If people turn their nose
up at the food. Then wehave a very good business model. Yeah,
sure, we've been We've been reallyfortunate to have nothing but positive feedback
from our customers and their customers.You know, we've got people that are
running c essays, the community supportedagriculture programs where they're they're adding you know,
(17:22):
vegies that are grown in our boxesto their menu and people rave about
it. So we just want tocontinue that trend. That's amazing. And
so where can a company, wherecan a nonprofit? Where can they go
to get more information about how theycan be a part of Farm Box Foods.
Yeah, just go to farm Boxfoodsdot com or reach out to us
(17:45):
directly at info at Farmboxfoods dot com. We can start the conversation there.
We do have you know, nonprofitpartners. You know, food pantries are
an area that we really want toexpand into. We do have a few
that are that are currently doing it. There's a nonprofit in Pueblo, Colorado
called Pueblo Diversified Industries and they usetheir vertical hydroponic farm not just for food
(18:08):
production, but the people that arerunning this box are folks that have intellectual
and developmental disabilities. That's awesome.So, and some of them are vision
impaired, hearing impaired, and it'sgiving them this skill set, kind of
developing that workforce and helping them becomea little bit more independent. And to
your point earlier, you know,you actually have something tangible to hold and
(18:29):
to eat at the end of theprocess. So there's this sense of pride
that these people get that they don'tnormally have an opportunity to get. So
that's probably my favorite out of allof our boxes, just because of the
many things that it's doing. Thepositivity that comes out of that box is
just really inspiring. And it isand every time I've talked to you,
(18:51):
it's just like opens my eyes tohow smart this is and how great it
is, and how mad I amthat I can't eat one of the products
that come out. But I remembera long time ago when we talked,
you mentioned something about trees also beingone of the products that you guys were
growing. How has that been progressingcorrect? Yeah, So we were always
(19:15):
experimenting with what can we grow inthese boxes, what can't we grow?
So about a year and a halfago we decided to try out trees just
to see if they would work inthis farm tree ceilings, and we started
out with native species here in Colorado, so blue spruces, and they did
really, really well. So wehave expanded upon that and we have now
(19:38):
a program with our local electric cooperative. They're called Core Electric. They're just
s. So what they do,and what a lot of electrical companies do,
is they have to put up powerlines and in that process they have
to take out trees. Yeah,they also have to cut back trees that
are setting existing power lines so there'sno wildfireers. So Core's plan is to
(20:03):
basically put back into the ground everythingthat they've taken out. So they set
up a three year program where they'regoing to grow fifteen thousand trees in our
vertical hydroponic farm tree seedlings that arethen going to be planted in the Hayman
Burn area, which is about thirtymiles southwest of where I am currently.
It was at the time one ofit was the largest wildfire in Colorado's history.
(20:29):
So the plan is to go onboth public and private property with permission
of property owners up there and revegetatethat burn area, bring it back a
little bit sooner than it normally wouldcome back because what we've seen in the
twenty years since that fire occurred isa lot of mudslides, a lot of
flooding within that area, and we'retrying to get that root system back into
(20:51):
the soil to really shore up thatarea and like I said, bring it
back a little bit quicker. Sovery much a pioneering program. We're doing
a lot of research and development throughoutthe process, just figuring out what do
the trees like, what conditions dothey favor, what is the parts permelion
on nutrients that we're dosing, Whatdoes the lighting schedule and the watering schedule
(21:12):
look like to really be able todeploy these two tree farms and other areas
maybe in California where they've had severewildfires, and again bring those areas back
with vegetation a little bit quicker.That's amazing. That is really amazing.
We're wrapping up here, but Ijust I am constantly amazed by the new
(21:33):
things that you guys. Oh,I had one more question before I wrap
up, would you I mean,not that it even matters because it's growing
fresh right in front of you,but are your products or whatever grows is
it considered organic? So it's upto each one of our customers to get
the organic status. Okay, whatwe say is our farms are organic capable,
(21:53):
but it requires each individual customer togo through whatever right the Tory Agency
overseas organic production in their area tomake sure that the nutrient blend you know,
is in line with what they're whatthey're expecting. So organic capable.
But and there are a few ofour customers, including natural grossers, that
(22:15):
are growing organically, So it's reallyup to each each customer on what they
want to do and how they wantto operate that far. How dumb of
me to ask, I'll forget it. So it's like a bureaucratic like check
off the box in order to becomeorganic. But basically it is, it
just doesn't have the stamp that saysofficial. Okay, okay for anybody that
(22:37):
is interested in learning more information,of course farm Boxfoods dot com. But
Chris, where can people go toget more information on getting one of these
farm box food containers? Yeah,like I said, they can email us
at info at Farmboxfoods dot com.They can also call us at one eight
hundred nine four six one seven tothree and we can walk people through the
(23:03):
process. Even if they're just kindof curious. If they want to explore
what this looks like for them orwhatever organization they're a part of, we
can certainly have that conversation. Youcan also reach out to us on social
media. We're on I think allof the platforms, so everything from TikTok
and threads to YouTube and LinkedIn,so find us there. We've We've got
a lot of content that we tryto make sure is very accessible to people,
(23:26):
make sure that they're able to understandexactly what we're doing and why we're
doing it. So I highly recommendgoing to each one of those channels and
check out what we're doing. Absolutelywell. It has been a pleasure.
Chris michael Witz, VP of Communicationsfor Farm Box Foods. I hope we
get to talk again soon. Thankyou, Karen. I would love to
This week on the Art of Improvement, I'll be speaking with Chris michael Witz.
He's VP of communications for farm BoxFoods. If you haven't heard about
it, Farmbox Foods is a companythat develops hydroponic container farms that are sustainable,
eco friendly methods that promote locally grownfood and year long harvest. My
conversation with Chris is coming up nexton the Art of Improvement. Thank you
(00:28):
so much for listening to the Artof Improvement. I'm Karen Klaus and my
guest is someone i've spoken with before. Chris michael Witz is VP of Communications
for farm Box Foods. Hi,Chris, how are you doing. I'm
doing good, as Karen. Howare you doing? Oh, I'm great.
If you have not heard of farmBox Foods, I mean I know
what it is, but maybe Chris, you could give us an explanation of
(00:52):
what is it. Yeah. Absolutely, So what we do is we take
repurposed shipping containers and we outfit themwith all the plumbing, electrical and sensor
technology needed to grow food year roundanywhere in the world. So these farm
boxes are forty feet long. Itcan be put on the bed of a
truck, on a boat, ona train and get them to wherever food
(01:14):
production is needed. So it's protectedgrowing. Like I said, you're able
to grow year round, kind oftaking out the variables in a lot of
traditional farmer's face like freezes, heatwaves, droughts, pests, stuff like
that. So that's kind of whatwe do in a nutshell with the manufacture
of those farm boxes. And that'syou know, my second question that I
wanted you to elaborate on because Iwas wondering, Okay, I totally get
(01:38):
it, you know, hydroponic containerfarms, but why and I understand with
the weather, especially you know,me being in Texas when it's a thousand
degrees you know during the summer,you have to understand, Okay, this
is what I can grow this season, this is what I can grow that
season when it comes to season.Is that something that farm box Foods has
(02:04):
to be aware of or is it? Or do seasons go away? Growing
seasons? Yeah, growing seasons reallydo go away. So our boxes operate
all the way as far north asAlaska and Canada and as far south as
Jamaica and TGD So that kind ofgives you an idea of the climate,
so they can operate in we seekout specifically the insulated boxes, so they
(02:24):
used to be refrigerated containers. Sothat's a small percentage of what's out there.
But we take the refrigeration you off, kind of close out that wall,
and like I said, outfit itwith everything needed to grow food.
We've got three different types of farmsthat we've developed in our six and a
half years that we've been around,and we deliver these farms wherever they need
(02:44):
to go. So there's just alot going on in the world right now
as far as climate shifts conflict.You know, there's various reasons why people
can't really farm traditionally, and sothis is giving them kind of an alternative
means to grow food with you atresources. So if someone gets well,
first, let me ask you.So you said that there are all different
(03:06):
types of situations where you would needa container growing. Can you give me
some examples. Yeah. So onething that we saw during the pandemic was
the supply chain completely shut down.So suddenly, you know, there were
restaurants and grocery stores that weren't ableto get the food that they were used
to getting, the fresh veggies thatthey were used to getting. So a
(03:27):
lot of them decided to kind ofshift their approach to it. So the
grocery store chain that were with isNatural Grocers. They were one of our
first customers and they were one ofthe ones that were hit hard by the
pandemic, and a lot of peoplestarted thinking about, you know, where
does my food come from? SoNatural Grocers decided to launch a pilot program
(03:49):
at their flagship store in Lakewood,Colorado, where they put one of our
vertical hydroponic farms behind the store andthey were growing there lettuce eighty steps away
from the display case. Nice.Yeah, that means you're greatly reducing your
carbon footprint. It's associated with farmingbecause you're not trucking the veggies from point
eight to point b. The averagekind of lettuce travels about two thousand miles
(04:12):
before it ends up on a platein the US. So taking those trucks
off the road, reducing the carbonfuels and giving people the ability to grow
their own food. So that's whatNatural Grocers decide to do. The food
has its entire nutritional density still intact, because that's something that's usually lost when
(04:33):
it's shipped across the country. It'son a truck or in a distribution center
for seven to ten days. Alot of times within the lettuce that people
are buying from that display case washarvested within the last twenty four hours,
so it also has its entire shelflife, which means people have longer to
eat it, so there's less foodwaste. So there's a lot of different
(04:53):
benefits that go with this, asidefrom the water efficiency and the hyperlocal growing.
I could talk about it all day, but there's people are still figuring
out, you know, how thesefarms apply to their industry specifically, and
we've managed to get proof of conceptin eight industries so far in our six
and a half years. That's amazing. So you mentioned something about, like
(05:15):
you said, vertical hydroponic farming.What can you go into a little bit
about what that is and what isthe difference between that and container a container.
Yeah, so we're growing pretty muchfrom Florida ceilings, so we're using
all the available vertical space within thatforty foot long shippy contain about nine hundred
cubic feet of growing space. Sowe have a gravity fed system and grow
(05:38):
tubes that kind of hang from thesebrackets. There are three separate grow walls
they're dual sided, and they haveholes where we put the plug that has
the seed inside of it. Sowe stagger our growing schedules to make sure
that we have veggies to harvest everysingle week, and we encourage our customers
(05:59):
to do the exact name. We'vesuccessfully grown about seventy five eighty different types
of plants in that vertical hydroponic farm. We did about two two and a
half years worth of research and developmentafter we created that farm and learn what
grows in there, what doesn't,and we pass all of that knowledge onto
our customers so they don't have tofigure it out on their own. So
may we provide that that full training, the full SOPs, the manual to
(06:24):
make sure that they can grow successfully. So you mentioned natural Well, let
me just reintroduce to you if you'rejust now joining us. This is Chris
Michael Whitsy's VP of Communications for FarmBox Foods and I think it's just Farmboxfoods
dot com where can find out moreinformation. So when you were talking about
how many different varieties of vegetables youhave grown, I can, of course
(06:49):
I can see Natural Grocers as beingone of the UH I guess the companies
that came to you and said,you know, what can we do?
How can this work for us?But is there who else can who else
could this possibly be good for besidesa grocery store, which is obviously such
a natural match. Yeah, Sowe're in the restaurant industry because they saw
(07:13):
the same thing during the pandemic,just an inability to source the food that
they were used to getting and thestuff that they were getting wasn't that good
equality and it was it was prettyhigh priced. So grocery, we're in
healthcare, we're in hospitality, agriculture, nonprofit education, grocery, as I
mentioned, And a few months agowe dropped our first farm box off at
(07:35):
a prison in Florida. Wow.Yeah, So they're using that not just
for food production, but they're usingit to kind of give the people that
are behind bars, give them asense of purpose and a skill set that
they can use upon the release.You know, we've done a little bit
of research and we found that,you know, people are just less likely
to reoffend if they kind of havethat skill set and that sense of purpose.
(07:57):
So it's something that we're trying toinstill while they're still you know,
behind bars. So so a workforcedevelopment element to that program, which,
uh, that's kind of what we'redoing in the education space as well,
is uh, you know, thereare high schools that have you know,
trade schools within them, so teachingthe kids this skill set. We dropped
(08:18):
a farm off on a campus inLilton, Colorado about eight or nine months
ago, and they're using it asa hydroponic research lab, but they're also
selling the food that they're growing outof there, so that they are learning
to become entrepreneurs. Because these boxestouched so many areas of interest, so
many subjects in school, you know, building a business plan, data analytics,
(08:39):
building a marketing plan. There's justso much that goes into it.
And these kids are learning all ofthat in high school before they even are
you head off into the world.So we're really big on education. We're
on four school campuses so far withanother two to come. Uh. And
if you're going to take a differentapproach to farming, it's it's really got
to start with the younger generations thatare going to be taking this industry forward.
(09:01):
So inspiring them at a young ageand getting them to realize that the
potential of these farm boxes going intothe future that is so great to hear,
and farming it is such. Thereare so many different professions today that
young people don't even think about.They don't think this is a possibility for
(09:24):
me. And I love the ideathat you're introducing that to young people.
I mean, what is have youhad any feedback? What has the reception
been? Two young people that arenow part of Farm Box Foods, It's
inspiring. I mean, I havethe best job in the world, so
I know, I get the leadtours of our farms and a lot of
those tours are school kids ages youknow, five to eighteen. Nice and
(09:48):
when they step inside, especially asthe vertical hydroponic farm where we've got the
LED lights. You know, itsmells, you know, like plants in
there. It's very therapeutic. Assoon as they walk in there, that
reaction it never gets old me.Their mouth you know, open and you
know, you get the oohs andahs and everything, and then you start
to talk about, you know,how the farm operates and the tech that
(10:09):
assists it. We've got hardware andsoftware in there that makes it as labor
efficient as possible. It takes aboutfifteen to twenty hours per week to run
a vertical hydroponic farm, and really, like I said, it's kind of
inspiring the next generation getting them torealize this technology exists now and this is
something that you could potentially do.You know, given that kids are so
(10:30):
savvyous tech, there's just so muchthat you know, they have the ability
to do. Within this industry,We're just scratching the surface, and it's
going to be those young folks thatare going to really see this industry through
into the future and expand it fromwhere it is right now. I so
agree with you. So whenever Ithink about if you if you haven't been
(10:50):
to farm Boxfoods dot com, pleasego because the website is just absolutely gorgeous.
But if you have not been,in my mind before I ever heard
about you, guys, I said, oh, okay, you walk in
and then there's a bunch of lettuce. I know, don't kill me,
Chris, But it's not just lettuce, right. And the reason I say
(11:11):
that is because when I think ofkids and I think of tomatoes and lettuce,
that's the first thing in my mind. They're like, yuck, I'm
not going to eat this. Butin a way, if they are growing
it, I mean of course they'regoing to want to eat it because it's
like about being proud that you've donesomething. But it is more than just
lettuce and tomatoes, right it is. Yeah, So the vertical hydroponic farm,
(11:33):
Yeah, you're right, it's it'slettuce, it's kale, it's cabbages,
but it's also those cherry tomatoes,culinary herbs, a few different dozen
a few dozen different culinary herbs.So everything from cilantro and basil to rosemary
and thyme. You're able to growmicrogreens in there. Peppers like jalapenos and
ghost peppers, so's there's a bigvariety of stuff that you can grow in
(11:58):
there. And we developed a secondfarm about two or three years into our
existence. It's a gourmet mushroom farm. And everything within these farms is from
seed to harvest or in the mushroomfarm, you know, from sport to
harvest. Everything happens within that threehundred and twenty square foot space. So
the gourmet mushroom farm start to finishgrowing of eighteen different gourmet mushrooms. So
(12:20):
it's the stuff that's really popular thesedays, like lions, main rayci,
you know, the stuff that peopleare using in extracts, and then most
recently, about a year year anda half ago, we introduced our third
type of container farm, and itis a hydroponic fodder farm, and fodder
is basically hay for livestock, andwe're using yeah, we're using barley grain,
(12:41):
and we're sprouting that barley grain,and that farm box within that three
hundred and twenty square feet is generatingeight hundred and fifty pounds per day like
hydroponic fodder. It's insane. It'sabout three tons per week. And one
of the best parts of my jobis, you know, we do research
and develop, you know, wework with ranchers and farmers, and I
get to go out to these ranchesand film these animals eating this fodder that
(13:05):
comes out of our farm, andit is fascinating how quickly it disappears.
Animals just love it. It's atreat for them. So we've tested it
out on alpacas, rabbits, horses, cows, goats, sheep, chickens,
and I think I'm missing one ortwo. But we're starting to work
with zoos because zoos are interested inbringing our fodder farm onto their ground so
(13:28):
they can grow food year round forvarious types of animals. That's amazing and
it takes, you know, beingsustainable to another level almost because really,
yeah, it really does. Andthat's one of the biggest benefits of this
is we're using as little water aspossible. We have farms that are zero
(13:50):
waste, so that's huge going intothe future. The energy draw isn't that
great, and the footprint, likeI said, is only three hundred and
twenty square feet, so you canreally put these wherever they're needed in urban,
suburban, and rural areas. Ifyou're in an urban area and urban
farming is getting huge right now,this farm takes up only five parking spaces,
so that gives you an idea ofthe footprint and the volume of food
(14:13):
you can grow out of that footprint. That's one of our biggest goals is
bringing these farms to food deserts andworking with the organizations that are already working
on food security within those areas andfiguring out how our farm boxes maybe fit
into that. So it's bringing thataccess to nutritious food to communities that typically
don't have it. So when yougrow I kind of think I know the
(14:37):
answer to this, But when yougrow something in water versus soil. Is
there a change in the flavor.There's not a change in the flavor.
So what we're doing is we're dosingin nutrients that the plants would normally get
from the soil. Okay, yeah, so we are. We're giving the
plants everything that they like, youknow, like potassium, magnesium, coppers,
(15:00):
none of the stuff that they don'tneed. You know, in a
traditional growing environment, the plants insome cases really have to work to to
you know, gather those nutrients upright when we're targeting, targeting and specifically
dosing certain amounts into the water that'sbeing run through our system that's providing that
the nutrients. So the plant actuallyhas either equivalent nutrients nutritional value or slightly
(15:28):
higher because of the ability to reallytarget that. So the flavor, in
my opinion, is outstanding. Ifyou pop a cherry tomato that was grown
in our vertical hydroponic farm into yourmouth, it's insane how good the flavor
is. It just kind of burstsin your mouth and you know it's it's
something. We haven't heard any negativereviews on the stuff that's grown in our
(15:50):
farm. Boxes. It's so funnybecause you say that with such passion.
But when I go to the grocerystore, I honestly go to other grocery
stores to get my vegetables and fruitsbecause there was a time several years ago
that I just realized, you know, this tomato doesn't taste like a tomato.
(16:12):
It looks like a tomato, itacts like a tomato, but it
doesn't taste like the tomatoes that Iremember. And that was because my grandpa
had a farm when we were little, and we got to pick everything,
and you would eat it right thereand say, that's a tomato. I
mean, what is it? Isit because of it having to be transported
(16:32):
and picked too early that tomatoes tastedifferent. That's part of it, you
know, the genetic modifications that havebeen made over the last couple of years.
I think it's really it has changedthat flavor profile. What we're what
we're trying to do is is bea little bit more old school and bring
back those traditional flavors that you thatyou're used to getting in your veggies as
a kid. It's something that youknow, people have to enjoy what comes
(16:59):
out of those boxes for them tobe successful. If people turn their nose
up at the food. Then wehave a very good business model. Yeah,
sure, we've been We've been reallyfortunate to have nothing but positive feedback
from our customers and their customers.You know, we've got people that are
running c essays, the community supportedagriculture programs where they're they're adding you know,
(17:22):
vegies that are grown in our boxesto their menu and people rave about
it. So we just want tocontinue that trend. That's amazing. And
so where can a company, wherecan a nonprofit? Where can they go
to get more information about how theycan be a part of Farm Box Foods.
Yeah, just go to farm Boxfoodsdot com or reach out to us
(17:45):
directly at info at Farmboxfoods dot com. We can start the conversation there.
We do have you know, nonprofitpartners. You know, food pantries are
an area that we really want toexpand into. We do have a few
that are that are currently doing it. There's a nonprofit in Pueblo, Colorado
called Pueblo Diversified Industries and they usetheir vertical hydroponic farm not just for food
(18:08):
production, but the people that arerunning this box are folks that have intellectual
and developmental disabilities. That's awesome.So, and some of them are vision
impaired, hearing impaired, and it'sgiving them this skill set, kind of
developing that workforce and helping them becomea little bit more independent. And to
your point earlier, you know,you actually have something tangible to hold and
(18:29):
to eat at the end of theprocess. So there's this sense of pride
that these people get that they don'tnormally have an opportunity to get. So
that's probably my favorite out of allof our boxes, just because of the
many things that it's doing. Thepositivity that comes out of that box is
just really inspiring. And it isand every time I've talked to you,
(18:51):
it's just like opens my eyes tohow smart this is and how great it
is, and how mad I amthat I can't eat one of the products
that come out. But I remembera long time ago when we talked,
you mentioned something about trees also beingone of the products that you guys were
growing. How has that been progressingcorrect? Yeah, So we were always
(19:15):
experimenting with what can we grow inthese boxes, what can't we grow?
So about a year and a halfago we decided to try out trees just
to see if they would work inthis farm tree ceilings, and we started
out with native species here in Colorado, so blue spruces, and they did
really, really well. So wehave expanded upon that and we have now
(19:38):
a program with our local electric cooperative. They're called Core Electric. They're just
s. So what they do,and what a lot of electrical companies do,
is they have to put up powerlines and in that process they have
to take out trees. Yeah,they also have to cut back trees that
are setting existing power lines so there'sno wildfireers. So Core's plan is to
(20:03):
basically put back into the ground everythingthat they've taken out. So they set
up a three year program where they'regoing to grow fifteen thousand trees in our
vertical hydroponic farm tree seedlings that arethen going to be planted in the Hayman
Burn area, which is about thirtymiles southwest of where I am currently.
It was at the time one ofit was the largest wildfire in Colorado's history.
(20:29):
So the plan is to go onboth public and private property with permission
of property owners up there and revegetatethat burn area, bring it back a
little bit sooner than it normally wouldcome back because what we've seen in the
twenty years since that fire occurred isa lot of mudslides, a lot of
flooding within that area, and we'retrying to get that root system back into
(20:51):
the soil to really shore up thatarea and like I said, bring it
back a little bit quicker. Sovery much a pioneering program. We're doing
a lot of research and development throughoutthe process, just figuring out what do
the trees like, what conditions dothey favor, what is the parts permelion
on nutrients that we're dosing, Whatdoes the lighting schedule and the watering schedule
(21:12):
look like to really be able todeploy these two tree farms and other areas
maybe in California where they've had severewildfires, and again bring those areas back
with vegetation a little bit quicker.That's amazing. That is really amazing.
We're wrapping up here, but Ijust I am constantly amazed by the new
(21:33):
things that you guys. Oh,I had one more question before I wrap
up, would you I mean,not that it even matters because it's growing
fresh right in front of you,but are your products or whatever grows is
it considered organic? So it's upto each one of our customers to get
the organic status. Okay, whatwe say is our farms are organic capable,
(21:53):
but it requires each individual customer togo through whatever right the Tory Agency
overseas organic production in their area tomake sure that the nutrient blend you know,
is in line with what they're whatthey're expecting. So organic capable.
But and there are a few ofour customers, including natural grossers, that
(22:15):
are growing organically, So it's reallyup to each each customer on what they
want to do and how they wantto operate that far. How dumb of
me to ask, I'll forget it. So it's like a bureaucratic like check
off the box in order to becomeorganic. But basically it is, it
just doesn't have the stamp that saysofficial. Okay, okay for anybody that
(22:37):
is interested in learning more information,of course farm Boxfoods dot com. But
Chris, where can people go toget more information on getting one of these
farm box food containers? Yeah,like I said, they can email us
at info at Farmboxfoods dot com.They can also call us at one eight
hundred nine four six one seven tothree and we can walk people through the
(23:03):
process. Even if they're just kindof curious. If they want to explore
what this looks like for them orwhatever organization they're a part of, we
can certainly have that conversation. Youcan also reach out to us on social
media. We're on I think allof the platforms, so everything from TikTok
and threads to YouTube and LinkedIn,so find us there. We've We've got
a lot of content that we tryto make sure is very accessible to people,
(23:26):
make sure that they're able to understandexactly what we're doing and why we're
doing it. So I highly recommendgoing to each one of those channels and
check out what we're doing. Absolutelywell. It has been a pleasure.
Chris michael Witz, VP of Communicationsfor Farm Box Foods. I hope we
get to talk again soon. Thankyou, Karen. I would love to
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