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Container farms are mobilizing locally produced food

 Shipping containers are bringing produce closer to consumers.

Jill Frey is the first to admit she has no background as a farmer but while looking for a change during the pandemic, she found Freight Farms, an ag-tech company that focuses on moving farms, not food. 

“I just became really intrigued with the idea of being able to grow in an urban core,” she shares. 

She made the investment in the turnkey business and now grows fresh lettuce and herbs in a hydroponic shipping container in Grand Rapids under her label Superbloom Farms.  

“These farms are able to produce anywhere from 6,000 to 11,000 pounds of food a year,” she explains. 

It takes seven weeks for Frey to go from seed to a salable product.   

Since starting last November, Frey has relied on the online farmer’s market Market Wagon and the quality of her products to expand local marketing opportunities which now extend into area grocery stores and restaurants.  

She tells Brownfield the largest challenge was securing a location but as demand has grown, she’s planning to expand the business with more containers and community involvement. 

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