'World’s Largest Indoor Vertical Farm' Keeps Growing In Newark

NEWARK, NJ — Before AeroFarms moved into a former steel mill in Newark, the ailing, 75-year-old building was like many others in the city: full of promise but needing new life.

Now, more than four years after AeroFarms planted the first seed at their global headquarters, new life has indeed arrived in the city’s Ironbound neighborhood – nearly two million pounds of it. That’s the amount of leafy greens that sprout every year at 212 Rome Street, where an enormous, 70,000 square foot facility houses the “largest indoor vertical farm in the world.”

AeroFarms, which has other facilities in Newark, has continued to turn heads with its cutting-edge setup at its flagship facility, where a closed-loop, aeroponic water circulation system uses 95 percent less water than field farmed-food, yet yields a whopping 390 times higher per square foot. Since it’s much easier to control the environment indoors, the company is also able to avoid using pesticides on its crops, which include watercress, arugula and kale.

It’s all done with a colorful array of LED lights, allowing the company to defy traditional growing seasons and produce their produce all year-round.

But don’t plants need dirt to live? Nope, AeroFarms says. They only need water and nutrients – which are traditionally stored and provided by soil.

“We grow our greens in a BPA-free, post-consumer recycled, reusable cloth,” AeroFarms states. “Below the cloth, we create a mist environment, containing the exact amounts of water and nutrients the plants need, when they need it. Then we filter and recirculate the water and nutrient solution. Above the cloth, the leaves stay completely clean.”

Since launching in 2004, the company has also souped up its distribution efforts. AeroFarms products can now be found at major retailers like ShopRite, Whole Foods, FreshDirect and AmazonFresh, and are used by clients such as renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson at his Marcus B&P restaurant in Newark.

AeroFarms recently picked up a pair of industry nods for its unique business model.

In January, the Business Intelligence Group named it as one of the winners of its BIG Innovation Awards, which recognizes “organizations and people who bring new ideas to life.” And earlier in February, AeroFarms was named as the Circular Economy Innovation of the Year as part of the EDIE Sustainability Leaders Awards.

AeroFarms previously got a big thumbs-up from Sen. Cory Booker, one of the most well-known vegans in the Garden State, who advocated for the company during his time as mayor of Newark.

New Jersey’s other U.S. senator, Robert Menendez, has also supported the business, touring the Newark headquarters in 2018.

• See related article: This Indoor Urban Farm Is 'Redefining' NJ, Sen. Menendez Says

“Urban farming is changing the way we think of traditional farming and redefining the Garden State,” Menendez said, calling AeroFarms a “great addition to New Jersey.”

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COVID-19 CAN’T STOP THE GREEN

AeroFarms has made several adjustments to its operations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

For example, its team members wear personal protective equipment including hairnets, face covers, safety gloves/glasses and overcoats. Facilities also have HVAC filtration systems in place with a MERV rating of 13.

Other safety precautions include:

• Closing facilities to only essential personnel
• Reminding team members to stay home from work if they are sick
• Evaluating every team member with an infrared thermometer before accessing the farm
• Sending home any team member who is symptomatic
• Implementing heightened sanitation practices that includes making sure surfaces and work areas are being sanitized multiple times every day
• Asking team members who have traveled to impacted areas to self-quarantine for 14 days
• Promoting working from home where possible and limiting face-to-face meetings

“AeroFarms has taken its designation as an ‘essential worker’ to heart, and we are incredibly proud of our team maintaining continuous operations since COVID-19 started in order to feed and nourish our community,” a spokesperson recently told Patch.

According to the company’s website:

“As we continue to monitor COVID-19 developments, we want to emphasize the importance of taking care of ourselves, our loved ones, and our customers. As a food producing company, we believe we have a greater societal obligation to feed people particularly during these times of need when we see empty food shelves at the markets.”

AeroFarms continues:

“We especially want to thank our team for their incredible commitment. Thank you, thank you, thank you – only begins to capture the gratitude we have for our team of over 165 people, all aligned with making a positive impact. We are very appreciative of how the team is balancing everything particularly on the home front with family and closed schools. We are proactively working on appropriate coverage strategies to ensure continuity of our farm.”

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, AeroFarms continues to expand, spokespeople say.

Earlier this month, the company announced it has entered “major expansion mode” as it tries to meet increasing consumer demand.

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