Picked and delivered within 24 hours

Recycled shipping containers house Crate to Plate, a vertical farm in London
ALISTAIR CARMAN

The eco-friendly farm is located in a parking lot, in partnership with REEF Technology, on the Isle of Dogs (Canary Wharf), inside three recycled shipping containers kitted out with LED lighting and an automated nutrient delivery system. Each 40 foot container achieves the same production as over an acre of farmland, with the site projecting to produce around six tonnes of greens each year. Not only does the urban farm use far less land but the pesticide-free produce is grown using hydroponic technology that uses 96% less water than traditional farming.

Crate to Plate, a new vertical farming initiative
CRATE TO PLATE

Scientists and farmers at Crate to Plate carefully control the environment inside the shipping containers. Meticulously monitored vertical farming ensures that greens can be grown locally in urban environments, all year round, using minimal water, allowing produce to be delivered to consumers within 24 hours of harvest, with zero carbon footprint in transporting from farm to customer. As a result, the produce is as fresh as possible and has the highest possible nutrient value, completely free of pesticides and toxic chemicals. Lettuce, rocket, kale, pak choi, herbs, microgreens and more are harvested and delivered twice a week. The difference in taste between Crate to Plate's greens and those you can buy from a supermarket is astonishing and delicious. And dynamite options like wasabi rocket and basil Genovese are already proving to be customer favorites.

Basil growing vertically at Crate to Plate
JOANNE SHURVELL

Produce from Crate to Plate is available in select greengrocers like Artichoke in North London and direct to consumers via their website. A Ł15 mixed box includes three types of lettuce, three bags of greens and three herbs. Crate to Plate also sells to restaurants and have recently become Chef Ollie Dabbous's exclusive distributor of greens for his Michelin-starred Mayfair restaurant Hide. Crate to Plate has an ambitious UK expansion plan. A second site will open near Elephant and Castle this month, followed by other London sites and farms in other cities (Manchester, Birmingham etc). And further ahead will be expansion to the United States.

Seedlings before they are transferred to the walls of the farm
CRATE TO PLATE

Crate to Plate's new site in Elephant Park is part of a Ł2.5 billion regeneration project headed by the local council and international property company Lendlease. One of the key aims of the development is to create a local, community oriented ecosystem, with businesses from the area supplying residents and other retailers in the nearby community. Crate to Plate slots nicely into this concept, aiming to sell direct to local residents and to the new food businesses that are opening. Crate to Plate's next London site, also with Lendlease, is already in the works: the International Quarter London development near the 2012 Olympic Park in Stratford, east London.

With the global covid-19 pandemic fueling home deliveries and a such a high quality product on offer, it's no surprise that Crate to Plate's greens have sold-out every week since launching. Founder Sebastien Sainsbury says he wants "everyone to be able to get fresh leafy greens no more than a mile away from where they live." It appears he's off to a good start at achieving that goal and it will be fascinating to follow the progress of this sustainable new business.

Click here for more information via Forbes.

Header photo: Lettuces growing vertically at Crate to Plate, a new farm in London's docklands. Credit: CRATE TO PLATE

Source: Forbes