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SOUTHEAST: Publix’s GreenWise Pilots Program To Grow Hydroponic Lettuce On-Site

Publix Brick Street hydroponic

Last updated on December 11th, 2020

Publix’s GreenWise Market, which focuses on natural, eco-friendly, local and organic products, has partnered with local hydroponics farmers Brick Street Farms to grow, harvest and pack fresh hydroponic lettuce inside a 40-foot container farm on-site at the Lakeland, Florida, GreenWise Market.

The hydroponic container farm:

  • Holds the equivalent of 2.5 to 3 acres of traditional farmland; Publix GreenWise hydroponic
  • Can grow 365 days a year, regardless of weather conditions;
  • Subs out soil for mineral-rich water (No dirt means no bugs, no pests, no need for any pesticides, herbicides, or insecticides);
  • Uses 90 percent less water than traditional farming;
  • Provides a harvest of 720 heads of lettuce each week; and
  • Travels mere feet, rather than miles, taking the “carbon” out of the delivery “footprint.”

Customers can observe the hydroponic growth process through a window on the side of the container farm and purchase hydroponic lettuce from Brick Street Farms inside the store.

While other grocers are exploring ways to bring farming into/near their stores, most of these are based on contracts between grocers and large-scale/international companies. GreenWise Market, however, has chosen to partner directly with farmers right in the backyards of the communities it serves. Brick Street Farms is based in St. Petersburg, Florida.