In recent weeks, Chicago shoppers have found something unusual in Whole Foods and Jewel stores--local tomatoes, in November. They come from an experiment in Midwest farming underway 80 miles to the west in Rochelle, IL.
That’s where the new MightyVine hydroponic farm houses 100,000 tomato plants inside a 7-acre greenhouse. The vines wind around wires and rise high into the air like magical beanstalks sprouting chubby red fruit.
The tomatoes are being used and sold in specialty store Local Foods in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood and in school food catered by Handcut Foods. Both are co-owned by Jim Murphy, who serves as chairman at MightyVine.