New Opportunities CT Food for Thought's hydroponic farm is growing steadily with more customers and plans for more greenhouses.
The indoor farm on Technology Park Drive grows five types of lettuce in its three greenhouses, and more are being added to the property, which opened in Oct. 2021. Using a system that recirculates much of the water used to feed the thousands of lettuce plants — Bibb and red oak leaf, for example — the farm efficiently and quickly grows enough greens to distribute to 14 Big Y grocery stores, as well as Labonne's, Bantam and Northville markets, several Geisslers and Adams food markets, and New Morning in Woodbury.
"We're serving different community market concerns, as well as Big Y," said Jon Jensen, who came out of retirement in 2020 to be a consultant and advisor for the hydroponic farm and finding new opportunities to sell their products. "In fact, we're getting ready to ask Big Y to let us use their distribution center because we're serving so many of their stores."
Employees sort, wash, and package the lettuces, pack them in boxes, and store them in the farm's huge walk-in refrigerator, where they are prepared for delivery. "We pick them, pack them, and sell them," Jensen said. "There's nothing more fresh than this." They'll be adding arugula and kale to the farm's offerings in the additional growing spaces, Jensen said.
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