Compton's new indoor vertical farm brings fresh produce, more jobs to city
The farm is designed to grow up to 4.5 million pounds of leafy greens annually in a single city block.
COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) -- A new indoor farm in the city of Compton was officially unveiled Thursday and is set to provide more access to fresh food while bringing more jobs to the city.
Plenty, which specializes in indoor vertical farms, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the Plenty Compton Farm, which is being described as "the world's most technologically advanced indoor vertical farm."
The company said it's designed to grow up to 4.5 million pounds of leafy greens annually in a single city block.
"Plenty is an indoor growing company so we grow plants inside without the sun in controlled environments," said Plenty CEO Arama Kukutai. "We are producing leafy greens and we also produce tomatoes, in the future, we'll be producing strawberries and other fruit and produce."
Indoor farming uses less water and requires less land. Plenty is also able to grow produce without any pesticides.
The Compton farm has been running for about six months but it's already getting a lot done.
"If you walk in, what you'll see is a bunch of space filled with robots and they're doing things like moving trays, they're grabbing plants and transplanting plants into towers," said Plenty Chief Science Officer Nate Storey. "Then we're picking towers up and moving them around the facility into massive growing plants."
Plenty says it "grows in 3D" on vertical towers that are nearly two stories high. That architecture makes indoor farming more efficient, the company said.
"It's at the heart of how Plenty is driving down the cost of indoor-grown produce to work toward making affordable produce accessible to every community," a company statement said.
Plus, the people running the farm are all from Compton.
"They were very committed to making sure that the people that they hired actually came from the city, came from this community, and this is what they've done," said Compton Mayor Emma Sharif. "They've kept the community and to the city and 30% of the people that are hired comes from the community."
Plenty's greens are now available at Bristol Farms, Whole Foods Market stores and local grocers in Compton.
