BrightFarmsopened is largest operation recently, kicking off the first harvest of a 280,000-square-foot facility in Selinsgrove, Pa., with a capacity of two million pounds of fresh produce annually.
Giant stores stock BrightFarms lettucee and other leafy greens.
BrightFarms is donating the first harvest from the facility to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank in Harrisburg, according to the release.
HaulProduce.com note: Two million pounds of fresh produce a year may be a drop in the bucket considering the total amount of fresh produce shipped annually. It equals about 50 trucks loads per year from this one operation. Over a million truck loads of fresh fruits and vegetables are shipped a year in the U.S. But greenhouse growing continues to expand in the U.S., as well as Mexico, Canada and elsewhere.
Canadian and U.S. greenhouse operations may have a slight negative affect on long haul trucking since these types of growing operation tend to ship locally, if not regionally. Mexican greenhouse operations on the other hand tend to be a part of load consolidations headed to the U.S. Many greenhouse facilities south of the border are U.S. company owned or financed.
Perhaps the biggest plus is greenhouses are much less susceptible to the whims of Mother Nature, thus providing more consistent, quality products.