Big Y Partners With Urban Greenhouse for Organic Lettuce

New England grocer Big Y will now be able to source local organic lettuce year-round, thanks to its partnership with an eco-friendly urban farm.

The Wellspring Harvest Greenhouse Cooperative will make its first delivery from the new $1.5 million Wellspring Harvest Greenhouse to Big Y World Class Market in Springfield, Mass., on July 31. 

Company officials called the greenhouse "one of the first large-scale urban agricultural worker-owned cooperatives," and is also one of the first urban greenhouses to achieve Massachusetts Agricultural Department Commonwealth Quality Program Certification Status.

All of the vegetables in the greenhouse, located in Orchard, Mass., are grown using the hydroponic method, which maximizes crop yields, nutrition and flavor using water and nutrient mixes without the use of pesticides or chemicals. Pest control is done using organic methods and all lettuce grown is non-GMO.

Full heads of Green and Red Salanova and Manoa Romaine lettuce will debut as the first staple crops, with herbs and greens such as kale, bok choy and Callaloo also in the works as samples for test marketing.

“We want to be known as the urban cooperative greenhouse that can grow anything," said Lead Urban Farmer Stephen Hilyard.

Additionally, the greenhouse uses shade curtains to protect seedlings from the sun and retain heat inside the growing area during colder periods, leading to an energy savings of 40%. The greenhouse monorail allows the Wellspring Harvest production team to easily move plants overhead and make the planting and harvesting process more efficient and safe.