Innovation

There was no eureka moment for the CEO, Jessie Banhazl. The company began in 2008 as a backyard gardening company which grew gradually. They received a contract from Harvard Pilgrim program which opened up the world of corporate wellness leading to an additional way to grow their business while sharing their knowledge. This program allows the employees to gain access to Green City Grower's (GCG) services at a discounted rate through their employer’s wellness program. GCG helps to educate people how to grow organically, and their produce can shared with family, friends, and co-workers. Some of their food products have been used in corporate cafeteria food preparation. Though not a partner per say, the locally grown produce can be donated to Food for Free an independent organization who in turn delivers food that might otherwise go to waste to emergency shelters.

From there, Green City Growers partnered with Recover Green Roof to install a 17,000 square foot rooftop garden at Whole Foods in Lynnfield, MA. This has helped Whole Food’s commitment to the highest standard of produce by allowing them to farm and harvest 5,000 pounds of produce. The produce grown on their rooftop is in turn sold to customers. In the first year of Whole Foods having a rooftop garden, they harvested 4,000 pounds of produce that was locally and organically grown. It was not an easy feat, but with Whole Foods adamant with their engineering and architectural teams to move outside of their comfort zone, the concept became a reality.

It is Jesse's belief that "Our partnerships with those who share similar beliefs has helped Green City Growers build positive relationships and credibility that our vision works and can expand to help so many others." Currently, Whole Foods is exploring integrating a greenhouse into their Brooklyn, NY location with hopes of expanding a similar plan at all of their New York locations. I believe that Jessie's beliefs are right and I do feel that the successful partnership with Green City Growers helped Whole Foods to realize the potential in locally growing pesticide free produce.

Inspiration

The founder and CEO of Green City Growers worked in television production but wanted to do something more meaningful with her life. After speaking with a college friend, who suggested opening a gardening business, Jessie moved forward with starting the company. Jessie Banhazl took a chance and though the business initially began with residential efforts, she quickly shifted gears towards larger commercial clients and had great success despite not having a background in horticulture prior to beginning this venture. Her skills grew alongside the business in real time and is a testament to not allow the lack of personal experience to become a barrier to a goal.

Jessie believes that there should be greater "transparency in the better food movement and it all starts with education." GCG is working with the town of Beverly, MA and now there is a garden installed at each elementary school in that district. This is an opportunity to engage students in the education process of growing early to foster the excitement of healthy eating and the ability to create what they are eating through their gardening efforts.

The inspiration is tightly interwoven with GCG's mission statement. Green City Growers helps to "transform unused space into thriving urban farms" and in doing so helps individuals gain knowledge and confidence in their ability to grow nutritious food while beautifying urban landscapes.

Overall impact

Sustainability - There are many ways to appreciate the sustainability of Green City Grower's gardens. In the case of Whole Foods, the produce is grown locally. The planting soil is made up of shale, sand, compost and biochar, which is a soil amendment, and is not pot bound. This facilitates the root system to grow up and helps the plants to be drought resistant, decreasing the amount of water needed for ideal growing conditions. Lynnfield, MA receives approximately 50 inches of rain a year which also reduces the need for additional water sources, but it is the technology that is used to determine when additional water resources are going to be needed. Currently, Whole Foods has a system that calculates wind, humidity and temperatures to gauge when it is time for plants to be watered. Rooftop gardens can reduce the amount of heating and/or cooling a building needs since the garden acts as an insulator.

Reducing dependency on commercially grown products - Stores, restaurants and consumers will not be able to grow enough produce to meet all of their needs, however, by utilizing an otherwise unused space, they are able to take control over the quality and food items that they can grow. Since there is no need to grow in bulk, the grower can take risks on unique plants that they normally would not have the opportunity to buy on the commercial market.

Incentives - By educating people how to grow their own fresh food items, Green City Growers helps to foster healthier eating. This is accomplished through food prep at home instead of fast food. An additional incentive is the cost savings factor. Time reduced from having to shop can mean increased time doing things that consumers enjoy doing regardless if it is recreational or just spending time with family or friends. Fewer trips are needed to the grocery store for fresh items. The can go right into their own yard to get the fresh items needed for a favorite dish which translates into fewer dollars spent at the grocery store.

Strengthening the community - through community gardening people of all ages can learn to work together to grow something bigger than just the individual alone could.

Business benefit

Partnership - Fenway Park was a partnership born of a start up accelerator program through MassChallenge. Green City Growers received the John W. Henry Family Foundation prize for social impact. Through that award, Green City Growers was able to meet Linda Pizzuti Henry and pitch the idea of a roof top garden. At the time, Fenway was in the process of installing a green roof, and with GCG having worked with Recovery Green Roof on the Whole Foods project, it was a perfect match. Since then, Fenway and notably their roof top garden has helped fans with healthier food options using the produce grown at the stadium. There is an estimated number of "some 500,000 people that will interact with the farm each year", which contributes towards Green City Grower's strategy of transforming "unused space into thriving urban farms, providing [our] clients with immediate access to nutritious food, while revitalizing city landscapes and inspiring self-sufficiency."

Social and environmental benefit

Designing - Improve space utilization. By utilizing otherwise unused space, a vertical or roof top garden will increase efficiency of space. With the increased space utilization, it also goes to beautifying the landscape which though may not be easily viewed from a vehicle, can be appreciated when looking out of a corporate office window. Imagine being able to see a fresh garden instead of unsightly HVAC systems.

Education - Green City Growers helps to educate new growers on when to plant, how to plant, seed selection, organic growing methods, succession planting to realize the greatest growing yield, all which contributes towards the education process and the elimination of hunger. By educating individuals they empower those people to grow, and in growing some of their own food items, reduces dependency and fosters independence and confidence.

Environmental Benefit - Organic Farming. No chemical runoff to pollute soil or water ways which reduces environmental damage. With each batch of produce grown in house, it reduces the need to have commercially produced items shipped. This leads to lowered emissions that are associated with the transportation process. Also reduces the amount of fuel that is needed which reduces the resource footprint that is utilized.

Societal Benefit - Offers a way for community gardening that can expand on communication skills, team effort, and collaboration to produce a healthy product. Growing food items can lead to a reduction of hunger. With a reduction in hunger, we are also tackling a symptom of poverty. Growing fresh vegetables and herbs can lead to healthier eating which may reduce long term negative health conditions, also reducing the amount of money needed for long term medical care. Healthier bodies can also lead to an improved body image through reducing the level of obesity that we are currently experiencing.

Interview

Sarah Moylan, Project Manager