How this California company fits five acres of farmland into 40-foot shipping containers

All over the country are food deserts – generally urban, impoverished or isolated communities that are devoid of grocery stores and farmers markets, and thus lack access to fresh food.

Local Roots is a Los Angeles-based urban agriculture company that is seeking to fill this void. Through a little bit of creativity and a whole lot of technology, the team has developed a solution to this growing problem.

“We see Local Roots as pioneering the way for making urban agriculture a real solution to the problem of food access in this country,” says Allison Towle, Director of Corporate Communication.

Local Roots designs, builds and operates indoor growing centers – called TerraFarms – that are made from shipping containers. Each pod contains five acres of farmland. Let that sink in; five acres of fresh food is grown within the footprint of a 40-foot metal box.

Local Roots is part of a community of socially-minded innovators and entrepreneurs who make up the LA Cleantech Incubator (LACI) and are committed to finding clean tech solutions for California and beyond.

“If you can take a farm and locate it anywhere, why don’t you put it directly in the community that needs it the most?” says Eric Ellestad, co-founder and CEO.

By bringing the farm closer to the consumer, they are able to reduce food miles by a whopping 93%. That means fresher produce, a dependable supply and better nutrition for communities that desperately need it.