There are a bazillion reasons to love summer, but one of our favorites by far is finally being able to enjoy some fresh local veggies. Whether you’re itching to make some incredible homemade salad dressing or craving a challenge with a DIY sushi burger, fresh veg just adds that extra bit of goodness to your already awesome culinary masterpieces. But even though local produce has definitely grown more popular over the years, it can still be a pain finding locally grown and pesticide-free herbs and vegetables that don’t require a long haul trip to a farmers’ market. Well, one German supermarket has the answer to this problem — their new startup-backed project is growing herbs and veggies *right* in the store, before their customer’s eyes.
In a pilot project started by the supermarket chain METRO Cash & Carry in Germany, this ahead-of-the-curve supermarket has just installed the world’s first ever mini-farm into one of their popular locations. Thanks to the amazing greenhouse tech by the startup InFarm, herbs and vegetables like mizuna and wasabi mustard greens have already started to grow inside the Berlin-Friedrichshain branch for local shoppers to peruse and purchase.
Using only five square meters of space, it seems like this project is already seeing success, especially within the restaurant industry. “We got many interesting responses from chefs who saw vegetables they know — because they use them every day — but they’d never seen the plants at 15 days old,” says Galonska. Although the onus is on the employees of the METRO Cash & Carry to grow and care for the produce, the water- and space-saving technology behind the greenhouse makes it easier and more environmentally friendly to grow the herbs and veggies than ever before.
With the farm aisle thriving in the Berlin-Friedrichshain store, we have our fingers (and toes) crossed that the company will decide to set up shop in a grocery store near us soon.
Would you like an organic farm in your supermarket? Let us know on Twitter by mentioning @BritandCo.
(Photos via METRO Group and Getty)