Vertical farm startup VertiGreens is growing strong

Shipping produce to St. Louis from across the country or even the world results in less fresh and nutrient-dense food. Tova Feinberg has a solution.

Ironically, perhaps, that solution is growing inside shipping containers.

Her Maplewood-based vertical hydroponic farming startup, VertiGreens, has been growing fresh, pesticide-free produce inside climate-controlled shipping containers since 2023. Recently, VertiGreens celebrated a milestone, when Feinberg acquired 21 additional shipping container farms, a huge leap for the business that will allow for expanded production and partnerships. Of the 21 units, 19 are outfitted for vertical hydroponic farming, with two more planned as administration and storage spaces. 

“In the Midwest, 90% of our lettuce is coming from California or Arizona, so it’s traveling about 2,000 miles just to reach our plate,” Feinberg says. “So you’re losing a lot of nutrient density, a lot of it comes damaged, and then you have seasonality issues. With these styles of units with hydroponics, which means your roots are immersed in nutrient dense water, you’re able to harvest when it’s actually ready — so you’re getting full nutritional density. It doesn’t matter if there’s a crazy winter storm, you can still grow in these units year-round. It’s going to be the freshest produce, and chemical free, that you can get.” 

Currently, the 21 units are parked at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation (JJK) in East St. Louis, Illinois, the hometown of the center’s founder and CEO, Olympic Gold Medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Four of the units have been purchased by the JJK Foundation and will build upon the center’s existing farming and agtech community and youth programs.

From the Ground Up

VertiGreens got its start as a research project in 2021, when Feinberg was studying at WashU. Feinberg graduated a year later with an MBA and has been working as a startup associate at the university’s Skandalaris Center ever since. It was through her work at WashU that she met Maxine Clark, the founder of St. Louis-based Build-A-Bear Workshop and the developer of the Delmar DivINe. 

“I remember the first time I had a conversation with (Clark) about a year and a half, two years ago — she grabbed my wrist, she’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, you should be growing here at the Delmar DivINe.” And I was just like, this lady is a powerhouse. She’s just been such an advocate for me as I’ve been building up this journey. I am so happy that she’s in my corner.”

Clark has since become a major supporter of Feinberg and VertiGreens, and helped introduce Feinberg to Amy Funk, Director of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Food, Agriculture and Nutrition Innovation Center (JJK Fan) and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. 

The timing of the VertiGreens shipping container delivery coincides with big news happening at the JJK Foundation as well. Since 2022, the Foundation has been part of a unique public-private partnership with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Illinois Extension to open the JJK FAN. On June 17, the JJK Fan will celebrate the grand opening of its new  24,000-square-foot Innovation Center.

“The innovation center is focused on basically everything related to food systems,” Funk says. “We have a full auditorium that can be used for a variety of community events and gatherings. We have a teaching kitchen, a working lab, a maker’s construction space as well as active classrooms of which the University of Illinois through their 4-H program runs programs. And the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center runs plant science education here; Lansdowne Up runs construction programming. In fact, this summer they’re going to have youth woodworking in this space.”

Funk sees the partnership with VertiGreens as a natural fit, as the JJK Fan has been looking to integrate hydroponic farming into its programming. The system complements the aquaponic farm – where trout are sustainably raised – and existing greenhouses on-site.

“We met Tova a couple of years ago, looked at her systems and how they operated, and then fast forward to the present day, she had the opportunity to purchase freight container hydroponic systems. It was a great opportunity where we could purchase four of these hydroponic systems where Tova runs them and we can expose our grow team from a training perspective to these systems, but not be responsible for their upkeep, which we don’t have capacity at this time.”

Feinberg notes that 10% of all VertiGreens produce grown at the JJK will be donated to East St. Louis families through the foundation. That aligns with Feinberg’s mission to create a future where fresh, nutrient-dense, locally grown greens are within reach for everyone in the St. Louis region. Funk notes that the JJK Foundation currently serves over 70,000 meals to East St. Louis students a year as part of a federal meal program.

“When you think of food insecurity, we are very much on the frontlines of that here,” Funk says. “So being able to get fresh lettuce year-round is really important to us. It also enables us over time to expose students to these systems and technologies and grow our team, which is part of a workforce program here in the community as well. And then hopefully open up jobs down the road in East St. Louis.” 

For now, Feinberg will operate the four hydroponic farms owned by JJK Foundation, which will also offer another teaching outlet for students, community members, and partners participating in workforce development programs on-site. 

“It’s important to get youth involved within the food system so that they can be the decision makers of the future,” Funk adds. “But specifically, when you think of this community, 86% of the population live in what’s designated as a food desert. They have have limited food access, but there’s also, when you think of St. Louis, a budding agtech industry including bioscience, GIS, and we need our kids to have the access points and start as early as possible so they can see these as viable options for them as they age through the program. We often say we’re trying to get kids to age through ag, and see the technology integrated into these professions.”

Vertical Farm to Table

Although all 21 of VertiGreens’ new shipping containers are currently located at the JJK Foundation, Feinberg says the long-term plan is to eventually move all but the four owned by JJK off-site. She hopes to partner with other local organizations and institutions to bring her vertical hydroponic farms to locations across the St. Louis region.

In the meantime, as she gets the new units outfitted and up and running, she continues to cultivate relationships with local chefs to get more fresh and local greens widely available. Currently, she works with local restaurant owners Nick Bognar, who owns Sado, Indo, Pavillion, and the forthcoming Khao Soi Cowboy, and his sous chef, Shaun Martin, as well as George Kidera at Nobu’s. 

“George actually reached out to me because he saw on my website that I sold shiso at the time,” Feinberg recalls. “I just love walking in the door: I see his whole family there, always having great conversations, and he’s just been such a supporter during my whole journey. He’s seen me at the ups and downs, so I couldn’t be more thankful to have him as a client.”

At Sado, chef de cuisine Shaun Martin has incorporated edible flowers and mizuna greens from VertiGreens’ into the restaurant’s miso-ginger salad. Due to how Feinberg grows her hydroponic produce in vertical farm systems, some products can be delivered still attached to the root ball, something particularly valuable to chefs.

“They come delivered on the root ball, so at any moment we can revive that product by just dunking in water,” Martin says. “It’s clean, it’s good to go, it’s as crisp as possible. We can cut exactly what we need for that day. Having a consistent product for one of our big staples on our menu is just a beautiful thing. I couldn’t be happier with it.”

“I’ve been able to try different styles of leafy greens with Sado,” Feinberg says. “They figure out how to incorporate them in their menus. And then I get to go as a diner and see what they create. And just seeing the end masterpiece has been super amazing.” 

Feinberg looks forward to expanding her client list, but for now, she’s working hard to get the 21 new vertical farming units running by the end of summer. Reflecting on the past five years, she says the support from the St. Louis region — from key investors to local chefs to strategic partners — has helped her grow VertiGreens to now flourish in its next chapter.

“I was born and raised here, I’ve been wanting to make an impact on my home, and I couldn’t be happier with this fantastic partnership and just the kind people that I’ve been working with,” Feinberg says. “The vision is coming to life, and the dream is coming true.”