M&S Food has linked up with urban farming platform ‘infarm’ to deliver a range of fresh produce grown and harvested in a selection of its London stores.
Fresh herbs – including Italian, Greek and Bordeaux Basils, Mint, Curly Parsley and Mountain Coriander – are now being grown in M&S’ newly re-opened Clapham Junction store in South West London, with infarm vertical farming units set to roll-out to a further six London stores by the end of the year.
It is claimed that each in-store farm unit uses 95% less water and 75% less fertiliser than traditional soil-based agriculture and is capable of producing the equivalent of 400 square meters of farmland.
Paul Willgoss, Director of Food Technology, M&S Food commented: “Infarm’s innovative farming platform is a fantastic example of what can happen when passionate agricultural, food and technology experts work together. We operate as part of a complex global food supply chain and want to understand the emerging technologies that could help provide more sustainable solutions, whilst also delivering fantastic products with exceptional taste, quality and freshness for our customers.”
Erez Galonska, co-founder and CEO of infarm added: “By offering produce grown and harvested in the heart of the city, we want to practice a form of agriculture that is resilient, sustainable and beneficial to our planet while meeting the needs of urban communities – first in London, and in the future, cities across the United Kingdom.”
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