Our 2022 Highlights & A Note From Our Fearless Leader

From our fearless leader, CEO & Co-Founder, Nona Yehia

As I’ve had a moment to slow down over the holidays, I’m beginning to fully appreciate all we’ve accomplished in 2022.?It’s the year we stepped out from our “little farm that could” mentality and into our big, bold vision for a “national network of hyper-local farms” – and embraced the mind shift that requires. We made this shift because as we head into the new year, we fervently believe that food is the strongest connection to human and environmental health, and food will be the defining issue of the 21st century.?2022 brought even worse drought to the ‘salad bowl’, pestilence in California that drastically drove up the cost of a head of lettuce, and continued volatility in our supply chains. While these issues are discouraging and overwhelming, we believe that action is the basis of optimism, and this is our moment. ?Indoor farming is at a tipping point and at Vertical Harvest we envision our farms as a new type of civic infrastructure that uses food to solve multiple problems simultaneously. The buildings and systems that make up the fabric of our cities, can and should be designed to meet 21st century challenges and to serve all members of our 21st century society, especially those on the margins. We have designed a business model where food can be a medium for the change we want to see in the world.

I read once that “community makes the waters in which we all swim” and we’ve often found ourselves returning to the phrase “community of the willing” here at VH.?I’m most proud of how we’ve grown our community this year.?Exponentially so.?We’ve built trust through cultivating a shared vision of what’s possible. We’ve attracted incredible, industry-leading talent to develop our expansion plans and seen our JH Farm Team grow into new responsibilities and team cohesion that exceeds my wildest expectations. ?And we’ve attracted new investors and collaborators that help us move mountains on a regular basis because of their support and belief in our mission.

We also broke ground for our next farm outside of Portland, Maine and have begun building our next community in partnership with the City of Westbrook.?This farm will expand our mission of growing ‘food and futures’ by producing over 2 million pounds of produce for the state of Maine, and creating local jobs with a focus on people with disabilities. ?In addition, we’ve developed partnerships with a host of municipal leaders who want VH to anchor innovative, social impact-focused public-private developments in new cities across the country.

With a moment to breathe, I can see how the passion in our community and its desire to see VH succeed, is our secret sauce.?Our new board, investors, municipalities, employees and partner/vendors all share our vision and trust us to persevere through the trials and tribulations in both the wider economy and the CEA industry in particular.?And we have come to trust them in turn – that our collective desire to see the impact our business model makes at scale, is something to fight for.?Most of all, as 2022 comes to a close, I want to thank everyone for holding that ability to trust and valuing “real good” over just “feel good.”?

But we’re just getting started.?2023 is going to change everything.?By this time next year we plan to be fully operational in Maine and proving that all of the magic here in Jackson Hole is replicable and scalable.?The leaps forward the industry has taken in the 6 years since we opened the doors of North America’s first vertical greenhouse are significant – and we’re about to advance both the art and science of “growing people and plants” in a substantial way.?And there’s more to come – we hope to have broken ground on a third farm and announced another two by end of next year.?There’s a tremendous amount of work ahead and we’ll continue to grow the “community of the willing” to tackle it.?I’m so proud to be at the helm of this unpredictable yet rewarding journey and it’s the honor of my life to lead this company forward.?Thank you for all that you do for us, for the kind words of encouragement and hope as we navigate the years to come. We are humbled and empowered by your support and wish us all a fulfilling and impactful 2023.