Dec 5, 2020 3:36:40 PM • Sarah MacDougall
Often there is this notion that prepared meal delivery is a step down from a home-cooked meal. Most services have de-prioritized the quality of their ingredients, and have focused solely on volume and speed in which they can ship to their customers.
But we want to create a new paradigm - everyone deserves a home-cooked meal made with fresh ingredients and you should not have to sacrifice on quality for the sake of convenience.
We believe in working with suppliers that share our appreciation for quality. We’re proud to introduce our newest partner, lēf Farms.
lēf Farms grows non-GMO, pesticide free, hydroponic greens year-round. They’re located right here in New England, so their greens get to us within 24 hours of being harvested (there is no such thing as “fresh lettuce” thats just traveled for days in the back of a truck.)
What are hydroponic greens?
Consumers concerned about nutrition have become conditioned to look for words like organic and natural on their greens, but the real word to look for is hydroponic.
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil. It’s a way to nurture a wide variety of greens indoors all year round, irrespective of weather conditions outdoors.
Traditional growing methods apply water to the ground first, then the roots. But in a hydroponic environment, nutrient rich water is applied directly to the roots. This translates to better food safety, more consistent quality, and a more sustainable environment.
Any water that doesn’t get used is filtered and reused over again, which allows lēf farms to use 90% less water compared to traditional farming methods.
Because it’s grown indoors, there’s no chance of external contamination and no need to waste water rinsing the greens. This is a big deal - traditional farms with irregular precipitation are often forced to irrigate their crops. That water can become contaminated by manure, people, ground elements, etc… and then it’s used to grow crops… yuck.
More reasons to make the switch:
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• More than 95% of the greens people eat come all the way from California, Arizona and Mexico (i.e., those areas of irregular precipitation mentioned above)
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• Some “local” greens are actually West Coast-grown — they just get new packaging at an East Coast repacking location.
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• lēf Farms uses 1/10 of the water and nutrients and produces 66 times more baby greens per acre than traditional in-soil production.
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• Vitamin content is 50% higher in hydroponically grown plants as compared to conventional ones.
The case for local hydroponic greens continues to strengthen, and we are proud to support lēf Farms to ensure our members receive fresh, healthy, local products each week. One bite will change your perception of how fresh and flavorful greens can be.
To learn more about the amazing work the team at lēf Farms is doing, visit their website and read their story!