BrightFarms, Irvington, N.Y., announced plans to build new sustainable greenhouse farms in Central Mass., Hudson Valley, N.Y., and North Carolina. The 280,000-square-foot greenhouses will sit on 20 acres of land. Each greenhouse is expected to create around 55 full-time jobs.

The three new greenhouses will add to BrightFarm’s network of local and sustainable farms across the Mid-Atlantic and into the South.

“We are committed to transforming the produce category to provide the freshest, tastiest and most responsibly grown produce,” says Paul Lightfoot, chief executive officer. “Consumers are placing high demand for locally grown, fresh salads. With local greenhouses across the Mid-Atlantic and growing, BrightFarms is well positioned to meet these demands for national retailers.” 

BrightFarms plans to break ground on the new greenhouses by years’ end, with production starting in the spring of 2020. The greenhouses will each produce more than 2 million pounds of fresh, leafy salad greens and herbs per year while using an estimated 80% less water, 90% less land and 95% less shipping fuel than West Coast farms.