75,000-square-foot greens facility in New Hampshire nearing completion

“With the discerning tastes and Yankee practicality here in the Northeast, we truly couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to eat something that was perceived fresh but in reality was a week or so old,” stated Lef’s President and CEO, Henry Huntington. “We knew there was a tremendous opportunity to better serve the people of our region with greens that are truly fresh. To give them a choice while elevating their expectations of how fresh packaged lettuce could actually taste,” Huntington says.

 

Located in Loudon, N.H., Lef Farms is currently in the final stages of construction and will be the first of its kind in the Northeast. Finished product is expected to be available as early as June to bring lettuce to a demanding market that reportedly receives 90 percent of its lettuce form the West Coast.

 

“We will initially be able to produce 1.3 million pounds of fresh greens a year, with tremendous future capacity,” confirms Lef’s VP and COO, Bob LaDue. “Most importantly, our customers can get those greens within 24 hours from the time they’re harvested. Grocers, retailers, restaurants, schools, hospitals and consumers all across the Northeast will be getting the absolute freshest and most flavorful salad blends possible,” says LaDue. “It’s something bagged lettuce shipped in from Mexico and California simply can’t match.”

 

Lef greens will be grown in an advanced climate-controlled greenhouse environment where fresh and nutritious baby greens will be harvested at premium quality standards every day of the year – regardless of the weather.

 

The company has invested in technologies and techniques to minimalize the infestation of pests — including the use of beneficial insects.

 

From a food safety perspective, Lef Farms starts with 100-percent non-GMO seeds and employs a process where those seeds are sown, grown, cut, mixed, weighed, packaged and boxed all under the same roof. Because the product will never touch human hands, the need to pre-wash the product is eliminated, which Lef Farms sees as an advantage over growers from the West Coast, as they are often required to triple-wash their lettuce to remove harmful chemicals, insects and dirt prior to packaging.

  

For more information, visit www.Lef-farms.com