ANNAPOLIS, MD– Governor Wes Moore today visited
Bowery Farming, the nation's largest vertical farming company, which serves more than 2,600 grocery stores and major e-commerce platforms throughout the country. Bowery founder and Chief Executive Officer Irving Fain hosted the governor at the company's farm in Nottingham, joined by USDA Under Secretary Jenny Moffit, Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Atticks, and Bowery investor and culinary advisor José Andrés.
"New challenges call for new solutions – and when it comes to innovation, Maryland is already leading the way,"
said Gov. Moore. "The work happening at Bowery Farming highlights our shared commitment to creativity, resiliency, and sustainability in everything we do as a state. Thanks to this extraordinary team, we are keeping Marylanders fed and keeping our economy strong."
Founded in 2015, Bowery is transforming the entire fresh food supply chain to be more sustainable, smarter and safer. The Nottingham farm features industry-leading technological advancements and pioneering sustainability initiatives and is powered with 100% renewable energy. As the company continues to grow more with less, it has increased its retail footprint more than 26 times over between 2020 and 2024. Bowery has been in the market since 2016 and its produce is currently sold in more than 2,600 locations including Whole Foods, Amazon, and Walmart.
“At a time of unprecedented climate events and supply chain disruptions, we are grateful that Governor Moore could see first-hand how Bowery is reimagining the fresh food supply chain to be smarter, safer, and more sustainable,"
said Bowery Founder and Chief Executive Officer Irving Fain. “Complex global challenges require a mosaic of solutions, and we’re proud to be part of efforts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to build a more reliable and secure food system.”
Governor Moore toured Bowery’s state-of-the-art smart indoor vertical farm, powered by proprietary end-to-end technology. Indoor vertical farms like Bowery’s are bringing typically segregated aspects of the food supply chain— including growing, processing, packaging, shipping—under one roof.
“Companies like Bowery demonstrate how widely different agricultural operations and practices can look with the same goal in mind, to provide consumers with fresh, safe, locally grown products,”
said Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Atticks.
Maryland is working in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program to offer more than $3.6 million in competitive grant funding for projects designed to build resilience across the supply chain by developing new market opportunities and expanding capacity for Maryland’s producers and processors. Project focus includes improving cold storage equipment; expanding the capacity for processing, aggregation, and distribution; supporting construction of new facilities; improving operations through employee training; and modernizing manufacturing, tracking, storage, and information technology systems.
“The challenge of feeding America and the world requires innovation and collaboration,”
said Chef José Andrés, who is also a Bowery investor and culinary advisor. “I’m proud of how Bowery is leading the way to ensure food security and access across this nation. The more mechanisms we have to produce food sustainably, the more chances we have to solve the food issues we face today.”