New Grower Partnership Aims to Boost Produce Education

Posted by Brian Sparks|March 24, 2021

Field and greenhouse vegetable grower-shipper Tanimura & Antle and Boston-based Green City Growers recently announced that Tanimura & Antle has invested as the majority shareholder and new partner of Green City Growers. The merger of the two companies is based on a common commitment and passion to provide communities, organizations, and individuals with a hands-on educational experience to increase awareness, build engagement, and provide education about where food comes from, according to a statement from Green City Growers.

By providing a path to engagement with hands-on experience, Green City Growers will assist Tanimura & Antle with reaching individuals of all ages, promoting a long-term healthy lifestyle with consumers. The combined goal of the partnership is to access and serve individuals and local communities not ordinarily provided with the opportunity to connect with their food while strengthening the food supply by providing a supplemental, healthy, and independent food source.

Founded in 2008, Green City Growers started its business by installing and maintaining raised garden beds at people’s homes. From there, the business expanded to include schools, non-profits, corporate clients, and real estate companies. The company provides its customers with the infrastructure, tools, and educational tools required to grow their own fresh produce using the principles of organic, regenerative, and pesticide free agriculture practices. Green City Growers also offers consulting on design, workshops, virtual engagement, and educational opportunities, reaching thousands of children and adults with hands on educational programs about growing healthy food.

“Partnering with Tanimura & Antle is the step needed to secure Green City Growers’ place in the industry and allow for the business to continue to grow and thrive,” says Chris Grallert, President and equity investor of Green City Growers. “We see innovation in the food production and distribution chains as a societal and environmental necessity. We are implementing creative and realistic solutions that help to meet the multiple challenges food systems currently face. With a solid business foundation in our proven and robust soil growing technologies, we can now thoughtfully look into how we can expand our custom services in other areas of urban agriculture including vertical and other indoor technologies.”

“Our investment in Green City Growers is our next level of engagement to continue our efforts to impact the lives of all,” says Scott Grabau, President & CEO of Tanimura & Antle. “This partnership and acquisition will also provide our retail and foodservice partners their own opportunity to have an impact in the communities they serve by partnering with us on these programs.”