Dear Friends,

Thank you for your interest in Green City Growers Cooperative. Green City Growers Cooperative will be a 100% worker-owned, hydroponic, food production greenhouse located in the heart of Cleveland. We are seeking your support in creating sustainable jobs and local food in Cleveland.

The greenhouse project is progressing well, but we still have a lot of work to do. We look forward to the day when each of you can serve your families fresh and nutritious lettuce grown by your friends and neighbors at Green City Growers.

Alayne Reitman had the idea for Green City Growers Cooperative in 2008. A new and increasing interest in local foods, rising energy costs and the impact of industrial farming on our planet were on her mind. She also felt the time was right to bring greenhouse food production back to the Cleveland area.

With tremendous support of the Cleveland Foundation, the City of Cleveland (including the Mayor himself, the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Sustainability), and Evergreen Cooperative Development Fund, we have accomplished a great deal.

• We started with our potential customers, including food retailers, wholesalers and food service companies, who graciously gave us their thoughts on what products they would like to see available, and how GCGC might identify a niche in this market. We appreciate all the assistance,
• We developed a plan for a profit-driven business that will employ more than 40 people and allow them to earn equity in the company,
• We identified several sources of advanced energy that have the potential to reduce the operating costs of the business and significantly reduce the projected carbon emissions of the facility, and
• We were awarded a HUD BEDI Grant and Section 108 Loan package for the remediation of the brownfield site and development of the facility.

To achieve our goals, we have some very important work to do in the second quarter of 2010:

• Consolidate the 10 acres of land necessary to house our 5-acre greenhouse, packing facility, offices and advanced energy facilities,
• Finalize the design of the growing systems and test new energy efficient lighting technologies, and
• Complete the analysis of the advanced energy systems and prepare the architectural drawings for our facilities.

Please contact Mary Donnell at mdonnell@clevefdn.org with any questions. We look forward to posting updates to this site, as we cross major milestones. In the meantime, eat well and buy local.

Best Regards,

The Green City Growers Cooperative Team