Jul 19, 2013

Organic Farm Initiative Aims to Bring Microgreens to Buffalo in a Revived East Side Factory

A lot of great start-up organizations and businesses have been utilizing the Indiegogo or Kickstarter platform lately. It’s a huge boost for many of the innovative start-ups that are popping up all over the city. The Foundry successfully raised their $30,000 goal to purchase the building they currently occupy and expand their programming.


Now here is another great group of people who are utilizing these start-up websites to bring an innovative and unique business to Buffalo. East Buffalo Organics (EBO) have taken over a 13,000 square foot warehouse building on Stone Street, just off Broadway and Bailey Avenue. Their mission is to transform an old factory building into an indoor, organic super-farm and introduce super-healthy microgreens to Buffalo at very reasonable prices.

Their Kickstarter campaign can be found here and explains their goals in-depth. As their Kickstarter site explains, “With all of the factors we find in the world today, good food is getting increasingly difficult to find and afford.  From mega-corporations altering DNA to the increasing fuel costs of transportation, we are finding fresh, inexpensive, organic food less and less on the dinner tables of the world.


One report indicates that today 85% of all food consumed in the US contains genetically engineered ingredients. Genetically engineered food and organics alike are becoming increasingly expensive to ship.  Estimates predict the cost of food to rise by 22% over the next 5 years. 

Something has to be done.

The problem exists in two parts. What do we grow, and how do we grow it locally, anywhere in the world. The solution we here at East Buffalo Organics have devised, and humbly request your support with, is a three-part solution to the two problem question.

During winter in northern climates, protection from the elements is a must, so space will be at a premium.  What must be grown has to be very nutritious, yet full of flavor, offer a variety of texture and taste, while being relatively uniform in growing procedure, and able to be grown in a small area when necessary, so it has to be very dense.


After years of research we have discovered the perfect produce for such an endeavor…Microgreens.

In a nutshell, microgreens are standard vegetables with the unique property that they are harvested at only 2 weeks old. At this point the nutrition stored in the seed is flushed throughout the plant, stockpiling it with nutrients. Combined with the phytochemicals produced from the first set of leaves, microgreens are absolutely loaded with nutrients.  A University of Maryland study from October of 2012, the first of its kind, showed a universal increase in the nutrient content of microgreens over their adult counterparts, some varieties having 2,500% to 4,000% more nutrients.”


If you haven’t followed that link already, you really should in order to get the full idea of what EBO is trying to accomplish and how you can help. You can also check out their official website by clicking here. This is a great initiative from every angle you look at it. EBO is trying to bring healthy and incredible food to the Buffalo market, while also reviving a shuttered historic building, AND best of all they’re doing it on the east side.

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