Lehigh Times

This week Gov. Tom Wolf and Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding toured Bowery Farming’s new vertical farm in Bethlehem, which is set to create 70 well-paying, full-time jobs and feed 50 million people within a 200-mile radius.

The farm is the largest vertical farming company in the nation, according to a release by Wolf on May 26. The Governor’s Action Team has worked with Bowery to set up what is its first farm in Pennsylvania, located in Lehigh Valley. Bowery is building a 150,000-square-foot facility on 8.7 acres.

“My investment in Bowery Farming supports economic revitalization for Bethlehem, creates jobs, and improves food security,” said Governor Wolf. “Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry is well known for its innovation, and Bowery will help us to continue charting a path for a sustainable, food-secure future.”

Bowering Farming received a funding proposal of $210,000 through the Pennsylvania First grant, from the Department of Community and Economic Development. The farm also received a $250,000 Enterprise Zone Tax Credit through the Neighborhood Assistance Program. This project will create and retain 70 jobs over three years, and Bowery has pledged to invest at least $30 million into the project

“If we’ve learned anything from the past two years it is that we are in a period of unprecedented disruption and uncertainty across our climate and geopolitical circumstances, which unfortunately is going to persist. We are also seeing firsthand that our global food system is inextricably tied to these dynamics,” said Irving Fain, Founder and CEO of Bowery Farming. “At Bowery, wherever food is needed, we can grow it. We are addressing the challenges in our system by growing food smarter for more people in more places – and that work, securing food for our future, continues today with the opening of our Bethlehem Farm.”

Agriculture pumps $132.5 billion into the Pennsylvania economy, supporting 590,000 jobs. The Pennsylvania Farm Bill was signed in 2019 by Wolf and has invested more than $53 million into the industry.

“Food security is defined as the availability, affordability, and accessibility of food. At a time when we’re all—consumers and growers alike—hurting from inflation and increasing prices, we must support the agriculture industry in new and diverse ways to ensure food security,” said Redding. “The governor’s investment in Bowery acknowledges and acts upon this need. It’s one more sign of his steadfast support for the industry that sustains us all.”