Farmer’s Fridge Opens 50,000 SF Production Facility in South End

CHICAGO—Officials with rapidly growing Farmer’s Fridge were joined by city officials and World Business Chicago on Thursday in opening the locally-based firm’s new 50,000-square-foot production facility at 5370 Cicero Ave. in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood.

The facility currently employs 170 workers and the company expects to double its kitchen staff by the end of next year to fuel its rapid expansion needs.

“As a Chicago transplant, I am deeply grateful to this city for its incredible support of entrepreneurship and powerful local network of talent which has helped grow Farmer’s Fridge from a single location to more than 350 Fridges in just six years,” says Luke Saunders, founder & CEO of Farmer’s Fridge. “With the opening of our new 50,000 square foot production facility, we’re thrilled to be part of the South Side community. We’re excited to bring great local talent onto the Farmer’s Fridge team and look forward to doubling our kitchen headcount by the end of next year.”

Through this new facility, Farmer’s Fridge will continue its rapid expansion and open an additional 150 Fridges by the end of 2019, while working toward national expansion as it grows its kitchen facility team and hires more local employees to support this growth into new markets, the company states.

“Chicago is home to incredible neighborhoods with talented and highly skilled workers who need companies to meet them where they are, and today’s opening is doing just that,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “Farmer’s Fridge has changed the way people think about healthy eating by providing access to fresh, healthy food. That commitment to helping people lead healthier lives will now be strengthened with this new facility that will expand economic opportunities and create jobs for our neighborhoods and the people who live in them—particularly on the South and West Sides where Chicagoans have not seen the investment they deserve for far too long.”

Established in 2013, Farmer’s Fridge is a privately-held food and technology company founded and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company operates a network of automated smart Fridges that serves chef-curated meals and snacks in seconds, including salads, sandwiches, grain bowls and more. Each Fridge offers an affordable, seasonal menu of wholesome, handcrafted food items where it typically wouldn’t be available, including high-traffic office towers, hospitals, convenience stores, universities and airports.

“Farmer’s Fridge is a great example of the impact that Chicago’s growing innovation ecosystem is having not just in our central business district but in our neighborhoods” said Andrea Zopp, president & CEO, World Business Chicago. “It is especially exciting because this is home grown business that was incubated here, grew here and today is creating, economic opportunity for Chicago residents”

Currently, there are 350 Fridges located in three states filled with 25 balanced meals, snacks, and beverages. Farmer’s Fridge uses proprietary technology that tracks inventory and individual Fridge sales patterns to ensure that each location is stocked to fully optimize demand and minimize waste. The maintenance-free, low-energy fridges have become a go-to amenity for businesses across multiple regions, having already served over two million meals to date.

In addition to serving more than two million handcrafted meals over six years in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Indianapolis, Farmer’s Fridge has adopted a Zero Waste policy and has composted over one million pounds of food through Organix Recycling to reduce landfill waste. Farmer’s Fridge has also donated 255,000 pounds of food through partnerships with local food pantries.