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The pandemic left some grocery shelves bare and underscored the complexities of the supply chain. Bureau of Labor Statistics data reported this month. Inflation has pushed up food prices by 7.9% over the past 12 months, according to the U.S. Investors are pouring money into agriculture technology companies at a time when food's price and availability are on the minds of more retailers and consumers. Their rivals include venture-backed start-ups AeroFarms, PlantLab and BrightFarms. One of Bowery's competitors, Plenty, said Tuesday that it plans to build an indoor strawberry farm to serve customers and retailers in the Northeast with major berry grower Driscoll's. But indoor-farming companies hope to expand their output and use automation to harvest the berries, which could bring prices down. At first, the berries will be pricier than the average supermarket offering. Now, they are looking to strawberries and other crops to win a larger share of grocers' shelves and consumers' stomachs. Vertical farming companies have used the tech-based approach to produce lettuce and herbs. That results in larger yields of fresher, higher-quality produce delivered to city grocery stores a few days after it is picked. Crops grown in vertical farms are typically stacked in rows from floor to ceiling in buildings near urban centers. But the berries, which taste the same during the peak of summer and depths of winter, are part of an ambitious effort to change how fruits and vegetables are grown and how Americans eat.
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They will star in dishes at some of the city's top restaurants crafted by celebrity chefs.īowery will sell the strawberries for the first time as part of a limited release. Starting Tuesday, customers will be able to buy the fruit less than a dozen miles away at a few gourmet grocers in New York City.