Vertical Harvest’s Inclusive Employment Model Empowers Individuals Experiencing Disabilities in Urban Farming – Food Tank

Vertical Harvest is an urban hydroponic farm based in Jackson, Wyoming. It works to support the community by developing local food systems. Through their Grow Well model, they strive to offer greater job opportunities to individuals with developmental disabilities.

Vertical Harvest, which grows a variety of greens and lettuces, is guided by three primary tenets: Work Well＋Be Well＋Do Well, according to the company’s Co-Founder and CEO Nona Yehia. This refers to the combined effort to prioritize workforce development, improve the personal wellness of each employee, and strengthen the company’s position as a positive actor within its community.    

The company’s mission and its Grow Well model were initially inspired by Yehia, who saw firsthand how few economic opportunities were awarded to her brother, a person with developmental disabilities. This led to Yehia and her Co-Founder Caroline Croft Estay—a disability advocate and former case manager—seeking to foster a more “human-centered approach” to business, Yehia tells Food Tank.

Within Wyoming, the rate of unemployment for those with a disability is twice that of those without, according to the ADA Participatory Action Research Consortium (ADA-PARC).

The Grow Well model uses a multidimensional framework to address this disparity. The design offers increased workplace productivity whilst also centering practices that promote individual welfare, especially related to the professional and personal development of each employee. 

It is “meant to offer a bridge into adulthood with a disability—for those who need it,” Yehia tells Food Tank.

A job at Vertical Harvest is, for many workers, their first introduction into complex vertical farming, according to Yehia, which means the company is responsible for helping staff develop technical skills.

She emphasizes that it is important “to customize each person’s role for where they’re at today, agree upon any accommodations or supports the employee may need, and then develop a plan for where they want to grow in the future” in order to facilitate a culture of inclusion and equity. 

The Grow Well model also focuses on personal wellness. “We start by looking at social determinants impacting an individual if they’re part of a marginalized community and assess what support an employee might need,” says Yehia. “We focus a lot on self-reflection and listening and learning from different perspectives.”

Yehia believes that in the company’s eight year history, she has been able to witness the positive impact customized employment can have at the individual level. “We’re showing every day that businesses that prioritize diversity are, by all accounts, better businesses,” she tells Food Tank.

Vertical Harvest plans to expand their work with the establishment of two new locations: one in Westbrook, Maine and the other in co-founder Nona Yehia’s hometown of Detroit, Michigan.

These expansions are expected to work at a greater level of operation, with the Westbrook facility having 15 times the output of Jackson.

“Our buildings are these bright beautiful beacons, right in the heart of the community, demonstrating we care about where our food comes from, the people who grow it, that the health and wealth of our community matters and should include everyone, especially those at the margins,” says Yehia, “health and humanity is what stitches us together and food is one of the most basic expressions of both.”

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Photo courtesy of Vertical Harvest