S4E40: Shannon O'Malley - Creating Your Neighborhood Farm

Episode Summary

Join Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show, co- founder & CEO at Brick Street Farms, Shannon O’Malley. Brick Street Farms is a hydroponic, indoor city farm that grows leafy greens year-round in technology based, climate controlled environments. Their mission is to grow the most nutritious produce at the heart of consumption.

Today, Harry and Shannon talk about how Shannon became an ‘accidental co-founder’ within the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry. Shannon discusses the key differentiating factor of Brick Street Farms and shares some of the amazing work they are doing to educate society on this growing segment. Harry and Shannon talk about the recent extreme weather, most notably the deep freeze in Texas, and how more of these climactic events are impacting how our food is grown, harvested and delivered to us. Finally, Shannon speaks to the initiatives Brick Street Farms is involved with, including combatting food deserts.

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Key Takeaways

02:58 – Harry welcomes to the show Shannon O’Malley, who joins the show to discuss her engineering background and her passion for building and creating
13:39 – An accidental co-founder
17:18 – Extreme weather and vertical farming
21:11 – Brick Street Farms’ origin story and a key differentiating factor about them
25:51 – An amazing reaction from the community
27:32 – Educating the masses on career opportunities within the vertical farming industry
32:30 – Challenges that the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry faces, including contamination
35:57 – Taking on a leadership role at Brick Street Farms and facing new challenges such as COVID-19
41:59 – Connecting with other CEA companies
44:08 – What’s next for Brick Street Farms as the grow and expand their team and organization
51:09 – Harry thanks Shannon for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can learn more about Brick Street Farms and connect with Shannon