How Lettuce Grow Is Changing the Food System
Photographed by Marta Xochilt Perez and Lettuce Grow | Written and produced by Michelle Adams
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Lettuce Grow is tackling our broken food system through sustainable, home-grown produce. Co-founder Jacob Pechenik shares the inspiration behind the Farmstand, its benefits for health and the environment, and his vision for a future where fresh, nutritious food is accessible to all.
Just four weeks in, my Farmstand is overflowing with fresh produce! I opted for the indoor/outdoor large model, which produces more than I can eat—but it’s been a blast experimenting with new recipes and trying unique varieties I wouldn’t normally pick up at the grocery store.
As a vegetarian for over 20 years, I’ve consumed my fair share of greens. While I do my best to grow produce in my outdoor raised beds, much of the year I’m stuck with wilted lettuce that’s traveled far too many miles to my fridge. Even fresh picks from local farmers seem to lose their luster after just a few days.
When I first stumbled upon Lettuce Grow and saw photos of their stunning Farmstands brimming with vibrant produce, I was skeptical. “This looks amazing,” I thought, “but there’s no way mine could ever look like that.” To my surprise, it does—and getting there was easier than I imagined.
A month in, I’m enjoying fresher, more robust salads than I ever thought possible at home. Cooking has even become something I look forward to (a rare feat!), and I take real pride in tending to my greens. For anyone like me who freezes at the sight of an assembly manual, a tip: have a friend help with setup. (Mine assures me it was a breeze.) From there, the entire process has been remarkably straightforward—even for a novice grower like me.
Curious to learn more about the story behind this innovative brand, I sat down with Jacob Pechenik, Co-Founder & CEO of Lettuce Grow. He shared what inspired him and co-founder Zooey Deschanel to bring this vision to life and painted an exciting picture of the future: “I see a future where every household has a hydroponic garden, just like it has a refrigerator or a pantry. We have to move to a more localized, scalable, and efficient food production system that guarantees access to clean, nutritious produce for all.”
This vision gave me so much hope for the future of food. Without further ado, here’s my conversation with the inspiring Jacob Pechenik.
I see a future where every household has a hydroponic garden, just like it has a refrigerator or a pantry. We have to move to a more localized, scalable, and efficient food production system that guarantees access to clean, nutritious produce for all—especially in the face of environmental challenges, supply chain disruptions, and future price shocks.
Jacob Pechenik Talks Lettuce Grow, Sustainability, and the Future of Fresh Food
Lonny: Our current agricultural system faces serious challenges—from excessive water usage and carbon emissions to pesticide residues, food waste, and concerns over nutrition. Can you shed some light on how these issues impact both our environment and our health today, and how Lettuce Grow provides a solution that not only addresses these problems but also empowers individual growers to cultivate healthier, more sustainable food?
A collection of seedlings available from Lettuce Grow. You can check out the current offerings here.
Jacob Pechenik: Our food system is designed for shelf-stable, processed, and packaged foods. When you put fruits and vegetables into that system, it becomes nearly impossible to get fresh, flavorful, nutrient-rich food to the people. What you have instead is produce that’s transported 1500 miles on average, sprayed with dozens of toxic chemicals, and on life support tactics like plastic wrap to make week-old, dead veggies look like they’re still fresh. Everything is so centralized and inefficient we end up wasting millions of pounds of water and food while emitting tons of unnecessary carbon into the atmosphere. What’s available at the store has very little nutritional value and puts known carcinogens, neurotoxins, and endocrine disruptors into our bodies. The idea of fresh food is an illusion.
Lettuce Grow co-founders Zooey Deschanel and Jacob Pechenik.
Lettuce Grow lets you opt out of this broken system, bypassing the waste and dangerous chemicals associated with mass distribution of “fresh food”. We deliver living seedlings directly to customers' doors, ready to finish growing at home in one of our foolproof, easy-to-use hydroponic systems. Unlike seeds or pods, our living plants eliminate growing challenges and provide year-round access to nutrient-dense, flavorful veggies, lettuces, and leafy greens—staying alive and fresh until they're ready to eat.
We’re not a gardening brand, we’re a food brand that empowers individuals to take control of their food supply and their health. And when people taste the difference between a just picked veggie off our Farmstand versus what they were eating before, they can’t go back.
L: What inspired you to create Lettuce Grow and develop the Farmstand system? Was there a personal experience or “aha” moment that sparked the idea?
JP: When Zooey and I found out we were going to be parents, our priorities completely changed. We thought about the food we would feed our children and were shocked to learn 70% of our food is processed and often laden with toxic chemicals. And the price of organic fruits and veggies was out of reach to so many. We knew our kids - and everyone’s kids - deserved better.
An outdoor Farmstand turns even the smallest yard into a lush, high-yield kitchen garden.
After starting a commercial organic farm, we quickly realized that packaging, transportation, waste, and distribution are major issues. We founded Lettuce Grow to create a fresh food system that makes organic, nutrient-dense produce accessible to everyone without waste.
L: Could you walk us through how the Farmstand works? How does it make hydroponic growing accessible for people who don’t have gardening experience?
JP: The Farmstand is a self-watering, self-fertilizing, vertical hydroponic system that makes growing fresh produce at home easy and accessible. It requires no experience, 4 sq feet of space outdoors or indoors, and only 5 minutes of attention per week. It uses a small pump to recirculate nutrient-rich water directly to plant roots, delivering the perfect balance of nutrients and hydration. Any water not absorbed by the plants falls back into the tank to be recirculated. This uses up to 98% less water than traditional soil gardening, making it both eco-friendly and cost-effective.
It's really simple and we even offer a mobile app that guides users through each step of the process—from planting to harvest. The system is designed to be hands-off after initial setup, so everyone can watch their plants thrive with minimal intervention. Ultimately, the Farmstand empowers everyone to grow fresh, nutritious food at home, without the complexity of traditional gardening.
L: One of the big challenges with store-bought produce is nutrient density, as nutrient-depleted soils have impacted the quality of fruits and vegetables. How does Lettuce Grow address this? Do your seedlings offer more nutrients compared to conventional grocery store produce?
Both beautiful and edible, snapdragons are just one of the many flower seedlings Lettuce Grow offers to brighten up a meal—or a home. We gave our table a pop of pattern with the Indigo Cotton Tablecloth from Ralph Lauren.
JP: The key factor in produce nutrition is the time from harvest to consumption. For example, spinach loses 50% of its vitamin C within 24 hours, regardless of how it’s grown. That’s why Farmstand produce tastes so good—not only are the nutrients still intact, but the flavor that comes from those nutrients is at its peak because you harvest right before eating! Our produce has 74% more micronutrients, 60% more macronutrients, and 100% more flavor compared to traditional grocery store produce.
L: I have the 6-tier Farmstand at home and noticed that the grow lights can be quite bright at night. I currently have it placed near a window in my kitchen, but I’m curious: would the plants grow just as well in a dark closet, given that the grow lights provide all the light they need?
JP: Yes, they would! As long as there was adequate ventilation and a moderate temperature, your plants would thrive in any space with our Glow Rings. If you’re concerned about too much light in the room, you can always adjust your timer settings or hit snooze using the app. I always switch them off when watching a movie with my family!
L: How do you decide which crops to offer through Lettuce Grow? Are there certain plants you recommend for new users, or surprising crops that people might not expect they can grow?
JP: All of our seasonal varieties are tested for growth rate, yield, resilience and seasonality. Since the Farmstand does all the work, any grower, no matter their experience, can feel confident growing most of our seedlings. We always make personalized recommendations based on season, flavor preferences, your climate, and your Farmstand model to help you choose the best ones for you.
Some fan favorites are romaine, butter lettuce, all the herbs, strawberries, cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes. Some of my favorite seedlings to grow are edible flowers which we’ll use to make our home-cooked dishes look special or cut and display around the house for color.
Each seedling comes with a handy label to remind you what’s growing and when it’s time to swap in the next one.
I think when you shop at the grocery store, you end up with the same veggies every week. I love that Lettuce Grow helps people discover new varieties and types of foods they might not otherwise experience or have access to. It creates much more excitement in the kitchen and makes for some more adventurous eaters– especially kids.
L: Can users start their own seedlings in a greenhouse to later transfer to their farmstand system, or do the seedlings require a specific casing to maintain root structure and nutrient flow?
JP: Yes, absolutely. If they’re experienced and have the patience, users can start their own seedlings.
However, the biggest source of fear and anxiety around growing food at home is usually germination– which is why we do it for our customers, offering a much better user experience. We pre-germinate our non-GMO seedlings, so they’re already thriving by the time they go into the Farmstand. This gives growers almost instant gratification because they get twice the yield in half the time.
L: Do you envision a future where entire communities are fed through hydroponic systems, with spaces like old office buildings being repurposed as growing centers to help meet the demand?
JP: Let's take it a bit further. I see a future where every household has a hydroponic garden, just like it has a refrigerator or a pantry. We have to move to a more localized, scalable, and efficient food production system that guarantees access to clean, nutritious produce for all—especially in the face of environmental challenges, supply chain disruptions, future price shocks, etc. The best part about Lettuce Grow isn’t just that it solves the above, but that it tastes incredible and makes people feel good by reconnecting them with nature and their food.
L: What's next for Lettuce Grow, and what's your ultimate dream for the brand?
JP: We are going retail! Soon, you’ll find us in the grocery aisle, reaching people where they are mostly shopping for produce. Our seedlings will be available alongside our newest, most accessible and affordable model yet, the Counterstand, which beautifies any kitchen counter or windowsill. It makes the dream of every single person being able to grow a portion of their own food a reality, and not 10 years from now, but next year.
We recently opened a community investment round that allows our growers to become shareholders in the company. It has been heartwarming to see how deeply people love our product, believe in our mission, and want to take an active role in shaping the future of Lettuce Grow. This is truly the embodiment of my dream—to see so many individuals empowered to drive collective and necessary change.
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