Little Leaf Farms secured $155,018 from the Pennsylvania Agriculture Innovation Grant program to install new technology at its indoor greenhouse in Banks Township today, according to Sen. Dave Argall, R-29, and Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-122.

“Little Leaf is changing how the lettuce industry operates right here in Carbon County,” said Argall. “This highly competitive funding will support their cutting-edged operations and the hundreds of local jobs at their facility.”

“Little Leaf is a global leader in agriculture, and I’m excited to see state funding supporting its innovative efforts,” said Heffley. “The business not only created over 500 jobs but also expanded its reach, distributing products nationwide.”

The greenhouse space operated by Little Leaf Farms near McAdoo is the largest indoor lettuce production facility in the world.

The Agriculture Innovation Grant program was created through the bipartisan 2024-25 state budget. More than $10 million was dedicated to this program to support farmers and help them adopt new technologies to advance the industry.

In October, Little Leaf Farms opened its third 10-acre greenhouse.

The company recently broke ground for a fourth greenhouse that it expects to have operational by the fall of 2025.

“Our continued expansion in Pennsylvania will advance our progress against our goals to grow our capacity and bring our lettuce to more and more consumersthroughout the country,” said Paul Sellew, Little Leaf’s founder and CEO.

Little Leaf Farms opened its first greenhouse in Banks Township in 2020, and as since become the country’s leading brand of sustainably grown packaged lettuce.

The business uses captured rainwater, sunlight and solar-powered energy in its soil-free hydroponic farming. The baby greens are harvested without touching human hands and are free of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.

And less than 24 hours after harvest, the leafy greens are available to customers — something that Sellew said fits the company’s goal of providing the freshest greens possible.

“Our process and the controlled environment agriculture movement stands in stark contrast to most lettuce on shelves today, which travels thousands of miles before reaching stores, sacrificing freshness and fuel with each day spent in transit,” he said.