The Wyoming town of Jackson gets long and bitter winters. One mile above sea level in a landlocked state, months of heavy snow leave the town unable to grow much of its own produce, forcing it to import fresh fruit and vegetables from other states or other countries. But the creators of a new initiative called Vertical Harvest — a multi-story greenhouse built on the side of a parking lot — hope that one of the world's few vertical farms can help feed the town with tomatoes, herbs, and microgreens.

Vertical Harvest places plants on carousels that keep them moving the length of the greenhouse, giving them equal time in natural light, and also allowing workers to pick and transfer the crops. Using hydroponics, Vertical Harvest will be capable of producing over 37,000 pounds of greens, 4,400 pounds of herbs, and 44,000 pounds of tomatoes. Its founders say that Vertical Harvest's 30 foot by 150 foot plot of land offers the same growing areas as 23 acres of traditional farmland, and has a fraction of the environmental impact, using 90 percent less water and 100 percent fewer pesticides than traditional farming.

Funded partially through a successful Kickstarter campaign and set up in collaboration with Jackson Hole's town authorities, the initiative's founders, Nona Yehia and Penny McBride, say that although greenhouses use a lot of energy, it's still a net gain over importing tomatoes and other vegetables from out of state. The two have also offered jobs at the vertical farm to people with developmental disabilities, who will be planting and harvesting the crops when Vertical Harvest opens this year.