We recently connected with Lena Sleyster and have shared our conversation below.
Lena , thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us today. We’re excited to dive into your story and your work, but first let’s start with a broader topic that might be stopping many of our readers from pursuing their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. How have you managed to persist despite haters and nay-sayers that inevitably follow folks who are doing something unique, special or off the beaten path?
Despite the industry haters, I activate my blinders and write down actions that will keep me from failure they speak of. I implement and execute upon decisions that will benefit the community and still keep us operable.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a former IoT Product Manager that focused on combining Hardware and Software applications to provide solutions to enterprise and SLED segments. Technology has always inspired me, that’s why when my family decided to start an indoor hydroponic farm, it was, and still is a challenge I whole heartedly embraced.
We are currently working to prove that blighted buildings can be turned into small hydroponic farms, creating jobs, increased property value, and more importantly healthy food options for Kansas City year-round. Our salad kits with a simple dressing and farmers choice boxes are popular with consumers while we focus on bulk produce order for restaurants. I am most excited for our efforts of growing food close to where it is consumed becoming a sustainable business that can operate for years to come. By dialing in costs and selling before grown, we are able to remain operable unlike so many other hydroponic or indoor vertical farms announce bankruptcies or failures to start the year.
Changes in climate patterns, population growth, and loss of farmland due to
urbanization and natural land erosion continue to increase pressure on the world’s food
supply, while changes in real-estate use, the growth in urbanization is leaving commercial
buildings abandoned or underutilized. These changes create the perfect opportunity for
us to establish new roots to fuel sustainable farming in Kansas City, Missouri. In April
2022, our family began planting seeds, building an online presence, and learning about
various urban farming methods. Through the repurposing of blighted real estate, a
couple of motivated family members started building small urban hydroponic farms
solutions, and Urban Bounty Farms was born.
While our journey started out of a shipping container growing
roots, herbs, lettuce, and microgreens in Lee’s summit, it quickly
expanded to the ‘Malt Room’ at the old Heim Brewery off
Guinotte Avenue. We are replicating sustainable farming
methods at a larger scale growing cucumbers and microgreens with the goal of creating solutions beyond centralized
produce that champion the development of the community and increase property value in Kansas City.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Expertise in Engineering, Controlled Environment Agriculture, and labor-intensive operations management.
3 words of advice for anyone beginning “sold before grown”
If you saw the ad of social media to grow Microgreens or Mushrooms in 2 weeks for $2,000 and thought it was a grand way to get rich, you are in the wrong business. Be a farmer, and a sustainable one, because you understand the importance of normalizing regenerative farming methods today to help fuel generation to come.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
leave the house every day before 6am and not come home until 7pm because they were working to provide for my sister and I. The spirit of working hard was instilled in me from a very young age.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://urbanbountyfarm.squarespace.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbanbountyfarms/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UrbanBountyFarmsInc
- Linkedin: Arlene Sleyster
- Other: URBAN BOUNTY RECIPE E-BOOKS: https://www.canva.com/design/DAF8KEEEcuc/82D0i7l8W9KPYOHCW9xWSg/edit?utm_content=DAF8KEEEcuc&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton https://www.canva.com/design/DAF6qp8PSTA/yIjb7qaGs12nQaNYEMmfdg/edit?utm_content=DAF6qp8PSTA&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton OTHER PR: https://kcyesterday.com/articles/reviving-the-legacy-of-heim-brewery-sustainable-farming-and-local-businesses-in-kansas-citys-east-bottoms https://voyagekc.com/interview/inspiring-conversations-with-lena-sleyster-of-urban-bounty-farms-inc/ https://www.verticalfarmdaily.com/article/9547013/us-mo-urban-bounty-farms-growing-helping-vets/
Image Credits
KP PHOTOGRAPHY ON THE HEADSHOT Everything else is shot and grown/maintained by myself.
