Milwaukee Hydroponic Farm Boosts Fresh Food Access
A new indoor farm at Rockwell Automation aims to deliver 200,000 pounds of fresh lettuce annually to local food pantries.
Updated on Oct. 21, 2026 in Organic Food
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Clock Tower Farms has launched inside the Milwaukee headquarters of Rockwell Automation, utilizing 72 hydroponic systems to grow fresh produce. The facility serves food pantries across 35 Wisconsin counties to help meet surging demand.
Why it matters
Local food pantries have seen a 15% to 30% increase in users this year, intensifying the need for reliable year-round access to fresh produce. This partnership provides a consistent supply chain for 600 community partners that previously struggled to source greens.
The 8,000-square-foot facility utilizes 72 hydroponic systems to produce 38,500 side salads weekly. This method saves approximately 5.9 million gallons of water compared to traditional field farming.
The players
Rockwell Automation
This is an industrial automation and digital transformation company that provides the space and monitoring technology for the hydroponic farm.
Fork Farms
This organization develops the hydroponic growing systems used to cultivate crops within the indoor facility.
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin
This regional network serves as a major food bank provider to hundreds of community partners across the state.
The details
The hydroponic systems rely on optimized lighting and nutrient-infused water to cultivate crops, with growing conditions monitored by the Rockwell Automation PlanPAx system. These initiatives address food insecurity concerns that were further identified during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Timeline
The Stock the Shelves campaign fundraising began in 1995.
The fundraising goal for the Stock the Shelves campaign was set for October 2026.
Clock Tower Farms is expected to reach full production capacity by the end of 2026.
Culture Shift
The project follows a pattern set by the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed deep vulnerabilities in regional food security and fresh produce access. This move mirrors a broader shift toward localized, tech-enabled agriculture as a means of insulating community safety nets from global supply shocks.
Local residents relying on the 600 partnered community organizations can expect increased access to fresh, healthy produce in their weekly food baskets. This infrastructure improvement helps stabilize the supply of greens for families amid rising usage rates at food pantries.
The takeaway
This facility highlights how industrial automation technology can be repurposed to address local hunger and supply chain reliability. Families in the region can anticipate improved nutritional variety as production scales up over the coming year.
What happens next
Clock Tower Farms is scheduled to reach full production capacity by the end of 2026.
Further reading
Learn more about local food sourcing initiatives on the Milwaukee Organic Food page.
More information
To support the effort, you can make a contribution via the Feeding America online donation portal.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Journal Sentinel.
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