4Roots and SeaWorld Orlando have announced a new partnership that will provide nutrient-rich, locally grown lettuce from the 4Roots greenhouse to recovering manatees at SeaWorld.
Manatees are herbivores that can measure in at over 3,000 pounds, and they consume roughly 8% of their bodyweight in leafy greens and grasses every day. There has been a decimation in their wild food source over the years, and Sea World has become the country’s largest manatee rescue operation, having helped over 950 manatees through the years.
4Roots Farm is currently growing fresh crops, including lettuce, at its new campus in The Packing District, via an 18,000 SF greenhouse.
“It is so exciting to see our greenhouse up and running harvesting tens of thousands of pounds of nutrient rich produce, right in the heart of Orlando,” said and 4Roots Founder CEO, John Rivers. “We are proud to partner with SeaWorld to be able to provide this lettuce twice a week to their manatees. It is local partnerships like this that enable us to carry out our mission of unearthing the power of food to build healthier communities.” He added, “It is an honor to play a small role in the great work SeaWorld does to rehabilitate these beautiful mammals.”
Last year nearly 400,000 pounds of lettuce was fed to manatees on the east coast in one site alone, when winter waters made their natural food grounds too cold to forage in.
