Mokena man grows urban farm in a shipping container in his driveway

MOKENA, Ill. (WLS) -- Derek Drake decided to think outside the box after losing his job during the pandemic.

Or rather, think inside the box -- a 320 square foot shipping container to be exact.

"I went down this long search, this long rabbit hole of trying to figure out my next right move and I found this company that manufactures these farms and I was like, 'I am going to be a farmer,'" he said.

But he's not your typical farmer. He doesn't rely on soil or sunlight. And his farm is parked in his driveway in Mokena.

"This is controlled environment agriculture at it's best. This is an indoor hydroponic vertical farm," Drake said.

With water and LED lights, Drake says he can grow up to 3 acres of produce in the container.

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Hydroponic farming is weather and climate-proof. But Drake warns, it is not human-proof.

"There are somethings that can go wrong, mostly user error on my part. We had some ac issues and we lost everything and we had to start over," he said.

Still, he has no regrets.

Drake's company, Ditto Foods, supplies produce to restaurants, food co-ops and other customers throughout the Chicago-area. This summer, he partnered with the online farmers market, Market Wagon, to expand his reach.

Drake hopes to increase his output by purchasing a few more hydroponic shipping container farms.

"This is a viable business and it's a great opportunity to grow local, clean produce for our local community," he said.