When a food trend is more than a food trend

If you have eaten at any of Cincinnati's top restaurants lately, you may have unknowingly supported a local startup called Waterfields.

The company's young greens and herbs grace many of the most polished plates in town, including the oyster slider at Salazar and the pork belly at Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse.

Chefs Mark Bodenstein of Nuvo at Greenup, Todd Kelly of Orchids at Palm Court and Mike Florea of Maribelle's lovingly incorporate the microgreens and microherbs into many dishes. Happy Chicks Bakery decorates cakes with Waterfields' new line of edible flowers and Japp's has used its products in the bar's specialty cocktails.

Waterfields is passionate about food and the culinary scene, no doubt. But the company's mission is to make Cincinnati a healthier community by using sustainable agricultural practices and creating jobs.

"Economies of inclusion require intentional action and a desire to be the change you want in the world," their mission statement reads on the website. "A system composed of poverty, threatened fresh water reserves and lack of access to healthy food is full of opportunities to drive innovation."

On a recent crisp spring morning, the Waterfields' staff was busy in their newly expanded operation in an old warehouse in the West End.

Julz Bressler, assistant grower and recent hire, tended to racks of young cilantro, purple stem radish, red vein sorrel, fennel plants and much more in the vertical growing rigs. Waterfields uses a hydroponic system, a series of shelves supporting trays of baby plants feeding off of grow lights and circulated water. The products go from seed to sale in as little as eight days.

Michael Whitt, another new hire and production assistant, sets out recycled trays to plant seeds to get the next round of product going, while co-founders Sam Dunlap and Daniel Divelbiss package orders that will be shipped in boxes labeled "Hyperfresh."

Most of Waterfields' competitors are in California, Divelbiss said, requiring shipping time that saps away freshness and adds to transportation costs.

"Would we be able to get live microgreens with that much variety? The answer is no," said Chef Kelly, who says his restaurant is supportive of Waterfields' business ethic. "It ties into our beliefs (at Orchids). But truly, the quality of the product is what has kept us committed to using them."

"The typical American prepared meal contains, on average, ingredients from at least five countries outside the United States," according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

"Getting food from the farm to our fork eats up 10 percent of the total U.S. energy budget, uses 50 percent of U.S. land, and swallows 80 percent of all freshwater consumed in the United States," a 2012 issue paper by the council reads.

Energy consumption, carbon emissions and the rising price of food are what drive Waterfields, said Dunlap, as does the unavailability of fresh food and jobs in many urban neighborhoods.

Waterfields' first hydroponic rig went up 18 months ago in a concrete basement in Lower Price Hill. The popularity of their products has allowed the business to grow.

Locally, their microgreens can be purchased at Jungle Jim's, Madison's at Findlay Market, Clifton Natural Foods and Dorothy Lane Market in Springboro. They also deliver to West Virginia and the Dayton and Columbus areas.

In the next five years, the company hopes to be in 1,000 stores and supporting more than 100 jobs, Dunlap said.

Price Hill Will, the community and real estate development nonprofit, helped Waterfields acquire a large facility on State Street in Lower Price Hill. It is expected to open by the end of August.

The plan is to keep up production in the West End and use the State Street space to grow into the urban agriculture development company its founders dream of, a springboard for other agricultural enterprises and products.

"We are chiseling jobs into the community," said Divelbiss, also the team's chief growing officer. "We want to become a community institution, build something that will last and be profitable. Create jobs that people want with wages that will let them support a family."