ABOUT ME

Hello, my name is Daniel, founder and operator of Underground Produce! I have a passion for growing and distributing the highest quality organic produce to local communities and for spreading awareness about sustainable agriculture and living practices!

On returning to my home city of Chicago, I spent the next three years cultivating my own organic growing practices. I worked as the lead grower for the Chef's Apiary and Garden at the Marriott Lincolnshire for the 2016/2017 seasons, growing produce for the hotel restaurant.

I was born and raised in Chicago, IL. Finding myself jaded with job prospects and the wasteful nature of society, I decided to change up my path and take on a work-trade program on the Big Island of Hawaii, where I learned the basics of organic farming working on a lettuce, coffee, and banana farm south of Kona. Here I developed a passion for organic agriculture and decided to pursue farming as my career.

In 2018, I was hired as Lead Grower for Urban Autism Solutions, a non-profit organization based in Chicago, where I managed a 1.5 acre urban farm located on the UIC Medical campus. I worked directly with young adults with autism in a vocational skills training program while also managing a production farm that supplied produce to markets, restaurants and through a CSA.

In 2019, I accomplished a lifelong goal of moving to the west coast to pursue a life in farming. I worked as a farmhand for Black Locust Farm outside Portland, OR, learning what it takes to run a small-scale farming business, while also honing my craft in a new growing climate.

Finally, I was offered an opportunity to run my own farming business here in Bremerton, WA. Underground Produce is a 1/3 acre urban farm, formerly the site of Start Now Gardens run by Jean Schanen and Glenn Huff. I grow my produce using only organic methods, embodying the same passion for community involvement and sustainable practices as its predecessors, and I am thrilled to share my produce with you!