AppHarvest’s tomatoes head to KY stores. Martha Stewart says they’re ‘extraordinary.’

A mega-greenhouse in Eastern Kentucky has harvested its first tomatoes.

AppHarvest opened its 2.76-million-square-foot building in Morehead in November to produce 45 million pounds of tomatoes annually. The first harvest of tomatoes have been shipped to Kroger, Walmart, Meijer, Food City and Publix grocery stores and will be available by Wednesday.

“We look forward to every American having the ability to access fresh, affordable, healthy fruits and vegetables,” founder and CEO Jonathan Webb said at a news conference Tuesday.

Webb compared excitement in the region about the first AppHarvest tomatoes to the release of a new iPhone.

The high-tech greenhouse uses 100% recycled rain water, zero chemical pesticides and seeds that are naturally bred to optimize flavor and nutrients, Webb said.

AppHarvest board member Martha Stewart said the tomatoes taste “extraordinary.”

“We all need and want better food for us, for our families and our friends,” Stewart said. “We want food that is sustainably grown, free of chemicals and we want food that tastes really good and that we can afford.”

Appalachia became the flagship location for AppHarvest because of its proximity to the rest of the country. The greenhouse is within a day’s drive of nearly 70% of the U.S. population. Chief sustainability officer Jackie Roberts said the decreased travel time ensures AppHarvest is picking closer to the tomatoes’ ripeness, causes less damage during shipping and reduces food waste.

Webb, a native of Kentucky, said the region has some of the highest obesity and heart disease rates. Some question why residents don’t eat more fruits and vegetables, he said.

“Because they taste terrible. What young child wants to eat these fruits and vegetables that are tasteless, flavorless and colorless and they’re really being bred for transportation?” Webb said.

Eastern Kentucky is water rich, and while the rest of the country is getting drier, the state has had its wettest years, he said.

Webb said the region also has the hardest working men and women, including some that were former coal miners.

“I’m standing in Eastern Kentucky, which was formerly known as coal country, where over the last decade most of those coal mines have shut down,” Webb said. “This is an area of the country that was known for powering the U.S. Now we’re going to be known for feeding the U.S. with good, healthy fruits and vegetables.”

AppHarvest pays a living wage, offers health benefits and provides classes on nights and weekends to train its employees, Webb said. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Webb said it’s especially important that essential workers who are putting food on the table get paid fairly.

AppHarvest is growing. It has two facilities under construction: a 60-plus acre facility outside Richmond and a 15-acre facility to grow leafy greens in Berea. The company plans to have 12 farms in Kentucky and Central Appalachia by the end of 2025.