Hydroponic farmer, Ottawa Mission tackle food insecurity under the glow of LED lights

CBC

4 hours ago

A pair of new farms are coming to Ottawa, though it may be hard to find them if you are looking for a sprawling land of crops.
Rather than wearing work shirts out in the sun, the farmers at these operations will be wearing white lab coats under the beam of LED lights.
The new farms are part of a joint project between the Ottawa Mission and Growcer, an Ottawa-based company specializing in the construction of hydroponic vertical farms. The new project was announced at Invest Ottawa on Thursday.
Growcer's vertical farms grow leafy greens and various vegetables year-round in climate-controlled buildings resembling a standard ship cargo container.
The company was founded a decade ago by University of Ottawa students Alida Burke and Corey Ellis, with the mission to address food insecurity in Canada's North. Since then, Ellis estimates they have launched 120 projects, most of which are within First Nations reserves and communities.
Ellis says the decision to focus on Ottawa, however, came after Mayor Mark Sutcliffe visited one of their farms.
"The mayor challenged us ... since we're based here in Ottawa, to do work in our own backyard and to partner with local charities to address that crisis," Ellis said.
Addressing rising food insecurity
According to the Ottawa Food Bank's 2024 hunger report, roughly one in four households in the city are facing food insecurity. The Ottawa Mission is one of a number of shelters helping to address this issue with their mobile food truck.
A donour to the food truck program introduced the Ottawa Mission to Growcer.
"Our programs are growing, the food truck program, the number of people we're feeding under the roof of the Ottawa Mission, the demand for our food supply is unprecedented," said Peter Tilley, CEO for the Ottawa Mission. "To have a program like this where we can get a sustainable, reliable source of leafy greens was just such a fit for us."
The new project will be installed at Area X.O, near the intersection of Woodroffe Avenue and West Hunt Club Road in Nepean, in the coming weeks. Ellis says the project will focus on five key crops, including different types of lettuce alongside spinach, kale and arugula.
End of summer harvest
The first crop is expected to be ready by the end of the summer, with the produce going to the Mission's various meal programs. Those involved with the project say the two farms combined will be capable of producing over 9,000 kilograms of leafy greens per year.
The farms will also offer training opportunities for students within the Ottawa Mission's Food Services Training Program, allowing them to help harvest the greens once the farms are operational.
"A lot of our students are newcomers to Canada and they have no idea about farming, some of them don't have any idea where the produce they eat comes from," said Ric Allen-Watson, better known as Chef Ric, who founded the training program over two decades ago.
Plans to expand
Ellis says he hopes that this is only the start of Growcer's work in Ottawa, looking to build an additional 12 farms throughout the city over the next year. They are currently in talks with a number of local food banks and charities throughout the city, though Ellis did not specify which ones.
"Bringing farms into the city is all about reminding people where their food comes from, and making the produce you get far tastier, more cost effective, more sustainable and frankly, it lasts way longer in your fridge."
Sutcliffe is hopeful these farms will be replicated in neighbourhoods across the city as the project expands.
"My understanding is this is something they can replicate in any neighbourhood in the city, and it doesn't take a lot to set up one of these facilities and then to start producing food for the local food bank or a local school food program."
The project in Ottawa was helped in part by a donation from the Royal Bank of Canada to the Ottawa Community Foundation.