The Community Connections Society of Southeast BC (CCS) gave Cranbrook residents an early look at the new Urban Farm facility.
The CCS hosted an open house at the site over the weekend, which drew a sizable crowd of people who were eager to learn about the project.
“We’ve been working on this for so many years, so this really validates that this is a good project and people are keen on supporting local food and recognize the value of food security projects,” said Sophie Larsen, CCS Food Program Coordinator.
The indoor hydroponic system will grow lettuce and leafy greens that will be distributed around the community.
“A portion of our lettuce will be sold to people in Cranbrook to help pay for the operating costs, some will go to food support agencies through our Food Recovery distribution – so that will go to Street Angels, the Salvation Army and the Food Bank. Another portion of the lettuce we grow will go to school lunch programs,” explained Larsen.
Since the Urban Farm is a contained and controlled environment, produce can be grown year-round.
“We applied for the funding three years ago and it was brought on by the fact that we recognized that we have great growers in the summer season, but not in the winter, and we wanted to augment the food system,” said Larsen.
“We run the Food Recovery program, and we see that a lot of the produce that goes to food support organizations is at the end of its life. We wanted to provide more options for our community.”
Even though hydroponics relies solely on water as a growing medium for their plants rather than soil, the system is highly water-efficient.
“The plants are floating and growing in water, but the system is self-contained, so it uses 70 percent less water than if we were growing traditionally,” said Larsen.
The structure and equipment are in place, but a few more steps remain before the Urban Farms begins operations.
“We are electrifying our unit before December 6, and we have commissioning from the manufacturers coming in early January,” said Larsen.
“We will be planting our first seeds in mid-January and we hope to have a harvest by March.”
The structure itself is modular, with the ability to easily add more growing units.
Larsen says the CCS has big plans for the future of its new operation.
“We have very high hopes for the Urban Farm, with a numerous phased approach. We anticipate that we’ll be able to bring self-composting opportunities, some in-ground growing, various methods of growing food and lots of teaching,” said Larsen.
The facility will only be used to grow lettuce for now, but the CCS hopes to diversify in the future, with the possibility of growing strawberries, cucumbers and herbs.
Larsen says the CCS will look for volunteer and educational opportunities to get the community involved in the Urban Farm.
“I think we’ll need help at all aspects of our operation, so that will involve everything from the seeding to the harvesting to the distribution,” said Larsen.
“We really want this to be a community resource that helps individuals learn other growing methods. We’ll include volunteer opportunities at every point in the system that we can.”
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