Growing food for those in need from a downtown office? Cheap and easy, says London charity | CBC News

An urban farming project is sprouting hope in downtown London, with trays of microgreens grown in a simple office space providing fresh, nutritious food to those facing food insecurity, while offering valuable job skills to adults with disabilities.

The PATCH does this all through an unusual setup that demonstrates how easily urban spaces can be transformed into productive farms in a cost-effective way, and how such transformations can stave off hunger in the community.

“It’s really funny. We’re in an office space, right in the core of downtown London, and we’re growing veggies in trays on shelves that we bought from Costco,” said Joe Gansevles, the coordinator of urban agriculture with the PATCH program, a Hutton House initiative.

Supported by Hutton House, the Kensington Village Association, the Nathan T. Deslippe fund and a grant from Maple Leaf Foods, The PATCH has done this work for almost a decade, using the fruits of that labour to nourish the community.

The nutrient-dense veggies are taken to a fresh food bank at First Baptist Church, next to Victoria Park, for people in need to eat.

“A lot of the folks that we’re delivering to don’t, unfortunately, have a history of growing up with fresh food,” he said. “The microgreens are a huge hit.”

The PATCH operates three farms. One is an outdoor garden — the Cavendish Community Food Hub — at 136 Cavendish Cres. The other two are indoor farms, located in the Western Fair District, and downtown.

While it’s no surprise that the outdoor garden is capable of producing plenty of food, Gansevles says the indoor farms punch well above their weight, and operate year-round

“For the units we have here [at 379 Dundas St.], we’ll probably be able to grow 700 to 800 pounds of microgreens a year. That’s a lot of microgreens, ’cause they weigh nothing,” Gansevles said.

The microgreens — younger, more nutritionally-dense versions of common plants like cilantro, arugula, peas and radishes — are mostly arranged in plastic trays. Those trays sit on five metal shelves that have been rigged with fans and lights.

“Our cost to build these shelves with the fans and lights was probably about $3,000. It’s a lot of bang for the buck, I think,” Gansevles said.

The greens are harvested, on average, every 10 days, he added.

Alongside the shelves, vertical aeroponic growers that take up little space sprout leaves of lettuce from their sides.

A dream come true for grower who designed farm

Holly Puglsey is no stranger to indoor agriculture. She manages The PATCH’s indoor farms and makes a living selling herbs and edible flowers to chefs, bakers and consumers through her company Just Keep Growing.

Pugsley said she played a role in building the downtown urban farm, basing its design off a farm she created at home.

“We harvest about 30 pounds of microgreens and lettuce combined, per week, and that’s our minimum goal,” Pugsley said. 

For Puglsey, the experience of being able to share her passion and teach people how to engage with it, all while fighting hunger, feels like “an actual dream, sometimes.”

“It’s beautiful. Seeing everyone’s natural connection to plants and food. It’s really astounding. Watching the moment someone understands and connects, and seeing it in their eyes is awesome.”

Life-changing initiative

The PATCH is intertwined with Hutton House’s goal of giving adults with disabilities opportunities to develop valuable skills. It invites them to help run the farms on a day-to-day basis.

Faye Simmons has been involved since before The PATCH officially existed. In fact, she was part of the blueprint for the first farm. 

“They measured my wheelchair to see how tall the beds need to be,” she said.

Simmons called having the opportunity to work with the plants and learn how to nurture them from seedling to full maturity “life-changing.”

“That’s my favourite place to be. In the garden,” she said. “I’ve learned an awful lot, because I don’t know anything about plants. I’ve learned what not to eat, why things do an don’t grow, and why the vegetables and fruits we grow look so different than what you see in the grocery store.”

The PATCH has also given her a chance to meet new people and form bonds that wouldn’t have formed otherwise. 

“I think more people should come out and enjoy it,” she said.

Gansevles hopes more people do just that, he said.

However, he also hopes people see what The PATCH does in its indoor spaces, and are inspired by it.

“If you have a little extra space at home, you can help address food insecurity in the winter,” Gansevles said.

“If you have some space in your office, your garage, you can do what we’re doing here and you can get food to people in need.”