Hello everyone, My name is Roxanne, interviewing Mrs. Peloquin, manager of the Lufa Farm’s Donation Program. Hello Mrs. Peloquin! First, could you introduce yourself a bit and tell us about Lufa Farms.

Lufa Farms is an agricultural company that strives to grow food sustainably in urban areas. They provide an almost complete online grocery store where people can buy fresh and local products. For my part, I am the manager of the donations program. It is a program that was set up about 2 years ago, with the aim of providing healthy, fresh, local, and responsible food to people in need, people who are food insecure or precarious.

How many people can you count on your food supply?

We deliver approximately 30,000 baskets per week. We have about 60,000 active customers who order every week, there are some who place their orders more sporadically, so non-regular customers. This represents 2 to 3% of the Greater Montreal Area.

Lufa Farms can support how many people and families who live with food insecurity or precariousness, on a regular basis?

Lufa Farms can support approximately 800 people, adults, and children in need each week. This represents approximately 200 families. Basically, how it works is that we do business with charitable organizations in Montreal that are in contact with these families and then refer them to us. Families create an account with us, as our regular customers do, and shop for food online with credits. The credits are worth $30 per person in the family or household. So, a family of four receives a $120 credit per week to shop for groceries online at Lufa Farms. In addition to the allocated credits, families are entitled to a 25% discount on fresh fruits and vegetables, so it’s very advantageous.

As of today, how much space are you using to provide food for all these people?

“Good question, I can’t tell you in terms of square meters, but at the moment we have four farms on different roofs in Montreal, plus one indoor farmhouse under one of our roofs. They are located in the neighborhoods of Anjou, Ahuntsic and Ville Saint-Laurent. There is also one in the city of Laval.

Interestingly, the Ville Saint-Laurent farm is the largest commercially exploited rooftop farm in the world. This is also where our distribution center, offices and indoor farm is located. The indoor farm reproduces the same cultivation model as the outdoor farms, it is mainly dedicated to the growth of greenery and herbs. To  this point, the experiment has been successful.

Also, to offer a complete online grocery store, we don’t just offer what we grow. We do business with local artisans and small to medium sized farms to offer a wide variety of fresh produce such as flour, meat, cheese, eggs, and other types of vegetables that we cannot grow in greenhouse. All products come from Quebec, in partnership with small businesses in Quebec, and for products not available in Quebec, their origins are as close as possible to Quebec and their practices are responsible.”

Via Lufa Farms

Would you say you that you contribute to increasing the resilience of the city? If yes, how so?

“I would say the answer is yes. In spring, summer and fall, Quebec has good food self-sufficiency, it grows a good variety of foods, it is winter that is more difficult. Unfortunately, winter lasts almost six months a year when traditional agriculture cannot be relied upon to meet the needs of city dwellers. In addition, it is complicated to make the summer reserves last so long. Our greenhouses are able to produce year-round, they use the residual heat of the buildings to maintain a cultivable temperature. Also, our indoor greenhouse allows a good production of greenery.

A good example of this is the lettuce shortage that there was last winter in Quebec, since Quebec is very dependent on imports from California. Our customers haven’t missed anything. In addition, our winters in Quebec are quite bright, which allows the cultivation of several foods. We use LED lights to rebalance less sunny days, but otherwise, it shows that we have a model that works in terms of production throughout the year, so we are less dependent on imports.

In terms of nutritional intake, lettuce grown in a hydroponic environment has the same nutritional value as lettuce grown traditionally. The water is enriched with nutrients to have the same properties from one plant to another. In addition, fruits and vegetables are harvested the day before delivery, which allows them to mature on the plant, and not age on the supermarket shelf or in the fridge. Since transport is local, food loses fewer nutrients during it compared to long transport by cargo ship, truck, train, plane, which can last weeks, sometimes even months, depending on where it comes from.”

Perfect thank you very much! Now let’s move on to the second part of the interview concerning the environmental aspect. My first question is: How does Lufa farms help reduce carbon emissions compared to more traditional farming methods?

“The first answer would be that the food doesn’t have to travel. The transport industry being a major emitter of CO2. By producing locally, we strongly contribute to the reduction of emissions of this greenhouse gas.

There are many other things we do to reduce our impact on the environment. For example, by building our farms on rooftops, it reduces the need to damage natural areas. In addition, the waste heat from the buildings below is used, which saves energy normally dedicated to heating. The greening of roofs is also an additional and effective way to insulate buildings, which allows less heating, and therefore generates a reduction in energy costs for them. For extremely cold days, in -30◦C and below, the natural gas boiler is used, but it is only used as a last resort.

In terms of food waste costs, as we harvest on order, it avoids having too much surplus supply. The same is true for prepared products such as cakes and pastries that are cooked the day before and arrive at our distribution centers in the wee hours of the morning. We also offer anti-waste baskets, when our forecast is, let’s say, a little worse, we offer these baskets at a reduced price and it’s a bit of a surprise for customers, because they don’t know exactly what they are will receive when they order it. Same thing for ugly fruits and vegetables. They are good so why throw them away? We therefore offer them at a reduced cost because they are not perfect, but we do not throw them away!

All these methods therefore contribute greatly to reducing our carbon dioxide emissions, on the one hand by reducing the transport distance by delivering locally on the other hand by reducing our energy needs, and finally, by elimination of food waste, therefore the burial of organic waste.”

Marvellous! Let’s dive into the water part, how does it work? Since you don’t have a direct access to a watercourse cultivating in height, how do you manage to irrigate your crops?

“Good question! A combination of city water, rainwater and meltwater is used. With that being said, we also recycle 90% of our water, so we often reuse the same water since our circuit is a closed one. That means, the only loss of water is induced by its absorption by plants and their evapotranspiration.”

In terms of soil use, how do you contribute to protecting soil knowing that it is considered a non-renewable resource?

“First, by practicing hydroponic agriculture, we avoid exploiting the soil, since it is completely absent from the process. Two substrates are used to allow the rooting of the plants: peat, for our greens, and coconut fiber for vertical crops, such as cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplants. These substrates have no nutritive contribution for the plant, they only serve as support for the root systems. Then, when we have surpluses, we compost them, we send them to industrial composters. The compost will be mixed with the soil which will help enrich it with nutrients. So, I would say that we are not harming the soil since we are not using it at all, and perhaps we are helping the situation by enriching it with our compost.”

Via Lufa Farms

And regarding pollinators, how would you say your operations impact them?

“To pollinate our cultivars, we use bumblebees. They generally have a more docile temperament and are, safer for our harvesters, compared to honeybees which are, unfortunately, more territorial. They are very nice in nature, but when snuffed in a greenhouse they become very frustrated, and they are more likely to sting.

Other insects, such as ladybugs, praying mantises and others, are also used for biological control. This allows insect pests to be controlled without the use of pesticides, thereby protecting pollinators, as pesticides contribute to their loss. One cannot, however, obtain organic certification, because to obtain this certification, the agriculture must be done in the soil. However, we do business with a third party, SCS Global Services, which tests our products and certifies that they are free of pesticide residues.”

Perfect! We are, now, coming to the last part of the interview which concerns the different types of employment in an agrarian environment like yours.

So, just to get a rough idea, how many people, on average, work for your company?

“About 600, but it fluctuates during the year, some work full time, others, part-time. It is important to note that these 600 people are direct employees of Lufa farms, however, by doing business with many small and medium-sized partners, Lufa contributes to a wider range of employability.”

Finally, last question, then I will leave you, I promise! What kind of employment does your industry generate? And what kind of education do you need to do to access these types of jobs?

“The correct answer, honestly, is really anything and everything! haha! There is something for everyone, we have jobs in the greenhouse for those who like agricultural labor, agronomists, biologists, horticulture jobs, engineering jobs, etc. In short, there is a whole natural science component that affects the biology of plants and ecological and ecosystem relations, but also a whole social component such as working in the HR team, working in communication, working in purchasing and… The donation program workers like me. Haha! Transportation, logistics, technology, because there’s a lot of technology in our greenhouses, IT, too, because our distribution centers, really everything depends on IT systems done in-house, so we have a good team of computer developers and technicians. So, there really is a wide range of types of work, for all tastes and all levels of study.”

Would you like to add something, a final word for our readers/listeners?

“Lufa farms represent a really interesting and innovative business model, because it is a hyper-sustainable model and offers a wide variety of work opportunities, regardless of the person’s field of interest. There is also the possibility of trying lots of different things and discovering, who knows, new passions. For example, Lufa Farms are very good at finding your ideal job and I am the perfect example. I started in customer service, then joined the editorial team and ended up as communications coordinator. There is a lot of possibility of movement within the company which allows you to discover what you like and ultimately to discover yourself! Finally, working for Lufa Farms, I would say, is also contributing to a greener and more sustainable future.”

Thank you very much, Émily Péloquin, for this superb interview. I’m sure you’ll inspire more than one! For more information about Lufa Farms and their opportunities/job openings, visit their website: About Lufa Farms!

This interview has been translated and edited for length and clarity.