Ottawa Mission Partners With Growcer To Grow Our Own Leafy Greens

How You Keep Hope (and our Produce) Evergreen

We’re standing where generosity meets ingenuity: inside one of our two new vertical farming units.

Powered by your support, these modular hydroponic farms are where we can now grow up to 20,000 pounds of fresh leafy greens per year!

Inside this temperature and light-controlled environment, rows of basil are dutifully growing; dozens of romaine lettuce seedlings are beginning to sprout; and lush, overflowing dark leaves signal that there will soon be a bountiful harvest of kale.

Thanks to you, these greens will all end up in the soups, salads, and meals we serve to the hungry and food insecure people of Ottawa. So far, we’ve grown romaine and butterhead lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula, basil, cilantro, and parsley, adding them to the average of 3,000+ meals we serve each day at our shelter and from our food trucks.

The ingenuity of Growcer, who developed and maintain our vertical farming units, and a generous donation from RBC provided the roots of this food sustainability initiative. But it’s your support that allows us to continue to feed those in need, crop after crop.

In fact, we can harvest a new crop of greens every 6 weeks, year-round! In today’s environment, where food imports can be exceptionally expensive and food insecurity incredibly high, growing our own produce saves costs and helps feed even more people in need.

Our Food Services Training Program also grows here! Students now learn practical skills in sustainable farming, food production, and distribution through these farms.

So, as we all anxiously await the greens of spring, thank you for keeping our Mission meals healthy and evergreen.