Montreal’s Lufa Farms want you to buy local

With the uncertainty around tariffs, the idea of buying local produce is getting more attention.

Lufa Farms in the Montreal-area has a mission to change the way people access fresh, locally grown produce.

“We are able to grow, I would say, what the customer really needs and wants, which is tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant,” said Lionel Trombert, vice-president of finance at Lufa Farms.

With five greenhouses and an indoor farm, the organization uses a hydroponic system which can grow vegetables without using soil.

The farm is able to harvest 215,000 vegetables each week, feeding around two per cent of the city’s population says Trombert.

However, there are limits to what the greenhouses can produce. Trombert says that Lufa Farms lacks the technology to grow all types of produce, especially items like tropical fruits.

To fill in the gaps, Lufa Farms works closely with local farmers and vendors to offer a full range of grocery items, from fresh vegetables to dairy, bread, and meat.

They deliver over 30,000 baskets of groceries to customers each week.

Prices at Lufa Farms are comparable to what you’d pay for organic produce says Trombert.

He adds buying local makes sense.

“To have food travel thousands of kilometres is not a useful use of energy and resources in many ways,” said Trombert.

While Lufa Farms’ greenhouses are not yet able to grow fruits like oranges and bananas, the technology is improving. Lufa Farms is hopeful it would open more locations in the future.