What does it eat in winter? | Lufa Farms
Imagine a city filled with rooftop farms to grow food more sustainably, where people live. This is the ambitious idea that led to the birth of Lufa Farms almost 15 years ago.
A flourishing history
When the founding team of Lufa Farms embarked on the adventure of urban agriculture in 2009, none of these people had any experience in the field and had never even grown a single tomato! It is the mission to build a better food system that drove these young Montreal entrepreneurs. To promote more local and sustainable food, they set out to grow food where people live. What could be better, with this in mind, than to settle directly on the rooftops of Montreal?
Transforming untapped spaces into greenhouses
By moving into industrial buildings, Lufa Farms exploits existing spaces to feed Quebec families with fresh vegetables 12 months a year. The construction of the first greenhouse in Ahuntsic, the largest facility of its kind in the world, was only a stepping stone. Today, the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) has four hydroponic greenhouses perched in the heights of Montreal and Laval, as well as an indoor farm. The fifth Lufa greenhouse, the most innovative to date, will open at the Central Market in 2024. Ultimately, these state-of-the-art facilities will total approximately 50,000m2 of sustainable cultivation.
Weekly baskets
Every week, from Gatineau to Quebec City, 30,000 "Lufavores" receive their Lufa basket at their door or pick it up at one of the 400 pick-up points. These baskets — fully customizable — contain, depending on the season, a range of vegetables that have grown on roofs, as well as responsible products from local partners. By customizing their online shopping cart, customers can stock up on baked goods, meat and fish, cheeses, ready-to-eat and other pantry essentials.
Consume in short circuit
By focusing on hyperlocal agriculture like this, Lufa Farms offers very fresh food. The vegetable that arrives in the hands of the "Lufavores" may have been harvested the same day! As soon as the Market closes at midnight each night, distribution centre teams and local businesses are busy preparing baskets that are overflowing with good things. In the early morning, the delivery trucks — half of which are electric — leave the warehouse for your home. It's hardly cooler than that!
Lufa in numbers
− 4 rooftop greenhouses and a new greenhouse under construction
- 1 indoor farm capable of producing up to 20,000 vegetables per day
- 2,000 responsible products available in the Online
Market - 30,000 orders per week delivered to your home or picked up at a pick-up point
A basket...
... Ultra-fresh
It takes less than 24 hours between the harvest of a Lufa vegetable and its departure to the home of the "Lufavores".
... pesticide-free
Vegetable products from Lufa Farms' hydroponic greenhouses are certified "pesticide residues-free" by SCS Global Services. They are therefore free of pesticide residues, herbicides or synthetic fungicides.
... Lufa
Farms delivers within a 2.5-hour radius of its facilities. This proximity between where food grows and where it is consumed contributes to a more sustainable food system.
...varied
Crispy lettuce, cage-free eggs, cherry tomatoes, fresh pasta, ready-to-eat: it only takes one trip to the Market to see the diversity of products offered.
... flexible
By subscribing, you schedule your delivery on the day of your choice and cancel your deliveries whenever you want.