Top quality greens now grown year-round in far North

This winter is different. Late last year, the nation purchased a specialized hydroponic "farm" built in a steel box about the size of a shipping container. The farm now produces enough fresh greens for the community of about 3,000 and nearby restaurants year-round.

Gone are wilted romaine and broccoli from California. Now, kale, lettuce and other Nipissing-grown greens are readily available. Plants sit in a shallow pond of water with nutrients to help them thrive inside the new farm. One 400-square-foot container can produce over 787 plants a week.

"The quality and taste of these products is unlike anything I've tasted or seen for purchase anywhere," said Geneviève Couchie, Nipissing First Nation business operations manager. "That's extremely exciting."

The farm is one of more than 70 similar projects across Canada supported by Ottawa-based social enterprise Growcer. Founded in 2015 by a group of university students trying to bolster food availability in remote parts of Canada, the company has since helped dozens of Indigenous communities, public institutions like schools and a handful of farmers run hydroponic farms to supply local markets.

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