Lufa Farms, a company that specializes in bringing fresh local
produce to cities is now envisioning Boston for some of its rooftop
agricultural gardens. Within the next year, the goal for Lufa Farms
is to establish a 75,000-125,000 square foot rooftop greenhouse in
Boston. In fact, co founder Kurt Lynn, the company chairman, the
temporary chief financial officer Dave Furneaux, as well as
greenhouse director Lauren Rathmell, are all native Bostonians.
This evidently is showing just how much these individuals vision
needs to be reflected back on the Hub where they call home.
Last year, this organization opened a $2 Million rooftop farm in
the city of Montreal. Atop of a office building, this 31,000 square
foot garden facility offers thirty types of vegetables and is the
first of three greenhouses that will soon be completed in this
Canadian city. In the near future, Toronto, Chicago, New York and
Philadelphia are some of the next localities that Lufa Farms seeks
to infiltrate and make their presence be known.
So why all of this sheer need for such a local year-round
market? Well, as prices for products on the local level have been
going up, there has been an increase in the need to purchase crops
and other goods from afar; most of the time from another country.
To Lufa Farms, this does not seem right, and it must be known that
they are not the only innovators looking to promote local products.
In fact, as we mentioned in a past blog, there are
already plans a new public market near Faneuil Hall that will only
sell products that are made or produced within Massachusetts. As
the distance and ultimately the time both increase between when a
product is being harvested and when it arrives on ones plate, the
need for a reality check and immediate change in the status quo is
apparent.
Speaking with the Massachusetts Port Authority, Federal Realty
Trust and WS Development, Kurt Lynn and the other founder, Mohamed
Hage, have thus far raised roughly $10 Million through private
funding for Lufa Farms. Going forward these capital intensive
projects of building modern greenhouses should continue in Boston
over the next four years with the specific locations still being
sought out and are yet to be determined. What is already a given,
however, is that the first large greenhouse is estimated to cost
roughly $5 Million to erect. Within it, local chards, kales and
other vegetables will be grown in 12-week intervals and the
greenhouse will be in use year round due to its highly
technologically controlled environment.
While never using pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and the
like, Lufa Farms seeks to place their products in the perfect
natural situation allowing them to thrive and grow. Once this
operation is in full swing, the goods will be collected and sent to
various drop off locations throughout the city of Boston where they
will be able to be purchased in baskets for $22-$42 per week. We
can only be excited for such a positive and healthy spin on how we
are collecting and eating our vegetables and thus will be keeping a
close eye on all future announcements regarding this!
More Information: Boston Herald