Topic
SOLEfood's new downtown Vancouver site grows food, jobs and the business case for urban agriculture.
'This is not a token thing. This is a real amount of food.' SOLEfood Urban Farm's two-acre operation in the heart of Vancouver, BC. Photo: Colleen Kimmett.
The dynamic duo are redrawing the edges of design for the public good in Vancouver, BC.
Turning empty lots into inner-city veggie patches yields a harvest of goodwill.
Nearly 3,000 rectangular planter boxes, which stand out in varying shades of green and brown against a concrete parking lot, make for an impressive sight when viewed from high above on the Georgia Street viaduct.
Situated on Pacific Boulevard between the busy overpass, BC Place Stadium, and the bustling seawall at False Creek, SOLEfood Urban Farm's newest (and, at two acres, its largest) site is a highly-visible sign that urban agriculture has arrived in Vancouver.
Down below, SOLEfood co-founder Michael Ableman walks between the rows pointing out the crops: bok choy, eight types of kale and a new variety of strawberries bred in France that they're trying out.
"Most of what people refer to as urban agriculture is a step up from community gardens," says Ableman. "This is not a token thing. This is a real amount of food."
Ableman and business partner Seann Dory have been plotting the expansion since they launched their first farm on a half-acre lot beside the Astoria Hotel on East Hastings Street.
Considering that all of Vancouver's existing urban farms -- all 2.3 acres of them, according to a 2010 census -- would just about fit on SOLEfood's Pacific Boulevard site, the expansion is significant for the city's local food scene. It's also a test of the financial viability of this type of social enterprise model, which has strong ties to the Downtown Eastside community where it grew up.
Growing jobs
So far, Ableman says he's pleased with the progress SOLEfood has made in achieving its main goal as a not-for-profit social enterprise: to provide meaningful employment for people in the Downtown Eastside who've faced barriers finding work.
The number of staff has grown from seven to 21, says Ableman, and food production is expected to go from roughly 10,000 pounds to a projected minimum of 200,000 pounds once four of the five new sites are in production this fall.
(Pacific Boulevard is one of two that have recently come into production; the other is adjacent to the train tracks under the First Avenue bridge at Clark Street. Two more sites, on city-owned land at Main and Terminal Streets and the Olympic Village, should be in production by the end of the year, says Ableman.)
The 200,000 pounds is a projection based on financial modeling that SOLEfood was required to provide to Vancity credit union and other funders, says Ableman, but it comes with a word of caution -- this is agriculture after all, a biological system based on a lot of different variables.
This kind of agriculture requires a lot of skilled labour from employees like Ken Vallee, who greets customers at SOLEfood's stand in the Main and Terminal farmers' market on Wednesday afternoon.
Vallee tells me that he's recently had surgery on two bones in his neck that fused together. At some point, sooner or later, he figures he likely won't be able to work and when that happens, going on disability will be an option. In the meantime he works part-time, 20 hours a week, at SOLEfood. The hourly rates starts at just over minimum wage, says Vallee, and increases depending on how often the individual works, and what their duties are.
Vallee is one of two employees who has been with the company since the beginning, and when he tells me he's become the poster boy for SOLEfood, I assume he means figuratively, until his colleague at the market stand jokes that he gets tired of seeing Ken's face every time he goes to the ATM.
Vallee, it turns out, is literally the poster boy for SOLEfood -- that's him on the Vancity posters you may have seen around town, promoting the kinds of initiatives the credit union funds.
Ableman emphasizes several times that employment is SOLEfood's main purpose, its raison d'etre. The company is designed to "support a payroll." That means selling the food at the highest return they can get (at the farmers' market, a bunch of radishes goes for $3.50, and a small a bag of Asian greens that would make four side salads is $5.00) and it means maintaining a certain level of consistency. They have about 30 different items, planted in succession so that harvest can happen all season. "The skill," in agriculture, says Ableman, "comes with having a continuous supply."
From threat to acceptance
And success in urban agriculture, to some degree, hinges on acceptance from the community. Twenty years ago urban agriculture was considered a threat, Ableman points out (his own battle to save Fairview Gardens Farm in Santa Barbara county in the '80s is detailed in his 1998 autobiography, On Good Land). Now, cities are embracing it.
Vancouver's city council, its business community, financial institutions and philanthropists have all played a role in getting SOLEfood off the ground.
Concord Pacific, the developer that owns much of the land on the north side of False Creek, has leased the Pacific Boulevard site to SOLEfood for three years, at no charge, in exchange for a break on property tax from the city.
Until recently, SOLEfood has been using borrowed refrigerator space at Save on Meats for its cold storage needs. Mark Brand, the restaurant's owner, offered the space for free for the company's first two years. This spring, Seann Dory and Brand both told this reporter of their plan to expand the partnership, which would require renovating the basement at Save on Meats for additional cold storage as production ramped up. In the end, that proved very expensive for SOLEfood's budget, Ableman said. Instead, they may rent portable refrigeration units to keep at the Pacific Boulevard site, an option he says is more efficient and cost-effective. They have not decided yet.
SOLEfood Urban Farm co-founder Michael Ableman says the goal is to break even in three to five years. Photo: Colleen Kimmett.
As a not-for-profit social enterprise, SOLEfood has been able to secure an impressive amount of start-up cash in a funding climate friendly towards local food initiatives. Since 2009, the company has received at closer to $700,000 in direct grants, and more in in-kind contributions.
In 2009, city council approved a $100,000 grant to SOLEfood, of which $50,000 came from a Greenest Neighbourhood Grants allocation.
In 2010, it received $10,000 from Vancity, and was awarded $10,000 cash and $5,000 in technical design and production mentorship from Nature's Path Organic Foods.
In 2011 it received another Vancity community investment grant -- this time, $50,000 -- and an additional $44,000 from Vancity's enviroFund. That same year, the Radcliffe Foundation, established by Vancouver philanthropist Frank Giustra, granted $475,000.
Ableman told The Dependent magazine last year that its Astoria site produced $40,000 revenue in 2010. Ableman says that with all five sites in production and major capital costs covered, they intend to be entirely self-sufficient and not reliant on grants coming in. "We do project that in three to five years, we're going to be standing on our own," says Ableman. "We want this to pay for itself by the pound."
The company is testing the economics of urban agriculture in Vancouver, says Peter Ladner, former city councilor and author of The Urban Food Revolution.
Ladner told The Tyee that he had recently toured Vancouver's first indoor, vertical farming business -- Valcent, which has leased space on top of a parking garage in Gastown. It's projecting yields 20 times that of traditional outdoor growing methods -- as much as 186,000 pounds of produce per year on just 6,000 square feet.
Ladner says he doesn't know enough about SOLEfood's business model to offer an opinion on how it will sustain itself in the long term.
"If anyone can make this work," he added, "Michael Ableman can make it work."
Ableman himself is proud of what SOLEfood has accomplished so far -- the portable planters, their work on brownfields, and the employment numbers they've been able to reach. He stresses that the company is still very much a work in progress; particularly when it comes to its particular function as a social enterprise in the Downtown Eastside.
Ableman says that SOLEfood currently donates about 10 per cent of its produce to agencies in the Downtown Eastside, including the Potluck Café and the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House, and wants to continue this trend. With production now underway at the Pacific site, "we now have enough food to begin to really address both our marketing needs and our giveaway goals," he says.
However, Ableman also emphasizes the primary goal is employment, not giving food away "which does not always empower communities to generate food themselves."
Ten per cent of produce grown in the shadow of BC Place (recently crowned with a $536 million dollar roof) goes to agencies in Canada's poorest neighbourhood, the Downtown Eastside. Photo: Colleen Kimmett.
SOLEfood is looking at other ways to get produce in the hands of low-income people. It recently launched a voucher program, funded by monetary donations from its Community Supportive Agriculture (CSA) program. Members were given the option of contributing extra when they bought their shares. A total of $430 was collected, which will be divided into $10 vouchers for the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House to distribute amongst its members, according to Katie Pease, SOLEfood's newly-hired sales and distribution manager.
Joy de Castro, who runs the family drop-in program at the neighbourhood house, says that these will go to families who come to the drop-in. The house -- which also runs a community drop-in that serves as many as 170 meals a day -- has bought a $500 share in SOLEfood's CSA program.
The goal is to build a larger base of shares in the Downtown Eastside, and possibly set up a distribution hub in the neighbourhood. "We don't have enough volume yet to warrant setting up a system on the Downtown Eastside, but that's the way we want to do it," says Ableman. "Otherwise, we're not going to be able to reach people." ![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
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snert
45 weeks ago
Heavily taxpayer subsidized food, no less
"'This is not a token thing. This is a real amount of food.'"
rantnic
45 weeks ago
Aa real amount of food?
Until the powers that be can make a profit this whole concept will be kept marginal. Losses for Mr. Pattersons stores will always result in government pressure to stop or slow production to the point of bankruptcy.
This concept of farming should not need any form of subsidy from the taxpayers as the expansion needed to grow large enough to be viable can be done utilizing rooftops and other unused privatley owned spaces for a small rental.
Hakuin
45 weeks ago
when the crash comes
people will be growing food EVERYWHERE.
One question about the cover photo plot: What do food crops bio-accumulate in urban settings? That's a busy road right beside it and the city core never has the cleanest air in any case.
Talon
45 weeks ago
Imperfect as it may be....
This idea is a very good one and thankfully our city council has supported it with some $$$ from the taxpayers (on whom the benefits will fall). I am seeing urban gardens sprouting up everywhere and with the USA heavily promoting GMO food (agribiz)I am very pleased to see them, enabling us to reduce our dependency on GMO food from the USA. A little help from the taxpayers will soon be rewarded with food we can eat and trust to be safe. What a concept!
Alan D
45 weeks ago
How we invest our taxes
Helping get something like urban agriculture launched is an investment in our future. The tiny amount of money invested in good projects like (with massive benefits) is nothing compared to the billions we invest in subsidies for big oil or big agri.
toquer
45 weeks ago
Pointless; potentially poisonous; an affront to the ALR.
The entire raison d'etre of the ALR was to maintain an agricultural zone close to the city, to ensure a healthy local farm base. The entire delta is farmland, and this is more than enough to feed Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.
Projects like this are simply the subsidized wet dreams of planners and urbanists, who treat the city as an island unto itself detached form it's bio-region. Consider that a highly successful progam of urban ag. would compete directly with the farming families of the delta and valley, further eroding the logic of the ALR. Consider also that when such a program(s) is subsidized, it puts long time farmers at a competitive disadvantage.
If you want local produce, it's all around you; there are numerous local farms eager for your business...lots of them will deliver to the city as well (via box programs). Lots of it goes to food banks as well.
The only way it makes sense is in terms of purpose and employment for the urban disadvantaged: but really, speaking from experience, farm labour isn't exactly uplifting and useful work experience: anyone can grow vegetables, the skill set is minimal, and the best one can get (outside the idyllic gates of the uber sexy, heavily subsidized urban lot farm) is minimum wage work in often brutal conditions.
So, in light of this, outside of urbanist wankering, what's the point of this? Just a way of adorning the city with the latest, faddish green credentials so that visiting dignitaries may ooh and ahh over such verdant baubles.
All this aside, is produce with roots punching through asphalt to the industrial waste of False Creek, dusted daily with cadmium from the road, really such a great thing?
DavidG
45 weeks ago
A Flawed, but Interesting, Idea
I've spent a few nights on Mr Ableman's Salt Spring Island farm, and it's a great venture. It's the epitome of the new, modern, small organic farm (the farm is large at 100+ acres, but he probably only actively farms 5 or 6 acres of fruits and veggies, with a lot of help from interns).
SOL foods is an interesting way of localizing food for urban consumption, allowing them to utilize parking lots and other paved venues.
But there are aspects here that isn't ideal. The soil in those boxes is the "organic" compost you can get from various landscape-supply companies. It's a lot of woodchip and animal manure. I've bought the stuff, and shoveled it (apprehensively) into my own raided beds, knowing that the natural strata of microbes is absent, that it's crusty when dry, and made from a sparse number of inputs.
When compared to the compost that people make in their backyards, from potato peelings, coffee grounds, mango pits, apple cores, it's poor stuff.
Does the benefit of raising ultra-local greens outweigh manufactured soil sitting on asphalt? Maybe.
If they could "complete the circle", by collecting the waste from restaurants and composting it into the next season's soil, they'd go a long way in addressing the shortcomings of SOLEfood.
Pootle
45 weeks ago
So it's not really sustainable at all
From the article:
So the only reason this is happening is because the land is provided for free. And if the "company" had to pay for the land there is no way they could do what they are doing.
I understand that one of the roles of government is that of social engineering - utilizing tax dollars from one area to promote and subsidize specific behaviours in another area - but the City of Vancouver is going crazy on the number of non-profitable businesses it is subsidizing, and the revenue sources it is giving up.
Why would we want an urban farm on this site, giving up tax dollars and other forms of development, when we could instead save real farmland like ALR lands. Think about it - Concord is paying little to no tax to sit on valuable property, the City of Vancouver is collecting little to no revenue, and fruits & vegetables are being grown in downtown Vancouver when other developers are busing building cheap townhomes on REAL farmland in the valley.
freewilly
45 weeks ago
to heck with the nair do wells
This is an impressive example of forward thinking! If it employees people, serves the downtown eastside and breaks even, Its a great success. Maybe our underemployed community could emmulate such a project. I've considered mushrooms or tree seedlings for the forest industry for our little village. But getting the funding, grants and a logical business plan together is the hard part
If they could "complete the circle", by collecting the waste from restaurants and composting it into the next season's soil, they'd go a long way in addressing the shortcomings of SOLEfood.
Thats a great idea as well, who knows maybe that will happen. Maybe at the same time they are collecting compost they can collect used cooking fats and oil and someone can manufacture biodeisel. Consider another side business like seed sales, also educating kids on sustainable practices. Its all good
To heck with the nair do wells, Even if it isnt success, it the sort of excercise that will spawn new ideas and employment opportunites.
Its a stretch to think this is going to impact the ALR in a negative manner. The active farms in Surrey will serve the communities closest to them and beyond. The fertile flood plains in Surrey and langley are best suited for crops like blueberries, potatoes, hazelnuts and plants that take years to mature, that will not be cultivated to any large extent in a massive inner city garden.
freewilly
45 weeks ago
Think about it
"Think about it - Concord is paying little to no tax to sit on valuable property, the City of Vancouver is collecting little to no revenue"
Maybe its not perfect but consider this, if this project generates employment it brings in tax dollars and may keep folks busy, healthy, happy and off social assistance. Way too many other benifits to mention.
Kudos to the city and those involved. I hope its a raving success and other communitees emulate it. Local Government isnt responsible for creating jobs, but it is in their best interest to 'engineer' incentives that help people get back to work and give meaning to their lives. So what if a developer gets a break on taxes. At the very least its better than letting valuable property sit vacant, thats a waste!
gadrogeek
45 weeks ago
34 000 hockey rinks
Thank you so much for this article.
Now, please consider this.
The surface area of Rogers arena is about 0.39 acres. This means that the 2.3 acres of urban farms mentioned would be approximately 6 hockey rinks in size. There are a lot of hockey rinks in Canada, but actually less than 3000 of them.
If the Site C project goes ahead the land currently available for crops, 18% of the best land in BC, will be lost. It is equivalent to 34 000 hockey rinks of growing area!
On Saturday we are paddling to save the Peace River from this completely unnecessary atrocity.
http://paddleforthepeace.ca/
Enjoy your urban gardens. As the climate continues to change we are going to need every available space for food.
Please think about this.
Greg Shea (Lake Cowichan)
snert
45 weeks ago
gadrogeek
How many green houses could site C keep going in the middle of winter when you can't grow a damned thing in your precious 18%?
RickW
45 weeks ago
snert
You so love to be full of crap. Ever heard of cold frames and hotbeds?
As for your citing "taxpayer subsidized food", do you perchance buy some of that heavily subsidized Product of USA food stuffs?
Sam Salmon
45 weeks ago
They charge far too much-has
They charge far too much-has anyone seen the prices @ the farmer's markets?
InalienableWrights
45 weeks ago
THINK ABOUT YOUR PASSWORD POLICY
The problem with doing this in the “Land of the Free” is that you must beg the permission of the local [OFFENSIVE COMMENT REMOVED - MODERATOR] government.
In my particular part of the country, it is a crime to have bee’s to pollinate your food.
InalienableWrights
45 weeks ago
Government
The purpose of government my socialist neighbors is not to steal off some to give to others. It is to protect the rights of all.
If you give some thought to it property should not be taxed because that amounts to renting land and not owning it.
But them I forget that both the US and Canada have implemented all 10 planks of the Communist manifesto:
http://www.libertyzone.com/Communist-Manifesto-Planks.html
nssx4driver
45 weeks ago
Urban Farming - See SPIN farming for profitable and sustainable
Look up SPIN farming (Small Plot Intensive) for a profitable and sustainable system that can make money for individuals from the very first year. It does NOT involve constructing raised beds. It DOES involve use of individual gardens and back yards to grow vegetables instead of grass. Its local and employs organic methods in a farm system with very low overhead and high production per unit of land.
Amelia Bellamy-Royds
44 weeks ago
Vacant Land and the Economics of Urban Farming
This is an interesting approach to urban farming, specifically by taking over a currently under-utilized area in the downtown core (Canucks overflow parking and the occaisional Cirque du Soleil tent is I think all it's been used for for years now).
As Pootle rightly argues, large scale urban agriculture would never be economical in most cities, let alone one with Vancouver's property values, if the farming company had to buy the land outright or lease it at market rates. However, I don't see this as a flaw. Pacific Concord wasn't planning on doing anything with that land for the next few years, until the entire False Creek North redevelopment is approved and funded, so this is an improvement for everyone, even those who just benefit from a nicer view from the Skytrain.
However, when it comes to economics, the real question is how portable are those grow boxes, and how much will it cost to move them around? There aren't going to be that many large lots vacant for years at a time. But there are always a few places in the city there are vacant for 4, 6, 8 or 12 months at a time. With good connections to (and city tax support for) developers, SoleFood should be able to find places to plunk its planter boxes -- but the cost of moving them around will definitely detract from the bottom line.
I wonder if they have really costed it out and looked in to their long-term viability. It would be great if boxes of kale plants could become as much a part of the urban landscape as construction fencing, but the odds seem long.
david hadaway
44 weeks ago
subsidy to slumlords
The original site at the Astoria hotel demonstrates the fundamental economic and social flaw in this concept.
The 'farm' provides a tax break to the notorious Sahota family slum landlords of at least $130,000 a year. The remnant of their tax bill for this site, about $30,000, is apparently paid by or on behalf of Sole Food and its ultimate source is, for the most part, more subsidy. There is no public access and the corporate benefit on that site alone must already be about half a million dollars, the lost city revenue being loaded onto other tax payers.
This is in effect a greenwashed gift to property speculators. Furthermore, the nature of the intensive agricultural methods used can hardly be described as sustainable. Given the pollution levels at some of these sites, adjacent to major roadways, consumers might seriously question the premium price and implied 'organic' nature of the product.
Hakuin
44 weeks ago
well David
they are hardly being secretive about it: http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/environment/uncovering-former-gas-station-land
RickW
44 weeks ago
Amelia Bellamy-Royds
Esentially, just how important is it to have a dependable food supply? How much is it worth to have food, as opposed to having no food?