MONTREAL -- With 30 urban gardens planted on Montreal rooftops, MicroHabitat is sharing the bounty of its harvest.
The company produces approximately 350 lbs. of vegetables per garden, per season, staggering its harvest from mid-July to October.
"Every rooftop has potential for an urban farm. I would say it's more a question of will and a question of vision, those are the things that urban agriculture depend on," said co-founder Alexandre Ferrari-Roy.
Some of its clients aren't what you might expect.
"We have many, many corporate clients in the city. Some in insurance, some in the banking industry, so not really the type of industry that you would think would jump into urban agriculture," said Ferrari-Roy.
It also has the largest network of rooftop farms dedicated to local food banks in Canada.
Local food banks depend on this success; on behalf of its clients, MicroHabitat donates almost 3,000 lbs. of produce to community groups like Le Chainon, Dans la rue and Accueil Bonneau.
"Access to healthy food is so important to everybody and especially for the homeless population. Already people living on the streets are dealing with much greater health problems than the average person and the place," said Fiona Crossling, director-general of Accueil Bonneau.
"To help your general health is through what you eat, so by giving that type of healthy food to Accueil Bonneau, we're able to offer it to people who come for food services."
