St. Anthony Basin Resources Incorporated is growing leafy greens indoors

Jenna Head | CBC News

August 12, 2024

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Hydroponics facilities are growing across this province, allowing for more and more people are choosing to farm indoors. St. Anthony Basin Resources Incorporated, or SABRI, is the latest to use the technology. They're setting up a brand new facility in the St. Anthony area to grow fresh vegetables, according to CEO Chris Mitchelmore.

Salads in St. Anthony will be a little fresher and a little more local this fall, with the opening of a new hydroponics facility in the town, on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula.

Christopher Mitchelmore, CEO of St. Anthony Basin Resources Incorporated, which opened the facility, said the company's goal is to make fresh leafy greens and herbs more accessible for the town's residents.

"We want to be able to give people year-round access at an affordable rate," Mitchelmore said.

The shipping container-sized facility will be able to produce up to 10,000 pounds of fresh produce — including lettuce, kale, spinach, basil and mint — every year, according to Mitchelmore.

"The facility has the capability of producing more than 700 heads of lettuce weekly," he said.

Mitchelmore said the quality of produce in rural areas of the province can be inconsistent.

"The distance travelled for harvests and when it gets arrived, how it gets stored and trucked, you know, it can have an impact on the quality of produce and what we're able to do here," he said.

Mitchelmore said growing the leafy greens at home helps fill a "major gap" for the region.

"We have limited commercial farms and limited offerings at grocery stores of locally grown produce. So this is why our organization, SABRI, wanted to step in and really improve quality and the nutrients available."

SABRI is also focused on pricing, said Mitchelmore. The company wants to sell its produce at a consistent price year-round, unlike imported products that can vary from season to season.

"The goal of the hydroponics facility is to be able to stabilize the price point so that you can produce it and sell it so that there is a consistent affordable price point all year-round for the consumer."

If all goes well for SABRI, said Mitchelmore, he hopes to expand the facility and send produce to other parts of Newfoundland's north coast and Labrador.

"We're likely going to be looking to serve greater than our own region," Mitchelmore said. "Our goal is to have produce available by late September or early October."

Media Audio | CBC Newfoundland Morning : A St. Anthony company is setting up a hydroponics production facility to produce fresh vegetables for area residents