With costs rising for fresh produce, growers get creative

Fresh vegetables are a growing cost for Albertans. With the loonie hovering around 70 cents US, importing vegetables is costing more. Statistics Canada states the consumer price index for vegetables in Alberta saw a 6.2 per cent increase from November to December of last year. While the costs rise for fresh produce through the winter months, there are solutions being constructed closer to home.

Greenhouse operations are beginning to gain attention in southern Alberta. Ag Spectra Whole Earth Science and Technology is currently working on a greenhouse project in Magrath, 20 minutes south of Lethbridge. The Starfield Centre, scheduled to be complete in June of this year, will span approximately 20 acres. The Starfield Centre will contain a veggie, orchard, berry and vine house. The centre will also include an indoor community park. The greenhouse will be environmentally friendly as it recycles water and uses mainly geothermal heat to house the plants. Lonnie Mesick, CEO of Ag Spectra, says there are many benefits the Starfield Centre will offer. “A lot of small communities don’t have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, unless you drive to Lethbridge,” said Mesick. The greenhouse will supply vegetables to communities surrounding Magrath.

Doug Overes, Lethbridge College culinary program chair says the imported food we receive from California is nutrient depleted. “If you think about it, they’re pulling off two, sometimes three crops a year in California. Can you imagine how much energy and nutrient depletion there is in that soil just by doing that?” he said. He explains that when that is the case, they replace this nutrient loss with synthetic fertilizer. “You’re adding impurities and chemicals which adds to a whole new plethora of problems,” said Overes.

Lethbridge residents are already finding ways to cut down on produce costs. Brian Nielsen is one local who will be planting a garden this year. He has already begun preparations by germinating seeds and establishing compost. He says he is growing a garden this year because the cost of produce, fresh and frozen, is expensive. He is also looking forward to having vegetables with a farm fresh taste. “I remember growing up… the fresh vegetables in the salad and the boiled vegetables just seemed to taste better. They weren’t so bland, they actually had some flavour to them,” said Nielsen.

For those who are not able to dedicate the time to growing a garden, in the future fresh and local produce may be more widely available. It is Ag Spectra’s goal to develop several seventy-acre Starfield Centres throughout southern Alberta by 2020.

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