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When Mona Lam-Deslippe first started growing vegetables in tower gardens, she set up the operation in the office of her downtown London condo.
The glow from the towers – hydroponic systems that grow produce indoors without soil – raised some suspicions among residents in the building before Lam-Deslippe assured them she wasn’t growing anything nefarious.
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“It glows like a spaceship,” she said of the light from the devices that cost roughly $1,400 each.
Lam-Deslippe and her husband, Tim, grew produce – lettuce, arugula, edible flowers and other leafy greens – and distributed it to local agencies including the London Food Bank, Youth Opportunities Unlimited and Anova.
The operation, known as Nathan’s Urban Farm, is the latest initiative of the Nathan T. Deslippe Memorial Fund, which the couple set up to honour their son, who was killed in a 2016 homicide.
Nathan’s Urban Farm was set to celebrate its grand opening Friday at its new home in The Grove, an agri-business hub located at the Western Fair District.
The project, funded by the London Community Foundation and Medavie Health Foundation, is managed by Hutton House, a charity that helps people with disabilities. The agency uses the farming operation to provide agriculture skills training and horticultural therapy.
“We’re providing food for people that are food-insecure,” said Joe Gansevles, Hutton House’s co-ordinator of urban agriculture and environmental sustainability.
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The indoor growing operation is pesticide-free, uses significantly less water than traditional farming and operates year round.
“This space is all about innovation,” Gansevles said of the growing operation that also includes hundreds of growing baskets.
The bulk of the produce grown is distributed by bicycle, Gansevles said.
Since Deslippe was killed by his friend William Joles on Aug. 28, 2016, his family and friends have banded together to keep his memory alive and spread his message of inspiration, organizing community events and raising money for local charities through the memorial fund.
Lam-Deslippe wanted to create something lasting that could be replicated in other communities.
“It’s such a wonderful fit for his legacy,” she said of Nathan’s Urban Farm. “This is a project that is something that can carry on. It’s not just a one-time event. It’s something that can service the community.”
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