Civic Greens Inc.

Every city has them: empty, indoor grey spaces that would look a hell of a lot better if they were green. In Toronto, Ontario, Ben Naster and Tyler Fick get the picture and are actively working to change the way cities feed themselves by localizing food production in less traditional ways. They founded Civic Greens Inc. in 2022, then began production at their first farm in 2024 after working through the approvals, zoning, testing, and operational requirements needed to convert unused urban space into food-producing infrastructure.

They’re growing lettuce 365 days a year, two stories underground in an unused storage locker of an apartment building in downtown Toronto. Picture a typical dark, dingy storage locker; now imagine what Civic Greens Inc. can do with it. The urban farm features 50 NASA-inspired aeroponic towers and ten hydroponic bays that use very little electricity. There’s a pump at the bottom of each tower that shoots water up the column before it trickles downward, evenly distributing it amongst all of the plant roots. The larger, high-density towers house 100 heads of lettuce each, while the lower-density units can each grow 25 heads. Combined, Ben and Tyler are growing between 10,000 and 12,000 heads of lettuce per month, all while using 90% less water than conventional agriculture and no pesticides. The room is a controlled environment, so there’s less spoilage, better predictability, and higher returns. The vertical farming technology they’re using already existed; Civic Greens Inc. is about reimagining where you can put it.

In Canada, most of the lettuce sold in grocery stores is shipped from California. Beyond reducing the food miles associated with a typical salad, Ben and Tyler handle their own harvesting, packaging, and transport, further reducing costs. All the greens are harvested on the same day as delivery, ensuring customers can enjoy them at their nutritional peak and while they’re still extra flavorful and crispy. The greens are sold to stores and restaurants across Toronto; however, as a social enterprise, much of the work Civic Greens Inc. does serves the community, something Ben and Tyler are extremely proud to do. Through its corporate sponsorship program, Civic Greens Inc. supports Food Banks Canada and North York Harvest by donating greens to strengthen food security for people of all backgrounds. Since June 2024, of the 35,000 pounds of fresh produce harvested, 6,000 pounds have been donated to more than 40 partnering food banks. Civic Greens Inc. has a social and environmental conscience, and somehow, the hyperlocal leafy greens grown at this urban farming venture just got tastier.