Growth Potential

TOPSOIL Defies the Industrial Food Complex

If you hang a right on Harbour Road, past the white-wrapped ghost ships in Point Hope’s dry-dock, taking another right at the tables of the silver-haired, latté-sipping Lycra Set at Fantastico, you’ll see them: dozens and dozens of fabric baskets, full of rich, dark earth and bolting slivers of greenery. That’s the operating headquarters of Topsoil Innovative Urban Agriculture. It’s the brainchild and labour of love for Chris Hildreth–the culmination of seven years of hard work, and a burning drive to marry sustainability with profitability in a scalable, replicable, and (above all) meaningful, way.

It began at University, as a response to the repeated, confoundingly obvious evidence that humans are polluting themselves out of a livable habitat. That led Chris to start studying renewable energies, and to become “obsessed with fossil fuels.” But during his Environmental Studies/Sociology classes at UVic, he noticed that “food was a common theme…a root problem (pun intended?), but also a solution as well.”

In particular, the problems that caught his interest were all tied to the industrialized food systems that seemed so logical during the post-WWII era of economic uptick in America. Back then, it made perfect sense to centralize farming into vast plots, for either crops or livestock; to mechanize harvesting and processing as much as possible; and to create a dense web of distribution channels. Terms like ‘monoculture’ weren’t in the popular lexicon. The negative effects of pesticides and fertilizers hadn’t been fully explored (or made public.) The idea of a ‘carbon footprint’ was anathema.

Despite a contemporary awareness of these issues, by the time today’s produce arrives at a distant destination, it is a shell of its former freshness, lacking in texture and nutrients. Our response has been more ‘innovation,’ this time in food processing – extending food’s longevity at the expense of its nutritional value. Although this archaic food production model “made perfect sense in that era, under those circumstances,” Chris sees an opportunity for a healthier alternative in both business and personal terms.

“For most of human history people have grown and eaten food in their own living space.”

It’s a practice we’ve only strayed away from in less than a century. Even a few years ago, while Topsoil was still a stew of ideas, Chris sensed a growing shift in the collective consciousness to reconnect with the sources of our food; to ignore the pervasive “disposable culture” we’ve created; to take responsibility for the origins of the items we consume, rather than trusting large conglomerates to prioritize our health interests over the bottom line.

After doing some digging, (the puns just keep on coming!), Chris found kindred start-ups that were also tackling the Goliath of ‘Big Food:’ Montreal-based LUFA is an ongoing model of admiration, and the spirit of their mission was a great inspiration. But the biggest hurdle for Chris in providing Victoria with any kind of functional business model, and giving it appeal for consumers, was the glaring fact that “sustainability is not convenient.” Whether it’s costlier, harder to gain access to, or involves time and sweat to ‘grow-your-own,’ acquiring grassroots farming produce is simply not as easy as it is from mass-growers with established distribution channels. Chris knew from the outset that this had to change: “We couldn’t make a good choice more difficult.” But all the positive ideologies in the world aren’t enough to execute a functional, profitable business – it was time to get to work on the logistics and feasibility.

The Topsoil endeavour began as an attempt to harness the wasted food-growth potential of rooftops in urban areas. Gazing through a window at a swath of wasted roof-space during a Social Studies lecture, the plan for Chris’ pilot project took shape. The next two years were a steep learning curve. Once actual logistics such as drainage and wind protection had been dealt with, plants began growing. The system was working. Then an unforeseen visit from city representatives yielded some interesting news: “Commercial urban agriculture was not zoned in the city of Victoria. You could grow, but you couldn’t sell.” But City Hall was surprisingly ahead of the curve in their interest in Chris’ endeavour. “I was invited to talk with the city council, and four days later I was informed that Topsoil could move forward.” In fact, the entire city was rezoned to allow ‘Urban-Ag,’ along with cutting a ton of the bureaucracy and associated fees.

Despite the city’s empowerment, the scalability of the rooftop model proved impossible, meaning that while it may have worked on a private level, the business potential simply wasn’t there. Chris was forced to adapt his model to a more manageable, ground-level platform. After leaving the roof of the building now inhabited by Superflux, Chris came into contact with the ownership group of the Dockside Green development, between Harbour and Tyee roads. The environmental aspirations of both endeavours were so closely aligned, it was a natural fit. Which is where you can find Topsoil at its current location.

On top of selling direct to the public through their limited farm stand hours (check their signage for updates), Topsoil has supplied some of Victoria’s major local restaurants: Fiamo, Canoe Brewpub, Fantastico Bar-Deli, and Lure. Orders placed by kitchens are harvested on demand and delivered direct to the restaurant (via bicycle) that day – no refrigeration, no emissions during transit. Chefs also have the luxury of influencing which crops Topsoil grows, as Chris strives to maximize the benefits for all parties involved. “We have season-end discussions with our chefs, so we know what worked, quantity and sales-wise. Because I think pretty much every chef wants a garden, it’s just a matter of not having the time, or space.”

So, which varieties are working in our local kitchens? “Well, we started with way too many crops: thirty two. In our second year we cut it to thirteen. Now we’re down to ten.” Among the initial crops that have since been shelved were carrots, potatoes, eggplants and beets. Now higher volume, faster turnaround crops are the focus: arugula, kale, radishes, chard, turnips, cucumbers, summer squash, a salad blend, basil and mint.

It might sound like a lot, but despite the 3,000 geotextile containers, on their 20,000-square-foot plot, Topsoil produces as much volume of goods in an entire year’s output as a major food distributor can ship in a morning. That’s the extent of the deficit; that’s the room for opportunity. But the growth model that Chris has in mind is not simply an expansion of their current grounds, or an increase in productivity.

“Can we take over the Canadian market?” These are the spitball-ambitions that float around in Chris’ head from time to time. You can see the wheels turning. One future model for Topsoil involves a replicable, all-inclusive ‘farm-in-a-box’ product, transplantable to anywhere with a vacant lot and a couple of able bodies. Minus the soil, the entire setup could fit within an 8’ x 8’ shipping container. Chris has spent immense attention on creating the “systems, charts, and financials. The end product would be an instruction manual to avoid all the B.S. I’ve been through getting this thing up. And running!” Just add human-power: Topsoil currently employs two full-time, and one part-time, urban farmers.

The market appeal of this readily deployable food-source model is hard to argue with. Not to mention the fact that it must, by its very nature, be easily-transportable – the Dockside Green space will eventually be reclaimed whenever the final phase of its development gets underway. But this could also be a blessing for potential growth, as the site cannot currently contain any structures (such as greenhouses), limiting its usage in the winter to the point that it’s more effective financially to shutter operations.

On a global scale, Toptoil’s model could have a major impact on downtrodden urban areas, or cities rebuilding after devastating natural events. It’s hard to think that there could be something more meaningful than healthy, conscientiously-grown, negative-carbon-footprint meals—produced specifically for Victorians. But Topsoil’s potential for growth is limitless, and Chris Hildreth ponders all this and more, as he plants each tiny seedling, and watches his operation grow into the future.