ALLPA Vertical Farming

ALLPA Vertical Farming: Mainstreaming Microgreens throughout Alberta

BY ELIZABETH CHORNEY-BOOTH

commercial vertical farming systems available, Salazar went the DIY route, building stacks of plant beds that relied on artificial light and irrigation. After taking a job at a local Lowe’s store to help fund his habit (the employee discount on building supplies and tools came in handy), Salazar met his co-founder Guillermo Borges (who originally hails from Venezuela) and ALLPA’s Head of Production Zakk Tambasco, who grew up on a cattle farm near Edmonton. The three got to talking about the possibilities that came from vertical MICROGREENS — THOSE LITTLE LEAVES AND STEMS farming (which is quite popular in other places in the world that don’t have Alberta’s access to farmland and that are most often seen carefully placed large scale greenhouse space), the on plates with tweezers as a garnish at potential to brand vegetables for better fine dining restaurants — are suddenly in marketing, and agriculture’s impact on high demand. the environment. “We kind of modeled

The baby vegetable plants are it after what we thought were the best harvested when they’re just starting to companies in the world,” Borges says. grow tiny leaves and not only look lovely “We looked at initiatives like on a plate, but they’re packed with flavour MEC and Tom’s and all of and nutrition. While microgreens have long been a common sight in restaurants, with some places even growing them in display cases as living décor, they’re starting to become a regular ingredient in home kitchens as well.

Which is where ALLPA, a new vertical farming operation in Calgary, comes in. Fueled by a love of science, engineering, sustainability, and nutrition, the company was launched in 2019 by three young friends with varied backgrounds. Founder Andrey Salazar moved to Canada from Columbia as a refugee in 2007. Having grown up on a these other companies coffee farm he had a good understanding that aligned with our of agriculture and also a passion for values, which means being science and engineering, leading him to charitable and giving back to the study physics at the University of Calgary community, technology, focusing on local, and electrical engineering at SAIT. Like and being environmentally sustainable.” many young entrepreneurs, Salazar is ALLPA adheres to those core values also concerned about climate change, and by donating a portion of its sales to set his mind to thinking how he could charities, using green-friendly packaging, channel his various interests and skills and limiting the mileage that the product into a potential business. has to travel by growing in an industrial

“Traditional farming produces a lot of facility right in the city of Calgary. CO2 along with herbicides and pesticides, Microgreens seemed like the perfect crop and uses so much water,” Salazar says. for the trio to build their company, since “I had a conflict — how can we do this the quick growth period and small size of humble and character-building job the greens are ideal for indoor farming. without destroying the environment?” ALLPA grows to order, which means it

To help resolve that inner struggle, is also able to reduce food waste by only Salazar started building a vertical farming producing what they know will be sold. system in his garage. While there are Microgreens traditionally are a bit of a tough sell because many people think they fall into the realm of unnecessary garnish, but the ALLPA crew are aiming to change that. While there is a demand for local microgreens from restaurant chefs, the company is focused on the retail market and is trying to convert customers into microgreen users one tub at a time.

They’re currently selling broccoli, arugula, sunflower, and radish greens, and each variety has a very distinctive and well-concentrated flavour. The most obvious application is to throw the greens into salads by the handful, but the concentration of nutrients means they can also go into green smoothies, on pizza, pasta, and tacos, but as a flavour enhancer rather than a mere garnish. Since a microgreen is so much more nutrient-dense than a full-size plant, the company believes in making them more accessible to the public as a means of “democratizing” nutrition. “Microgreens are usually looked at as this expensive, luxury

thing,” Borges says. “But we do them quite cost effectively, and that’s where the technology comes in. By focusing on retail, we’re able to bring it to as many people as possible.”

ALLPA started selling its wares at small farmers’ markets but their move to position microgreens as an “everyday” food seems to be working. Their products are now available at the Italian Centre Shop and Sunterra stores across the province, including the brand-new Sunterra location in Red Deer. For more information, visit allpaverticalfarms.ca.

Cookbook author and regular contributor to CBC Radio, Elizabeth is a Calgary-based freelance writer, who has been writing about music and food, and just about everything else for her entire adult life.