Benjamin Feagin is painfully aware that food security in northwestern Ontario is a complex, multi-faceted problem that's not going to be solved overnight. But after launching AgriTech North earlier this year, he and his partner are aiming to make the problem a little less daunting.
Based in Dryden, the container farming operation produces a variety of crops — from lettuces to herbs to fruits — that are distributed via subscription boxes to clients along a network stretching from Winnipeg to Dryden to Sioux Lookout. AgriTech is working on expanding that route to include Red Lake, Ear Falls, Fort Frances, Wabigoon First Nation, and Eagle Lake First Nation.
Currently, the facility averages about 110 pounds (50 kilograms) of food per week, but once it's running at full tilt, Feagin said, that will increase to 920 lbs (450 kg) of food weekly.
"We had been selling out each (harvest) cycle for the first five harvests," Feagin said. "We're just at the point now where we're launching the remainder of the operation and about to more than double capacity to produce. So now we're seeking more subscribers on the direct-to-consumer market, and we also have wholesale clients."
Read the complete article at www.northernontariobusiness.com.