On the frontier of urban farming in Kingston
On the corner of Princess and MacDonnell Street, you will find a small but mighty urban farm. Tammara Maher moved her business, Collective Joy Farm, to Kingston in March of 2023. This unique farm sells fresh produce and high-quality food. While specializing in microgreens, offerings also include fresh produce, cold-pressed juice, eat-local bowls, crackers, flatbread, salad dressings, dips, and desserts. We sat down with Tammara to chat about her experience as a farmer and her work at Collective Joy Farm.
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With over 20 years of sustainable food experience, Tammara started farming at a young age. “For a brief time as a child, my family lived on a small farm, and I got a bug for it [farming],” she says. “It wasn’t until later, when I came here to go to university, I started working in a local community garden called the Frill Community Garden. I really loved working in the garden doing something in a community, growing with other people. I also worked on many different organic farms, travelled around the U.K. on various farms and then worked on farms around Kingston. I started growing microgreens vertically in my kitchen, just for myself, when I lived downtown. At the time, microgreens weren’t as readily available in stores yet. I loved it so much that I started my own farm out in the country.”
Tammara, with support from her 14-year-old son, has built up her business over the years, moving from her farm to Gananoque and then to Kingston. Many factors contributed to changing locations; however, Tammara’s drive for innovation led her to settle in Kingston. “Having a rural farm is a wonderful thing,” she says. “There are all kinds of farms, and I totally respect all local food producers. I have had the experience of having a rural farm and driving my products into urban centres. However, it’s just a different thing to be right in the city. I think we’ll see more and more of it in the future. It’s just really fun to be on the frontier of urban farming. I’m one of the first people.”
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A leader in Kingston’s urban farming space
Tammara has developed Collective Joy Farm to be a leader in the niche of urban farming. She puts effort into being sustainable, in hopes of inspiring customers to make positive choices. “I’m growing everything fresh, turning it into products and selling it right here in the community where it’s grown,” she says. “It’s really great, right? There’s very little waste involved with that. I’m enabling people to access food that hasn’t been shipped, hasn’t been grown in other countries far away, and hasn’t been stored. I feel like my whole business is centred around sustainability. We strive for zero waste or very little waste. I take back every container and piece of packaging, and I’m happy to reuse it.”
Tammara uses her growing skills to construct a space where people feel inspired, connected, and empowered to access fresh food. This is where the name Collective Joy Farm came from. When Tammara first started her farm, it was called Real Food because she was trying to provide the best tasting, high-quality food. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she transitioned into an urban farm model, and it needed a new name.
“I was trying to come up with a name, and I came up with Collective Joy Farm. This name captured my idea to create a space that felt good; that people would walk in and feel inspired. During that horrible mess of a time, I wanted to inspire joy and create hope by increasing access to fresh food.”
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When visiting her space, we learned about what goes into operating an urban farm. “There are two components to what I do here. I’ve got the hydroponic growing system for growing lettuces and herbs, and then I’ve got the microgrid for microgreens. There are many different ways to vertical farm on various scales. This is a small, neighbourhood-sized vertical farm for the community.”
She has always stayed true to her specialization: microgreens. Using a microgrid, Tammara grows a variety of microgreens. Microgreens are tiny shoots of vegetables, and they are very nutrient-rich. Studies have shown that microgreens are vital to developing sustainable urban food systems. Tammara explains, “More and more research is being done on microgreens. They are being touted as a great food for the future because of how easily it can be grown almost anywhere. I am trying to grow a nutrient-dense food supply on a small scale.”
Aside from growing and selling microgreens, Collective Joy Farm offers food products such as juices, bowls, dressings, and much more. They also offer zero-waste monthly microgreen subscriptions and weekly meal plans.
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Empowering the Kingston community
Tammara finds her work purposeful because of her direct contact with the community. She enjoys knowing all her customers. Rather than selling her produce to grocery stores or wholesalers, Tammara uses a community-based model to connect with people.
Collective Joy Farm’s central location plays into its community-building vision. The space is accessible to the community, being downtown and close to affordable housing. Also, the Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market is a few streets over, where Tammara has been supported in growing her business over the years. She started selling her farm’s produce there nine years ago, and over time she collaborated with many local producers and farmers to enhance her business.
Tammara’s consultation and education programs empower people who want to grow their own food. She explains, “I’m doing something people haven’t seen before. Being here in the city has exploded my educational programs. Since I’ve been in Kingston, I have been approached by many different community organizations, hoping to learn about growing greens. For example, I have a group of seniors coming in soon to do a workshop on balcony gardening. Outside an urban centre, it’s harder to connect to these opportunities.”
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What is Tammara’s advice for people interested in growing their own greens? “Just start,” she says. “Sometimes it’s intimidating to do something new or something you’ve never tried before. But there’s something very empowering about growing your own food, whether it’s a small garden in your backyard or a little tray of microgreens on your windowsill. Just give it a try because there’s something magical about growing.”
Visit Collective Joy Farm at 477 MacDonnell Street, open Tuesdays to Saturdays, or check out their stall at The Kingston Public Market on Saturdays and the Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market on Sundays. Learn more about Tammara and Collective Joy Farm by visiting their website.
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