About Us
We believe that indoor farming has an important role to play -
now and in the the future of food.
Our Story
Collective Joy is a new kind of farm - a small, indoor farm in the heart of the city - built to supply fresh produce and high quality food to you, our friends and neighbours.
Our nutrient-rich microgreens, fresh herbs, and seedlings are grown right here at our open access indoor farm, ensuring they are accessible to you at truly peak freshness and require no extra resources in the form of shipping and storage.
In addition, our central location means access to our farm is truly easy - for picking up your fresh greens, ready-made meals, juices, and so much more. It also means we are close to many businesses, community organizations, and schools - allowing greater and richer opportunities for education and collaboration.
You can find our produce and products right here as well as throughout the city at farmers' markets, in restaurants, at catered and special events, and so much more.
We are so thankful to be here doing what we do - creating a new way to increase your access to truly fresh, nourishing food, and hopefully, inspiring a little joy along the way.
Visit Us!
We are an open access indoor farm at 477 Macdonnell Street in beautiful Kingston!
Come say hello, view our amazingly productive indoor grow space, and browse our shop featuring the produce and food items grown and made right here in your neighbourhood.
Why Vertical Farming?
Save Water
In our climate-controlled indoor farm we grow our microgreens vertically on racks under LED grow lights where they thrive in an efficient system that uses very little water.
Year-Round Produce
We use organic seed, recycled hemp fibre growing medium, and no herbicides or pesticides. The result is very high productivity in a small area, and the ability to produce beautiful, vitamin and mineral rich greens right in the community where they will be eaten, year-round.
Fresh and Local
This is a winning formula with no long supply chains, or produce sitting on shelves losing nutrient value - simply the freshest, top quality young greens, grown and available, right in your neighbourhood.
Zero-Waste
We can even harvest for you on demand - simply come on in - and bring your own container for zero waste! It really does not get any fresher than this!
Why Microgreens?
Nutritious and Delicious
Microgreens are the very young shoots of vegetables and herbs, which we harvest when they are 10-21 days old depending on variety. To the delight of all, these delicate young greens taste just like the vegetables or herbs they are and come in a vast array of flavours, textures, and colours. They look beautiful on the plate and compliment every dish.
In addition to being beautiful and delicious, they are also a highly nutritious food source, and are increasingly being recognized in scientific literature as a valuable functional food source.
Rich in Vitamins
Microgreens are rich in vitamins (especially vitamin C), minerals (such as copper and zinc), and phytochemicals that act as antioxidants in the body (Zhang et al).
Functional Foods
Increasingly, studies are showing that microgreens as functional food are not only nutritious, but beneficial to human health with a role to play in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Research in this area is ongoing, and very exciting (Zhang et al and Choe et al).
A recent Science Daily article titled "Small but Mighty: Microgreens have gone from Trendy Vegetables to Functional Food" says it all!
Resilient to Change
At Penn State University, a team of international researchers even point to microgreens grown in indoor systems as relevant to global events like disrupted supply chains and circumstances related to climate change in a study titled "Food Resilience in the Face of Catastrophic Global Events".
Microgreens are truly a valuable food source now and have great potential for the future. For those wishing to learn more, many more studies and articles can be viewed here.
