Les Fermes Valens joins Montreal-based Lufa Farms

Les Fermes Valens has recently gained a new partner on the Montreal market: Lufa Farms. Markus Ritter and Liz Chapman of Valens both believe that the partnership between the two was destined to arise at some point. Chapman says “[we] grew together, but in two different areas.” Ritter elaborates, explaining “They focused on vegetables and that was their area of expertise and we focused on meat. Eventually we were meant to meet in the middle.”

Since it was founded in 2005, Les Fermes Valens has developed a reputation for quality products which has resulted in a sizeable list of partners which they now supply in Montreal. Liz Chapman explains that it is the commitment to developing and maintaining that reputation that has proven that they are “Lufa-worthy.”

The partnership with Lufa Farms is a particular point of pride for Valens because they share the same beliefs about sustainable agriculture and supplying locally produced organic food to their clients. Ritter states: “At the end of the day, we not only sell meat, we also sell a belief.” Lufa was founded on a very similar foundation of principles except for in relation to vegetables. Lufa grows vegetables in rooftop greenhouses in the city and proudly provides customers with produce harvested in the same day as it is delivered to them.

Lufa evidently shares that same enthusiasm in having Les Fermes Valens join their network as Valens does for joining their team. In the Lufa Farms blog posted on December 8, 2014 welcoming Valens to the family, they voiced high praise for the establishment saying, “Valens is a role model for organic farmers eager to bring back respectful and sustainable practices for raising animals.”

Ritter explains that what it all boils down to is that “It’s an unbelievable platform to be a part of!” Chapman explains that one of its exceptional qualities: “What I think is awesome about them is anything that we come up with [that’s] new, if we want to try it out, they are the best people because their marketing is awesome ... they put it on and we get the automatic feedback.”

Lufa Farms was founded in 2009 by Mohamed Hage and originated from his frustration at the statistics about how far food travels to reach the plates of consumers, especially those in the city (an average of 1 500 miles). Consequently the varieties of produce we consume are selected based more on their transportability than for their tastes and textures. Even so, a significant amount of food ends up being wasted because it was ruined during transportThey own two rooftop greenhouses approximately 40 000 square feet each. The most recent was built in 2013 and they say they harvest 120 metric tons of produce each year from the facility. They say the greenhouses “maximize energy savings and create an optimal environment for crops to thrive.”

Lufa clients have clearly voiced their approval of having Valens join as a partner. When customers keep returning to buy more, that’s when you know you’re doing something right. And Lufa customers, more affectionately known as Lufavores, have shown that they are partial to products from Valens. The partnership was put into action just before Christmas and the demand for their products was “like a tidal wave.” Chapman adds that “Lufa emptied us out a couple of weeks in a row!” Valens has been continually working together with Lufa staff to re-adjust how much needs to be supplied in order to meet the demand but also to ensure that there is no leftovers from week to week since both Valens and Lufa firmly believe in selling products that are fresh.

Valens and Lufa both strive to enable consumers to know exactly where their food is coming from. Ritter of Valens explains, “the bigger picture [for our customers] is they want to know where it’s grown, how it’s made, what is in it and who is doing it.” Knowing that they are eating locally produced organic food grown through sustainable agriculture gives them peace of mind as conscious consumers.

According to their website at www.fermesvalens.com, they pride themselves on being “a cooperative of family farms dedicated to farming, growing and producing a variety of products in a sustainable manner.” Chapman stresses that “We do invite many local farmers to bring us their stuff ...we’re always looking for new farmers.”  She goes on to say “We are there, opening a door for a whole bunch of small farmers that want to grow something, but don’t know how to retail it.”

It is a model that has clearly worked for Valens because Ritter explains that they have “completely outgrown” their current lot of 5 000 square feet located at 79 York Street in Huntingdon so they have just purchased a 25 000 square foot location across the street. Ritter concludes by saying “There are many more things in store [for Valens] in the near future because we see [the] demand [for our products]”.