Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tammara Maher. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tammara , appreciate you joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

After 8 years operating my rural-based farm, the pandemic arrived. This was a very busy time for local food – with supply chains breaking down and people realizing the importance of local food my farm was busier than ever. I had been growing outside, in a greenhouse and in an indoor grow room during the winter months, and I no longer had adequate space to meet the demand I was seeing.

Simultaneously, my young child was experiencing loneliness and depression and it became evident to me changes were necessary to meet his ongoing emotional needs to be closer to peers.

For years, I had envisioned growing within the city itself, having a beautiful customer-facing farm so people could access fresh food directly where it was grown as well as learn about the benefits and incredible potential of indoor farming. It was time to make my move.

I opened my first urban farm location in a small nearby community, Gananoque, in 2022 and quickly learned many lessons about scaling a business from farm to a commercial setting. Sales grew quickly and a larger location was needed.

The business was relocated to the larger city of Kingston, Ontario later that year and opened in March of 2023. Since that time our revenue has more than tripled, out team has grown from 1 to 5, and I have learned the ongoing challenging lesson that building an idea and bringing it to life is very different from managing a growing enterprise. From a lack of urban farm policy at the municipal level, to managing staff, to meeting monthly overhead costs and maintaining profitability, there is much to navigate and learn. The learning process is ongoing!

We have been open in Kingston for 18 months and it is time for us to move again! A larger location is required to meet the demand for our indoor-grown produce and dedicated space is required for training and education to facilitate our new Nourish & Grow Training program in which we help community organizations, businesses, and municipalities start year-round, community-based indoor farms.

The primary challenge in this most recent decision to grow again is finding space that is reasonably priced, customer facing, and ideally within a collaborative, space-sharing arrangement with another business or community organization. In my experience, supporting other small businesses or organizations and working together in mutually beneficial ways is a powerful way forward and necessary in these times of high costs and unpredictable economic conditions.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Collective Joy Farm was born out of a desire to bring more fresh, nourishing food closer to where people live and to be a demonstration that change is possible, that we can find new and actionable solutions to the problem of fresh food access. We grow a wide range of nourishing, nutrient-dense microgreens (young vegetable and herb shoots) on stacked vertical shelving under LED lighting using only organic growing medium, organic seed, and water. We also use these nourishing greens in a range of plant-based, whole food products including meal bowls, juices and smoothies, dips, salad dressing, and more. We have a zero waste growing system and all of our compost goes to a partner farm close by where we also grow edible flowers and herbs in season.

There are many problems with our food system today. In many places and for many people, accessing truly fresh, nourishing, organically grown food is very difficult or impossible. The most affordable and accessible food is often ultra-processed and devoid of proper nutrition – many peoples’ physical and mental health is suffering as a result. The most high quality food comes from farms where the soil is renewed and replenished continuously, regenerated in an ongoing way to ensure that the food grown is rich in vitamins and minerals. Where we are located in Kingston, Ontario the growing season is relatively short, farmland is very expensive, and climate change is making small-scale and regenerative farming an even more challenging profession than ever. In our region, access to fresh greens in the winter months is very scarce as they are often shipped from thousands of miles away. There are some newer indoor farms producing greens hydroponically or aeroponically in our province and country, but they still face the challenges of quality loss due to shipping and storage on grocery store shelves before reaching the customer.

Our farm provides an alternative vision – we are a new kind of farm, right in the heart of a neighbourhood – providing direct access to fresh food and nourishing options to all of the people living nearby. Rather than shipping long distances we grow and make all our products from a central location and our customers come to us or find us at nearby farmers’ markets and restaurants. In this way, our farm reduces its carbon emissions, is able to offer zero waste packaging to those who bring their own containers, and best of all we are able to provide the highest quality, nutrient-dense greens harvested on the spot and at peak nutrition.

This year, we helped a nearby meal service provider Martha’s Table set up a year-round indoor farm to grow fresh greens for the people they serve in our community. Helping organizations, municipalities, businesses, and other people start farms like ours through our Nourish & Grow Training is our mission going forward as we seek to increase fresh food access to those who need it most.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

From the beginning I have been deeply committed to providing the best quality products I possibly could and being consistent and excellent to my customers. For many years, I built my customer base at farmers’ markets and that was an incredible place to build a business. In this collaborative yet competitive setting businesses benefit from direct customer feedback which can be used to enhance and improve what you offer. Being surrounded by a unique range of other farmers and small business owners there are also endless opportunities for learning, growth, knowledge sharing so that you may become stronger together.

Since becoming an urban farm in an under-used vacant storefront space, I have maintained my commitment to quality and excellent customer service. Our farm focusses consistency, quality, and generosity toward customers, providing high quality food and companionship as part of the neighbourhood culture. We are now providing fresh greens and nourishing food options to our community 6 days a week!

Growing and making high quality, beautiful, nutritious products and genuinely caring about my customers has worked for me for almost 11 years in business now. Responding to customer needs and ensuring they are always happy is a top priority. Foundational to everything we do is an environmentally and socially responsible business model that cares about the community it is in and everyone on the team. All together, this has proven to be a great recipe for success.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

From life and business I have learned to never, ever give up. Never give up on your self, your dreams, or what you are capable of.

My farm was eventually born from a long and painful health journey where I was diagnosed and treated over many years for an “incurable” psychiatric condition. I found my way to great health through a whole-foods based nourishing diet, healthy lifestyle, a sense of purpose, and loving relationships. Rather than spend my life suffering, I found a path to wellness that has led me to realize my greatest dreams.

Had I listened to the poor advice I was given when I was young to accept a label as my fate and give up on myself, I would be in a very different place today.

It takes resilience to get through this life, every one will face challenges, hardships, and heartbreak. It is always one day at a time, one step at a time, and it must be at your own pace according to your hearts’ wish. Life is not a race and neither is achieving your goals and dreams. Real “success” takes time, deep self compassion and self-realization – real “success” is different for each and every one of us.

One of my favourite quotes is from the great Maya Angelou, “Success is liking who you are, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” How very simple and how very true.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.collectivejoyfarm.com
• Instagram: @collectivejoyfarm
• Facebook: @collectivejoyfarm and Groups: Community-based Indoor Farmers
• Linkedin: Tammara Maher
• Youtube: @collectivejoyfarm