Urban Fresh Produce: Chadwick Lewis’ Farming Journey

National Farmers Union – Ontario Newsletter
The Rural Voice | July 2025

Farming on public lands or community farms are two alternative ways for some farmers to access land and establish newer businesses. These leases can offer longer term land access with the potential of pre-existing infrastructure and housing, making it an attractive option for smaller-scale farmers. Chadwick Lewis shares his experiences with accessing land through these programs to grow his urban farming operation. 

Chadwick gained his start with farming in 2015 by growing on his great uncle’s family estate in Saint Lucia, producing over 25 different types of crops including Cocoa, Bananas, Peppers, Pineapples and more.

In Ottawa, Chadwick graduated from the Algonquin College Horticulture Program. His family-farm business, Urban Fresh Produce, started in 2021 in Nepean and was incubated through the Just Food Start-Up Farm program. This program provided Chadwick with several modules of training and ultimately the opportunity to commercially farm a ¼ – ½ acre plot at Just Food’s Community Farm. In 2023, Urban Fresh Produce expanded their production to one full acre at the community farm. Chadwick shares that, “the incubator farm model pioneered in this region by Just Food is a great starting point for persons looking to access farmland; without high upfront costs that would otherwise come with starting a farm.”

In 2024, Urban Fresh Produce began farming on leased public land from the National Capital Commission (NCC) through their Agricultural Lease program. This program provides opportunities for seasoned farmers to establish on public agricultural land within 10 to 20 minutes of downtown Ottawa. Chadwick explains, “I was familiar with the existence of the NCC Agricultural Lease program as the Just Food Community farm is located on Federal Lands which are owned by the National Capital Commission (NCC); however I had no idea how the program worked just yet. Fortunately I ended up on a panel speaking about farming on public lands and one of my co-panelist just so happened to work for the NCC and dealt with Agricultural Leases”.

After chatting with the NCC representative, he was asked to send an email detailing his farm wishlist. The NCC representative sent back three properties that she thought would meet his needs and then arranged some site visits. Following the site visits, he was instructed to go ahead and submit an application. The application required a detailed overview of short, medium and long-term plans for the property. In addition to the application, a business plan was required showing sales channels, balance sheets for previous years, and a Farm Business Registration (FBR) number.

After a roughly 4 week review period, Chadwick was approved and began working on the leased property in May of 2024. As of 2025, Urban Fresh Produce runs their CSA program from July to late October and sells plants and produce through their farm stand on the NCC property.

The NCC rents 5,400 hectares of greenbelt farmland to farmers. Chadwick says, “I would love to see the NCC divide some of their larger land parcels into smaller parcels ranging from 5-15 acres with the option to expand into larger plots if needed”. He explains that this recommendation is based on the observation that “most people who are interested in farming now do not have the resources or equipment needed to farm on large tracts of land.”

Alternative land access models like Just Food’s Community Farm and NCC’s Agricultural Lease program can be one option to ensure that farmers can still have access to land, while systemic barriers like farmland grabbing and missing support for new entrant farmers are challenged at a higher level.

Learn more about Urban Fresh Produce at www.urbanfreshproduce365.com where you can find information about their seedling sale, CSA program, events and more! For more information on Just Food and their Community Farm, visit www.justfood.ca. To learn about the NCC Agricultural Lease program, visit www.ncc-ccn.gc.ca/business/farm-rentals.