Ran Goel – Founder, Fresh City Farms (Ep.36)

In this session we hear from the founder of Fresh City Farms - a multi-brand grocer/baker/butcher operating 8 locations across Toronto which sprouted from humble beginnings about a decade ago as an urban farming experiment in Downsview Park. Learn more about Ran's company: https://www.freshcityfarms.com/ [expand title="Podcast Transcript (Auto-Generated)"] Qasim Virjee 0:28 All right, welcome back to another installment of the start will podcast. This time around I'm in studio with Ren goal. Cool Girl go well, yeah, the founder of fresh city farms, who is here to tell us about life on the rangeand other fun stuff. Actually not life on the range. But yeah, fresh city farms, I break it down for our audience like what is fresh city farms and start Ran Goel 0:54 Ah Fresh City is a company based here in the wonderful city of Toronto we farm. So we have an urban farm, apparently Canada's largest, based in Downsview park in the northwestern corner of the city. And then we deliver what we grow and what other farmers grow to households across the city. And we also operate a retail stores in central part of Toronto, big focus on organic, sustainable, seasonal, fresh food. Qasim Virjee 1:29 Now, it's not just grocery stores that you guys run, Ran Goel 1:32 no, it's uh, we basically are here to create a better life for food. And so for us, the way we've chosen to interpret that is help the consumer Ran Goel 1:47 get access to food that is meticulously sourced right. So of course means organic, local produce in our early days, but it's now evolved to sourdough bread and made from organic flour Ran Goel 2:01 100% grass fed beef that we butcher in House prepared foods that are organic and local, packaged in jars and you can return to Circular Economy way of thinking. Ran Goel 2:13 So really connect all those kind of dots together. Because often, you know, we as consumers, you'll read about Farm to Table and organic, local, and it's often not that accessible for the average person. Yeah, it's interesting, because that's definitely something I've heard from a few people is, I mean, in big cities, especially. Qasim Virjee 2:35 Also, Qasim Virjee 2:37 there's an added price point to things being local. Qasim Virjee 2:42 Because you know, gas, no, it's got nothing to do with transport. It's funnily enough transport globally is like cheap. It is. It is very, especially for bringing things by bringing things in by ship. Yeah, it's not a IT people often talk about, you know, foods coming in from 10,000 miles away. And actually, that's not a cost issue already an environmental issue, but it doesn't cost all that much. Can I ask you a few things about groceries that come from afar? Please. Okay, avocados, I know. It's a big hot topic, avocados. People love them on toast. A lot of Mentos Qasim Virjee 3:16 but I don't understand how an avocado can get to me from Mexico Qasim Virjee 3:24 and be perfectly about to be right. Ran Goel 3:27 Oh, I mean the if you think about the trip from Mexico or Ecuador wherever they would come from isn't that far it's like 234 days by truck. Ran Goel 3:40 And as long as they're picked at the right time, timing is not an issue and similarly with things like bananas I mean even you have apples and citrus and stuff coming from Africa and Qasim Virjee 3:51 New Zealand and South Africa has really grown its exports Ran Goel 3:54 huge huge huge huge so yeah, for a lot of you know outside of things like say raspberries or blueberries that you know depending where they come from, they have to be flown in which we first study shy away from you can get food here pretty quickly. I mean the the cold supply chain is pretty well developed now in terms of distributors, and obviously trucking companies having you know, refrigerated fleets. So it's pretty seamless I mean the