‘Our own little community’: Midland’s Operation Grow helps abused women get back on their feet
The social enterprise is 1 of 5 programs operated by Huronia Transition Homes
Women who’ve escaped violent situations are benefiting from a safe, judgment-free resource in Midland.
Huronia Transition Homes (HTH) operates an emergency women’s shelter, a specialized antihuman trafficking program, a sexual assault counselling and advocacy centre, a psychoeducational group program for children and the social enterprise Operation Grow.
These programs are designed to support women and their children who have experienced abuse. Operation Grow is the heart of those supports.
“All of the money we make here is used to develop different programs and activities for the women we serve,” program supervisor Veronica Pena said. “The goal is to support our members and help them get skills for life, help them financially, to prevent social isolation and to support members to get jobs outside of Operation Grow.”
The social enterprise, located at 436 Bay St., provides access to yoga and meditation programming, skills-building workshops, has a commercial kitchen and hydroponic vertical farm.
The soilless farm produces leafy greens and herbs year-round, which are sold in a retail store, and provides living-wage jobs for the women HTH supports.
“This idea started to build after different conversations with women in the shelter,” Pena said. “They stopped the violent situations in their lives and wondered what the next step was.”
Operation Grow opened in downtown Midland in 2017. After a brief trial and error period to find the right heating, ventilation and cooling systems, the farm is thriving.
Romaine and butterhead lettuce are grown in the vertical racks, along with red and green sweet crisp, kale, Swiss chard and a variety of herbs including basil, oregano, thyme, mint, dill, parsley, chives and rosemary. This fresh produce is sold to local restaurants and in the building’s retail store.
“It is awesome when the farm is doing as well as it is now. There is a sense of pride. Members can see their hard work. It keeps them busy and gets them interacting with other members,” farm lead Courtney Abela said. “We have our own little community here.”
In 2020-21, the store sold $100,000 worth of produce, soups, salad dressings and homemade vegan cookies. The following year sales dipped to $65,000 before rebounding to $90,000 in 2022-23.
This revenue is used to fund programs, such as a partnership with Dress for Success, which is helping women prepare their physical appearance for a job interview, update their resume and gain confidence.
It also allows for Operation Grow to continue to be a safe, open space for clients.
“If some of our members feel sad, or that they need support to talk about whatever happened that day, they can come here for a coffee and talk,” Pena said.
The program’s success hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Ontario government recently announced it’s providing a $325,000 grant for HTH over the next three years.
“For women who have experienced violence, the abuse impacts every aspect of their lives,” executive director Haily MacDonald said. “This investment recognizes that and the direct connection between violence against women and the economic insecurity it creates.”