Vacant Lots Farm Club

What Vacant Lots Farm Club does

Vacant Lots Farm Club is a Calgary-based nonprofit organization that converts vacant urban lots into therapeutic growing spaces for personal and community wellbeing. Operating from a single flagship site, Lot 01 - Country Village (2 acres of member space within a 5-acre parcel in northeast Calgary), the organization offers free, open-to-all membership with no minimum time commitment, enabling community members to participate in seasonal activities including growing vegetables, harvesting flowers, composting, seed saving, and nature meditation. The core infrastructure includes a Hoop House Clubhouse, no-dig raised bed Production Gardens, Compost Patch, Messy Meadow (30-50 types of food and flowers), Shrubby Shelterbelt, and Hammock Island.

The business model is freemium at its foundation: free membership is sustained by three paid programs — Team Retreats ($250/person, minimum 10 participants, 4-hour duration), Field Trips ($20/person for students and care groups or $60/person for corporate teams, minimum 10 people, 2-hour duration), and Commercial Yard Waste Drop-Off ($10/m3 or $30/tonne, open 365 days/year). The Team Retreat and Field Trip programs are marked as "Coming 2026," indicating they are not yet fully operational. Additional revenue comes from charitable donations processed through Parks Foundation Calgary, supporting capital projects. The membership is managed through a self-serve platform (Communal), with direct booking for paid programs via email.

The organization's customer base spans individual members and families, corporate teams, schools and care groups, and commercial landscaping businesses. Go-to-market is community-led, leveraging organic social media (Instagram, LinkedIn), email newsletter (Kit), and word-of-mouth. Strategic partnerships include the City of Calgary, Parks Foundation Calgary, Calgary Catholic School District, BILD Calgary Region, Care Farming Network, Federation of Calgary Communities, Vivo for Healthier Generations, and several local suppliers and climate organizations. The organization has no disclosed headcount, no management team listed, no funding rounds, no equity ownership, and no AI/ML capabilities. It operates as a community-scale nonprofit with a single physical location and a regional Calgary focus.

Name

Vacant Lots Farm Club

Legal name

Vacant Lots Farm Club

Website

https://vacantlotsfarmclub.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Vacant Lots Farm Club is a Calgary-based nonprofit that converts vacant urban lots into therapeutic growing spaces, offering free community membership supported by paid team retreats, field trips, and commercial yard waste drop-off services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Urban Agriculture Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Farm Stays & Agritourism Lodges (THAMADAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Urban farming services
• Community gardening programs
• Therapeutic agriculture
• Urban agriculture nonprofit
• Community wellness programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Freemium Membership: Core membership is free and open to all Calgarians with no minimum time commitment. Members receive access to the farm for seasonal growing activities, harvesting, and community events.
2. Team Retreats: Signature team building retreats at $250 per person with minimum 10 participants, 4-hour duration. Includes farm tour, seasonal activities, and guided wellness sessions.
3. Field Trips: Educational field trips for schools and groups at $20/person (students/care groups) or $60/person (corporate teams), 2-hour duration with minimum 10 people.
4. Commercial Yard Waste Drop-Off: Accepts commercial yard waste including woodchips, grass clippings, leaves, flowers at $10/m3 ($30/tonne). Open 365 days/year with extended hours. Revenue supports farm operations.
5. Donations and Sponsorships: Charitable receipts available through Parks Foundation Calgary for individuals and organizations supporting capital projects with financial sponsorship.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Vacant Lots Farm Club converts vacant urban lots into a community-managed therapeutic farming space, providing free membership access for individuals and families to participate in seasonal growing, harvesting, composting, seed saving, and nature-based activities. Revenue is generated through paid team retreats, educational field trips, and commercial yard waste drop-off, with charitable donations accepted via Parks Foundation Calgary.

Product overview

Vacant Lots Farm Club operates a single-location urban farming community program centered at Lot 01 - Country Village in Calgary, Alberta. The core offering is a free membership program that provides access to seasonal farming activities in an elevated urban farming experience. The organization supports its free membership through three paid programs: Team Retreat (team building), Field Trips (educational group experiences), and Commercial Yard Waste Drop-Off (organic material collection service). These programs fund the membership operations while providing community wellness and agricultural education services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Free Membership Program Free, open-to-all membership that lets Calgarians participate in seasonal urban farming activities (growing vegetables, harvesting flowers, composting, seed saving, and nature meditation) at the Lot 01 farm, with no minimum time commitment.
• Team Retreat Paid corporate team building retreat at the farm including a farm tour, seasonal activities, and guided sessions on integrity, resilience, and wellbeing. Priced at $250 per person, minimum 10 participants, 4-hour duration starting at 10am.
• Field Trips Paid educational outdoor experiences for groups featuring a farm tour and 1-hour seasonal activity from three tracks: Productive (planting, harvesting, composting), Meditative (seed saving, nature appreciation), or Creative (flower arranging, garden design). $20/person for students and care groups, $60/person for corporate teams; minimum 10 people; 2-hour duration.
• Commercial Yard Waste Drop-Off Drop-off service accepting arborist and yard waste including woodchips, grass clippings, leaves, flowers, and small amounts of topsoil (no invasive/noxious weeds, food waste, construction waste, or large logs/branches/stumps). Open 365 days/year, 7am-10pm Monday-Saturday and 9am-10pm Sundays/Holidays, priced at $10/m3 ($30/tonne) calculated per 0.25 truck load.
• Lot 01 - Country Village Farm Two-acre (0.8 ha) member farming space inside a five-acre (2 ha) parcel at 141 Country Village Road NE, northeast Calgary, comprising the Hoop House Clubhouse, Production Gardens (no-dig raised beds), Compost Patch, Messy Meadow (30-50 types of food and flowers), Shrubby Shelterbelt (berry and tea shrubs), and Hammock Island; member hours are Saturday/Sunday 1-4pm and Wednesday 6-9pm (weather permitting).

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• City of CalgarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner supporting urban farming initiatives and community green space development in Calgary.
• Parks Foundation CalgarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides charitable donation processing and financial sponsorship infrastructure for capital projects through their Etapestry platform.
• Calgary Catholic School DistrictcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEducational institution partner for school field trip programs and student engagement activities.
• BILD Calgary RegionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuilding industry partners supporting sustainable urban development and green space initiatives.
• Care Farming NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork connecting therapeutic farming organizations, providing shared knowledge and best practices.
• Federation of Calgary CommunitiesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity organization network supporting local community initiatives and engagement.
• Vivo for Healthier GenerationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth and wellness organization supporting community health initiatives and programming.
• Basil RanchminorOthersLocal supplier providing agricultural products or services to support farm operations.
• AMA School Garden StudiominorGTM or Marketing PartnerEducational partner supporting school garden programming and student engagement.
• West Coast SeedsminorOthersSeed supplier providing seeds for farm growing operations.
• Blue Grass NurseryminorOthersLocal nursery supplier for plants and growing materials.
• Calgary Climate HubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClimate action organization supporting environmental sustainability initiatives.
• EarthmasterminorOthersEnvironmental services partner for farm operations and sustainability.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Soul Fire Farm: New York-based BIPOC-led nonprofit farm that combines intensive food production, educational programming, and community wellness. Direct peer in nonprofit farm + education model.
• Urban Adamah: Berkeley-based nonprofit urban farm that combines educational programming, paid retreat-style experiences, and community growing on a small footprint. Direct peer in mission, scale, and product mix.
• Real Food Farm: Baltimore-based urban farm operated by Civic Works that runs youth education, volunteer programming, and produce distribution. Comparable urban-farm-as-nonprofit model.
• Greensgrow Philadelphia: Philadelphia nonprofit that transformed vacant urban land into productive farms and runs educational programming, community events, and farm-to-consumer sales. Direct functional peer.
• Calgary Urban Farm Society: Local Calgary nonprofit promoting urban agriculture and community growing. Direct regional peer addressing the same audience and operating in the same municipal context.

Broad incumbents

• Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture: Larger, established nonprofit agricultural education center offering farm tours, school programs, and retreats. Broader incumbent that demonstrates the farm-as-classroom model at scale.

Others

• Parks Foundation Calgary: Charitable partner that processes donations for VLFC capital projects. Enabling ecosystem partner rather than competitor, but materially supports VLFC's funding infrastructure.
• West Coast Seeds: Supplier partner providing seeds and growing materials. Not a competitor but a key upstream input enabler for the farm's production activities.

Emerging players

• Care Farming Network UK: UK network of care farms using agricultural settings for therapeutic and educational benefit. Represents the care farming category the company is positioning within through Care Farming Network partnership.
• Sharing Gardens: Small-scale community growing initiative that blends free participation, mutual aid, and regenerative practices. Comparable in mission and Freemium-style community access model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vacant-lots-farm-club
• Instagraminstagram.com/vacant_lots_farm_club

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vacant Lots Farm Club