Food producer, retailer and distributor Lufa Farms has opened a new rooftop greenhouse at Montreal’s Marché Central mall.

The 127,000-square-foot greenhouse is located atop Walmart and Decathlon stores in the Ahuntsic borough shopping centre owned by QuadReal.

Montreal-based Lufa announced the opening in a news release. The new site is Lufa’s fifth commercial rooftop farm.

“Our end goal is to grow better food with less. Less land, less energy, less water, less waste, and less resources,” said Lufa founder and CEO Mohamed Hage.

Lufa anticipates that the urban farm will grow up to 20% more produce than conventional greenhouses of similar size. The new greenhouse will be dedicate to producing cucumbers and peppers.

Lufa praised Vancouver-based QuadReal, Holland’s KUBO Greenhouse Projects and Laval, Que.-headquartered FDA Construction for being community-minded partners.

“Marché Central has always focused on providing a compelling mix of retailers, and partnering with Lufa Farms, one of the world’s first commercial rooftop farmers, is a dynamic new way of supporting the neighbourhood,” said Michel Caumartin, the mall’s general manager.

“By rethinking how we use space, in this case the rooftop of our new Walmart store, we can make a tremendously positive impact in the community and provide more people with fresh, sustainable, and locally produced food.”

Lufa sells its produce online and distributes 30,000 baskets per week, through over 400 partners, to 350 pick-up points across Quebec. Through its Direct Giving charitable-contribution program, the company assists hundreds of people lacking food security.