Category: News

Climate change has been a part of the L2T conversation since the start of the food system network. Conversations have taken a tone that is future tense, asking: how will farmers in our regions be affected by climate change? And certainly water access goes hand-in-hand with climate change, and you can’t talk about our water and watersheds without also talking about the salmon—it really is all connected. For myself (I won’t speak for others here), my sense is that this summer’s heat/drought has brought us across a threshold, from “how will farmers be affected” to “how are farmers being affected.” That “heat dome” was damn scary and super destructive! In a media release shared far and wide, the National Farmers Union (NFU) explains, through accounts from three Western Canadian farmers,…

For Kristen Trovato of Okanagan Mobile Juicing, “every apple counts.” Mobile Juicing began in 2012 when Kristen (then landscaper who wanted to start her own business) and partner Remo saw mobile juicing as a win-win-win for local producers, retailers and herself as a new business in service to the agri-sector. In a nutshell, Kristen and her team take raw fruit and turn it into a tasty, pasteurized, packaged juice ready for store shelves. They press, de-stone, puree, pasteurize and/or package. “I grew up in the Okanagan and knew we have good fruit and a lot of it.” Kristen didn’t know a lot about the apple industry then—how the influence of a global food system has left local apple producers competing with subsidized Washington growers (whose crops have access to endless…

Sarah Bradshaw - Wise Woman Seeds “If you want to control something, control its food!” For Sarah Bradshaw of Wise Woman Seeds, this perspective coincides with a strong sense of justice she has held since childhood. Saving, swapping and now growing and selling seeds grew from the environmental justice and stewardship work that Sarah was a part of from an early age. Wise Woman Seeds is a small independent seed company that takes pride in the old and interesting varieties of vegetables and fruits they have saved and grown through a network of dedicated gardeners over the years. This includes Styrian pumpkin (a rather ugly superfood with very nutritious seeds), sweet potato squash (commercially bypassed because of looks—bigger, longer, weird looking—but one of the best squashes on the market for…

Patrick Ling-Allen - Curlew Orchard in the BX area of Vernon My background is stewardship and environmental engagement. When we moved back to Vernon with kids I decided it was time to get hands off the computer and in the dirt to manage a piece of our own land. From the start we pursued organic status, added a permaculture grove to our orchard, built onsite cold storage, and implemented regenerative practises to build soil and rehabilitate the natural environment on and around the farm. Soon some of our friends’ farm animals were arriving to retire here.   I’m proud of our CSA with members who have been with us for five years. We want our CSA members to feel involved and know they are a part of supporting local food— partnering…

By Andrea Gunner Good quality croissants, warm from the oven, flaky and crisp on the outside, stretchy and elastic on the inside, are one of my favourite treats. Living in rural BC, this treat was not very accessible, certainly not to Paris boulangerie standards, until I learned to make them myself. I usually make a batch of croissants and pains au chocolat a few times a year, to share with family, friends and neighbours. I import special “batons” of Valrhona chocolate for the filling. On my infrequent trips to France, I buy butter at the cheese shops since they package it in labelled “fromage” paper, making it much easier to smuggle into Canada. Oh yes, one of the realities of a supply managed Canadian dairy industry is import restrictions on dairy products.  Why…

From December through January I played phone tag with Chris Bauman, president of the Monashee Community Co-op (in Lumby) Board of Directors. I gathered, through voice messages at first, that she had exciting news to share! What I can share with you now is not only a good-news story, inside a global pandemic full of not-so-good-news-stories, but an opportunity for us to support a local business that holds potential to strengthen our regional food system as a whole (win, win, win). As it turns out, Chris and a team of dedicated folks surrounding the community organic food Co-op have been working night and day to take the Co-op to the next level. Unlike most businesses, the Monashee Community Co-op has been blessed by COVID. They have seen membership jump from…

Photo: RDNO Want to visit the BX Ranchands? Trailhead (east location) and newly expanded parking lot are located on East Vernon Rd. A small parking lot and trailhead signpost are on the west side of the road, near the big wooden barn.For more details, see the BX Tour Map and visit the Ribbons of Green Society's website (see Trail #5). https://youtu.be/7lwPOKcZ9Ck FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDATE:                           January 27, 2021MEDIA CONTACT:      Ashley Gregerson, Communications OfficerPHONE/EMAIL:           250-550-3707 / Ashley.gregerson@rdno.caRDNO Electoral Areas B and C Retain BX RanchlandsThe BX Ranchlands, located off of East Vernon Road, is a large parcel of undeveloped green space, a rare commodity for the area. The RDNO purchased the land in 2016 to create a perimeter trail through a portion of the land and discussed subdividing and selling the remaining…

This is not news... we know that sufficient, safe and nutritious food is critical to the health and well-being of us all. At this time of year, we tend to think a little bit more about the food we can and cannot afford. Tis the season to give generously... to food banks and other emergency food and support programs. The push for donations ensures that food banks can not only feed more people over the holiday season but also stock up for the year to come. And this next year is shaping up to be another hard-hitter when looking at food security (and household food insecurity). 4.4 million Canadians (including half a million British Columbians) experienced food insecurity before the pandemic. This number is expected to double over the coming…

On October 28th, 17 local government representatives (politicians and staff) from across the RDNO met on Zoom to discuss and learn what is on the radar for local government as it relates to local food security and food systems (planning, development, policy).  This meeting was co-hosted by Land to Table (L2T) and the Interior Health (IH) Healthy Communities Program, with the intent to build relationships with local government, provide a (virtual) networking space, and share about each of our organizations/programs and the support that we can offer to local government in food systems and food security engagement, planning and project development. In the work of L2T, to catalyze connections and collaboration and make sense of how we can best support strengthening our regional food system, this meeting was designed to…