It is so wonderful to have an abundance of local farmers in the area providing food and goods for the community. There are more then you would guess! Here are a few to keep on your radar when your at the farmer's market or even looking for home delivery.
Wendy and Dale from Kootenay Natural Meats in Creston raise pastured animals and eggs. They strive to put the utmost care into creating the healthiest environment for them to live while regenerating the soil and sequestering carbon. They put emphasis on building relationships with the community, along with sharing and educating people about their practices and regenerative farming. You can find them at the Nelson Farmer's Market at Cottonwood or place an order directly through their website.
Confluence Farms in Passcreek are on a mission to provide local food for the community year round! They love to network with other local food suppliers to stock up their online shops with a variety of veggies, meats, grains and pantry items. They do a lot of preserving and baking to provide an abundance for your shelves and freezers too! They do door to door deliveries so you never have to go to grocery store again!
Bent Plow is a great veggie farm out in Blewett. They attend the Saturday Nelson's Farmer market and offer convenient pre-paid market cards you can load for cashless transactions. They grow a wide variety of beautiful certified organic veggies. A mission statement from their website I thought I would share:
"For us, organic agriculture is not simply the lack of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, but a holistic approach that encompasses: building and feeding the soil, encouraging a diversity of wildlife and pollinators, using strategies and techniques to minimize our emissions and sequester carbon, and helping to preserve our watershed and natural spaces."
Everyone knows the legendary Linden Lane Farms out in Crescent Valley. Make sure you keep your eye out for their produce at the local grocery stores and you can catch them at the Nelson and Castlegar Farmer's Markets. They have great community events like Pumpkin Fest in the fall and they invite folks to the farm for their annual seedling sale in the spring time, not to mention their farm shop open year round.
Aaron at Mystic Valley out in Winlaw is in his third season and growing some really beautiful produce! Make sure you check his stand out at the Nelson Farmer's Markets!
Forest Farm in Salmo has a sweet farm shop stocked with incredible goat and sheep cheeses, a freezer full of pasture raised meats and farm fresh veggies! Not to mention goat soaps and sheep wool handmade from their livestock. I highly recommend going to check them out and stock up on some delicious goodies from their farm store.
I only named a few but their are countless local food supplies in the area from the Valley, to the North Shore, Creston, Passcreek, Crescent Valley, Salmo, Blewett and over towards Castlegar.
It's been amazing the last couple years having the opportunity to network with all of these incredible folks in the Kootenays! We've got a strong team here striving for food security and de-centralizing our food systems to make closed loop systems we can rely on for a sustainable future.
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