On our reputation alone, it probably wouldn’t surprise many mainlanders that Salt Spring’s food bank has its own organic farm.
Perhaps more so might be the scale. Thanks to fresh produce grown on the acre it has tended at the Burgoyne Valley Community Farm — alongside ongoing donations and active gleaning and Second Harvest programs — Harvest Food Bank distributes more than 15,000 food hampers each year, with island children making up over 30 per cent of the people receiving food. The program helps individuals and families while they regain their footing, recognizing that like any emergency, food insecurity can occur at a variety of speeds — from a sudden shock like a job loss or medical crisis to a gradual reduction of options as rents and wages drift apart.
Now, as Harvest shifts its food growing operations to part of the 10-acre parcel purchased in 2023 by Island Community Services, farmers — backyard and otherwise — can help carry this vital island program through, filling the gap while the soil at the Brinkworthy Road property is worked for next year’s crop.
The Grow a Row campaign is certainly timely, and not just because about now is when most of us get started in our gardens. Given the growing shadows of economic uncertainty, it seems unlikely Harvest’s food programs will see fewer islanders in need of diverse, nutritional food in the months to come.
It’s also meaningful in framing intention around something many islanders do for the pure joy of it. When we plant, tend and harvest food with our local community’s needs in mind, we’re internalizing our connection to islanders in need and growing our capacity for empathy. It’s a demonstration of how shared responsibility helps strengthen our island — and how any grand notions around “building resilience” must include expanding local participation in our own food network, independent of efforts by regional governments and charities.
Growing storage crops for Harvest this year is a truly hands-on way to help this vital program; islanders should reach out to organizers now to take part.