When connected, caring individuals put their minds together, they can create real change.
Just ask Megan Black, Nikki Lax and Maeghan Waters. This spring, the three started a new initiative called the Farm Food Rescue Program, helping divert unsold produce from local farms to Pemberton’s food bank. In the process, they help farmers reduce unnecessary food waste and ensure access to nutritious food to residents.
The program runs through the Stewardship Pemberton Society’s Garden Committee and Feasting for Change, and since Lax and Waters were already connected to the Society and to farms in their work, they saw on opportunity to help fill a gap in available food at the food bank.
“The puzzle pieces fell into place, and it made sense to get started on it right away. So, we started thinking about it in May, and then mid-July, it was in full force, and we were bringing a car full of veggies every week for the food bank,” Waters said.
To date, the organization has delivered more than 3,500 lbs of fresh produce to Pemberton’s food bank, helping fill the fridges for the first time in a while.
‘We don’t have the funds’
Loralee Seitz with the Pemberton Food Bank said without the program, produce fridges sit empty. The organization, run by Sea to Sky Community Services, has no funding and relies entirely on donations and grants for everything from food purchases to rent and wages.
“In all honesty, I think without the program people that access the food bank would not have fresh produce, because it's something we don't purchase. We don’t have the funds,” Seitz explained.
Items they do receive or purchase are non-perishable, which have a long shelf life. Heading into winter, some larger farms that specialize in root vegetables like potatoes and carrots have decided to keep donating when they can, and Seitz said farmers interested can reach out to join in the program. If they do, they receive a charitable tax receipt.
Despite the small size of Pemberton, each month the food bank sees new faces, with 23 new people accessing the service last month alone.
According to Statistics Canada, between 2021 and 2022, the national average of food prices increased by almost 10 per cent.
Despite the high cost of food, a lot of it still goes to waste. Programs like this can help reduce unnecessary food waste, with “almost 12.2 million tonnes of edible food wasted each year” in Canada, according to the province.
With the high cost of rent, groceries and medical bills, Seitz said food is often the last thing people will spend their money on. And in a food-rich place like Pemberton, innovative ideas like the Farm Food Rescue Program are just one way the food bank is trying to address food insecurity.
“Anyone else out there that wants to hop on board with that program, just reach out and let us know. We're always looking for more ways for fresh, healthy food to get to people's plates that may not be able to afford to purchase otherwise,” Seitz said.
Anyone who wants to access the food bank is welcome on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1343 Aster Street.
While farmers and Pemberton’s food bank have worked together on initiatives like this before, Lax said it’s an added challenge for farmers to find the time to deliver and for the food bank to coordinate accepting the donations, as each are working to their full capacity.
“We have the capacity to be the middle people and connect all of the pieces with our experience in farming and project management and in our work with the food bank, so we were able to be the conduit between all the folks involved to make it happen pretty quickly," Lax said.
Now that it’s fall, they’re picking up produce on an as-needed basis and will start the program in full swing again next spring.
