Our Program: Growing Gardens and Communities
We believe local food should be nourishing, sustainable, and accessible. The Backyard Farmers’ Program seeks to improve food production and sovereignty in our community through creativity and connectivity. To achieve this, we turn underutilized land into garden spaces, grow nutrient dense foods, and strive to deliver food where it’s needed the most. We also connect individuals and organizations with the resources they need to get growing!
Ultimately, the Backyard Farmers Project project seeks to raise the bar on sustainable community food production and bring light to local food security issues. We believe in producing sustainable food from the ground up as a connected and collaborative community.
Our Partners: Cooperative Collaboration
Partnerships are essential to the work that we do. We work with the Kimberley Edible Garden and Greenhouse, Helping Hands Food Bank, Healthy Kimberley Food Recovery, and Kimberley Cranbrook Food Network, who all strive to improve local food initiatives. We use our collective strengths and resources to improve food production and access in our community.
In addition, Top Crop Too has been an amazing supporting business for our food journey.
Our Community: Growing Gardeners
We aim to increase the number of local gardeners by helping connect people to the resources, knowledge, or garden spaces they seek.
We support school groups and local organizations by providing knowledge and hands-on opportunities.
We are also developing a new program that seeks to pair local gardeners with land that is being underutilized. We aim to help support new relationships between landowners and gardeners by providing the framework for the land use, as well as information on local resources.
Volunteer Opportunities
Growing too much produce? Do you have an abundance of garden delights? We can help you get that food to local non-profits that need it.
Looking for garden space? Would you love to have a garden but have no space to call your own? We are developing a local garden map so we can help pair gardeners with garden space that meets their needs.
Do you have unused garden space? Do you have a garden that you’re not using? Do you have growing space that is underutilized? Let us know if you’re interested in having someone garden in your backyard.
Do you have garden questions? We offer in-person consultations for local growers. Feel free to email our Food Program Coordinator with your gardening questions.
We invite you to connect with our Food Program Coordinator:
Ashley Lortscher: kimcrangarden@wildsight.ca
Looking to source locally produced food?
Check out the Kimberley Cranbrook Food Asset Map!
Thanks to the Regional District of East Kootenay for funding support in 2023!
