If you listen to CKNW radio you will have noticed that they are running a series on farming called “Keep it local”. The series is sponsored by BC Fresh.
There have been many interesting sessions since May 30 and the final interview is on Friday. The sessions are available for replay on the CKNW audio vault which is easily accessed on their website.
On June 10, local farmer Sharon Ellis of Westham Island Herb Farm was interviewed. Her family has been farming locally since the late 1800’s. I’m sure many of you have visited her farm to harvest strawberries in the spring and summer and pumpkins in the fall.
She noted that the strawberries are looking good and that they have just been very late due to the cool and damp spring. She expects the fruit to ripen this weekend, and fingers crossed, a drying trend will evolve to prevent any mould from threatening the fruit.
It has been the worst spring for farmers in 40 years and there are still fields that have yet to be planted.
If you have visited the farms on Westham Island the past couple of years you will have noticed that it has been exceptionally busy to the point where flaggers have had to manage traffic on the bridge.
Sharon noted that the pandemic has played an interesting role in her business. People have become more food cognizant. They are thinking about local food and how to access it and in the case of berries and other fruits and vegetables, how to preserve them. Growing local is making a huge comeback in this regard.
I notice the positive impacts of COVID-19 almost daily now as the Project Pickle kids tell me what they are growing on newly created backyard farms.
This week and next, some 1,600 cucumber seedlings are making their way to homes all across Delta. The kids are tasked with looking after their plants and reporting back in the fall with stories about making “Farmer Mike’s most excellent cucumber salad” for their families.
Education about food and farming is certainly gaining momentum and that can only be good for society in general.
Recent survey results from the City of Delta’s revised agriculture plan note that 85 per cent of the 600 respondents would support food-related curriculum in our schools.
In the same survey, the same 90 per cent of respondents noted that their favourite agricultural activity would be to buy food directly from the farm.
Buying local is important and our surging interest in farming and food security is ironically thanks to COVID-19.
Mike Schneider is founder of Project Pickle and likes to write about growing, cooking and eating food. He is a Jamie Oliver Food Revolution ambassador.
