Sharing Food, Growing Community
Salt Spring Food Share
At our heart, we’re all about boosting the local food scene on our island, ensuring that the delicious produce grown here reaches everyone who needs it. Imagine a vibrant community that can feed itself through any challenge—ferry delays or unpredictable weather—by sharing resources and supporting one another. Together, we can cultivate a network of food exchange that connects us to the land and each other, making our island a resilient and thriving place for all!
Weekly Food Exchange
From July to October, come to The Root every Sunday from 3-4pm, to exchange homegrown homemade foods and conversation. Share your abundance and be part of the growing community!
Fruit Harvests
Our fruit picking program is designed to reduce food waste and support local communities by collecting surplus produce from farms, orchards, and gardens. Volunteers harvest fruits that would otherwise go unpicked, distributing them to our volunteers, the tree owners, and our community partners who address food insecurity across the island.
Join us if you want to help harvest - or volunteer your tree(s) for us to harvest.
Produce Donation Drop-off
Support Salt Spring’s food security by donating excess fresh garden produce at the Sunday Food Exchange or come by The Root on Mondays from 12pm-1pm or on Tuesdays from 6-7pm to deliver your goods. We distribute donated food to our community partners, including the Food Bank.
Want To Connect?
info@saltspringfoodshare.ca
Would you like to spread the word?
Download the posters here:
Learning Series
The Farmland Trust offers a diverse year-round program of food and farm-related workshops, lectures, demonstrations, and certification opportunities.
These can be Zoom presentations on bee and insect populations to two-day workshops on developing food brands and business plans, regenerative growing, composting, and culinary classes.
We are always open to partnerships with local farmers, producers, and experts to share their expertise, as well as bring in speakers and professionals from off-island.
Click this link to see current postings of our programs.
Land Linking
To help support more people growing food on the island, we are developing a land linking program in collaboration with the Young Agrarians. If you are stewarding land and would like to see food being grown on it, or if you are looking for land to start growing on, we want to help you find the right partner.
This program will be open to both farmers and gardeners looking for land, and land holders offering land.
Contact: growlocalssi@gmail.com
Neighbours Feeding Neighbours
Food sovereignty today for food security tomorrow
Neighbours Feeding Neighbours (NFN) is a new project working to strengthen food security and food sovereignty on Salt Spring Island in preparation for times of crisis.
Rising food and fuel costs, supply chain disruptions, weather events, and climate change are increasingly affecting people’s capacity to be food secure.
We are working with farmers, food producers, and individuals to map our island’s food resources and develop neighbourhood plans for feeding one another when our food supply is disrupted, whatever the reason.
Here's why we think you should get involved
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Learn about the farms & gardens in your neighbourhood
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Find out how the emergency pod system on Salt Spring works
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Gain better connections with your neighbours
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Share food with you neighbours at "Podlucks"
Together, we can collectively prepare for food emergencies.
For more information, you can visit the Neighbours Feeding Neighbours website: NFNSaltSpring.org
Seed Sanctuary
The Salt Spring Seed Sanctuary Society is a charitable organization dedicated to the health and vitality of the earth through the preservation, promotion and enhancement of heritage seeds. It serves as a community seed bank and learning centre to encourage local food and seed production. It also provides seed growers with seed cleaning equipment and education on how to save seed for edible, medicinal and useful crops that can be grown here on Salt Spring Island.
In the spring, the seed bank is open to the public one day each month. Those wishing to become members may sign up at that time. Membership is also available online at https://seedsanctuary.com/become-a-member/
A $20 donation provides a lifetime membership, which allows members to pick up their share of seeds. At the seed bank, one will find locally grown seeds, a library on seed saving, and a network for support in selecting and saving seeds from the collection.
Seed donations are gratefully accepted by trusted seed growers who save their own heirloom and open pollinated varieties. To donate seeds, please contact the Seed Sanctuary at info@seedsanctuary.com For more information about the Seed Sanctuary Society, visit the website at https://seedsanctuary.com
We are so excited to have collaborated with Syd Woodward from Over Grow The System to showcase local farmers and their seed preservation techniques.
The 8.5 minute video below features stories, advice, and practical tips from such Island seed specialists as Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds, Ben Corno of Heavenly Roots Farms, Moe Wendt, SSI Permaculture mentor Winged Heart Farm, Meghan McEachern of Stowel Lake Farm.
“We hope viewers come away motivated to get involved and become seed savers, knowing there is a need and also the facilities, infrastructure, and mentorship to support their seed initiatives,” says Sheila Dobie, Co-Chair of Farmland Trust. “It all contributes to a stronger community.” says Sheila Dobie, Co-Chair of Farmland Trust. “It all contributes to a stronger community.”
