Kelowna could get its first farm to table grocery store as early as next spring.
The Okanagan Food Hub Co-operative, a farmer owned food co-op based throughout the Okanagan valley, is set to open its first farm to table grocery store in the spring of 2019, on Harvey Avenue in the Landmark district.
The idea started several years ago when a few farmers got together to brainstorm a better way to help the community access high quality Okanagan products.
Their idea: pool their resources and find a way to have the Farmers Market every day. Something to reduce the barriers to high quality Okanagan products on a regular basis. Something that fits into the average person’s regular schedule. Something that helps keep dollars made in the Okanagan spent in the Okanagan, reinforcing the economy and strengthening the community at the same time.
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“The Okanagan wine industry is a billion-dollar industry employing thousands of people. There is no reason the meat and produce grown right here in the Okanagan shouldn’t be able to rival those numbers,” executive director OKFHC Kyle Friesen said, in a press release.
Over the last three years it has grown from the seedling of an idea to a fully sprouted organization, but they’re looking for support to get it underway.
“We need the money for operating capital to get us through the winter and to help us secure a lease on our first property (hopefully one of many),” reads the fundraising campaign for the market. “We will be featuring almost exclusively Okanagan products. If we can get it here, we will get it here, plain and simple.”
The co-op is guided by the idea that providing easy access to high quality locally sourced products is at the forefront of a sustainable and prosperous diverse agricultural renaissance. Being farmer-owned provides the OKFHC with the flexibility to adapt to the ever-changing food landscape and puts its customers at the forefront of the quality products grown and raised in British Columbia’s wonderful backyard.
For questions, comments or interview requests please contact Kyle Friesen, OKFHC Executive Director at 604-722-6903 or by email: kyle@okfoodhub.com, go to www.okfoodhub.com, or OK Food Hub Indiegogo.
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