Building
relationships
We have learned over the years that many hands make light work... And that the style of small-scale eco-conscious farming that we are involved in-- originates from a time when farming was more of a family and community endeavour. Both Mike and I are first generation farmers (ie. we didn't have family mentorship or anything passed onto us) and there are far fewer farmers than there used to be. We have both discovered over time that community-oriented endeavours are more likely to be sustainable over time, and as such we have built some strong allies and fostered dependable relationships with other trailblazing farmers and the conscientious folks that eat our food!
Read on to learn more about these relationships and thanks for stopping by!
Glen Valley Organic Farm
Glen Valley Organic Farm Co-op was established more than 20 years ago with a mission of encouraging and supporting agrarian work-life and learning. The land co-op hosts two farm businesses that work together to operate a popular CSA program. Learn more about the land coop by following the GVOFC link and about our CSA program on our CSA page.
Farmers Markets
We co-founded Farm Circle Organics Collective with a few other like-minded farmers in 2018. We needed to find a way for each of us to continue our direct marketing, be financially stable, have enough time in a week, without all of us having to operate our own CSA and attend every farmers market. The vision came together as Farm Circle Organics Collective. As a part of the collective, Earth Apple attended Riley Park and most recently Trout Lake with great reception from the local community! We now evolved to simply focusing our efforts on our CSA and therefore have made the decision to cease attending farmers markets in 2022. The good news is that Snowy Mountain Organics, the organic fruit staple of the collective, will be continuing at Riley Park and continuing to attend West End Farmers market. You will be able to source our products from them if you are a farmers market goer!
We would like to thank the Vancouver Farmers Market Society in particular for being a supporter of Earth Apple Organic Farm when we were a wee potato farm just getting going back in 2011!
The following farms and foragers are part of the Farm Circle Organic Collective
Snowy Mountain Organics, Cawston, BC
Earth Apple Organic Farm, Abbotsford, BC
Close to Home Organics, Abbotsford, BC
Your Wildest Foods, BC
BC Eco Seed Co-op
We joined and began contributing our seed garlic with the BC Eco Seed Co-op in 2021 and we couldn't be more proud to work with such a fine group of farmers and seed farmers. We are looking forward to expanding our seed production capacity moving into the future. Want to support local seed security? Be sure to check us out: www.bcecoseedcoop.com
Wholesale Distribution
We have been fortunate to dip our toes into the world of wholesale for the first time in 2021! Our sugar snap peas and peppers made it to local grocers thanks to Discovery Organics. This is a new relationship we are looking forward to building up over the years to come.
Restaurants
We are very proud to work with some of the following fine dining and community-oriented establishments:
Aldergrove Food Bank
In 2021, the two farm businesses at Glen Valley began donating produce on a weekly business to the Aldergrove-Langley Food Bank. The fresh organic produce was a hit and we are looking forward to serving this community for years to come!
Pacific Agricultural certification society
Earth Apple Organic Farm is certified organic through PACS since 2022. Prior to that we were certified by the BC Association of Regenerative Agriculture (BCARA) since 2016.
PACS is an incorporated not-for-profit society that provides certification, including Canada Organic Regime (COR) organic certification accredited by CFIA to small growers as well as multi-million dollar food processors and distributors Canada wide for international markets.
