Armstrong-Spallumcheen farmers open their gates

Self-guided tours sponsored by the Armstrong Food Initiative Society invite the public to check out local food producers May 1

The Armstrong Food Initiative Society invites you to find out where your food come from, during the Armstrong Farm & Food Tours on Sunday.

The society’s fourth self-guided tours run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pick up your map at the Community Garden on Smith Drive behind the red caboose.

“Come out and enjoy our farming community,” said Jill de la Salle, with the society. “Participants choose which farms or food facilities to visit. They go at their own pace and fully explore each location

“This is a chance to see where your food comes from and see how ‘Farming Comes First’ in Armstrong/Spallumcheen. It’s a chance to bring farmer and consumer together so people not familiar with growing food will see how it’s done.”

She said it’s also a chance to promote local farmers and businesses that sell food made from local products. Many of them have farm gate sales or participate in farmers’ markets.

The tour will feature a wide variety of participants: Chocoliro for chocolate tastings and samples of vomFass fruit vinegars; cheese samples at Village Cheese; asparagus and strawberries at the Armstrong Asparagus Farm; pasture-raised chickens and turkey at Rosebank Farms; pasture-raised beef, pork and poultry at Fresh Valley Farms; certified organic produce at Pilgrim’s Produce; chicken at Corfe Broiler Farm; seasonal potatoes, plums, pears and other produce at Eagle Rock Berry Farm.

Also included in the tour is a short talk on composting at 10 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m. Speaker Ruth McDougall is a nutrient management expert and agrologist with a lot of understanding of how composting works. The talks take place at the Community Garden, the same location where you pick up your map.

For more information on the tour, email jdelasal@hotmail.com or call 250-546-8335.

 

Vernon Morning Star