Basin Food Expo

A few of us made the trip over to Kimberley last week for FABx, the Basin Food and Buyers Expo – two days of conversations, tastings and workshops with the people who grow, make and sell food across the Columbia Basin. Early November in the East Kootenays means frost on the windshield and local wildlife that don’t bother moving off the road.

The Ktunaxa name for Kimberley is Kukamaʔnam, which translates to “animal trail coming down to you.” We can confirm it absolutely holds true.  Between the elk on the highway and the deer around every corner, the town felt more shared than settled.

We stayed at Trickle Creek Lodge, a short walk from the conference centre, and spent our days in sessions on regenerative farming, including an inspiring talk from farmer and author Brent Preston, and some one-on-one time with newer producers working out how to get their products into wholesale. Conversations like these are how a jar of something good from down the road ends up on your Co-op’s shelf, and it’s how we stay close to the people building food security in this region.

This year, your Co-op contributed $2,500 in bursaries to FABx so farmers from across the region could attend for free, including our friends Brendan and Cali from Salix & Sedge Farm in Salmo.

We also filmed two new True Local spotlights. Alistair and Jill at Stoke showed us their juicing facility, their market and the bakery where Jill’s sister Mackie runs the production behind the bread we carry in store. It’s an impressive operation, where the technology and sustainability thinking are matched by a lot of heart. On the way home, we drove out to Fort Steele, where Sacha and Tyler of Cutter Ranch walked us around what might be the most photogenic farm in the Kootenays. They raise the pigs behind the pork we carry, and it was clear within minutes how much care and intention they put into every part of it. Both videos are coming once we’ve worked through the footage.

We came home with full notebooks and a few new friends, reminded that good food in the Kootenays is built by many hands across many places. It’s a trail we walk together, and we’re glad to be on it.