Spanning three acres at the east end of Westminster Highway in Richmond, TheSharing Farm is the only farm of its size in Western Canada that donates the majority of its produce to food banks and other food-security organizations.
“We provide Cadillac food to people who can’t afford it,” says Executive Director and expert farmer James Gates, who on behalf of the Society donates 70 percent of all produce to community groups including the Richmond Food Bank. “That’s about 12,000 pounds of organic food per year!” he says with outstretched arms.
Founded in 2001 as the Richmond Fruit Sharing Project, with a handful of volunteers harvesting surplus fruit from private gardens, the organization currently occupies a generous plot inside the Terra Nova Nature Area that includes a greenhouse, several fields, a farmhouse doubling as an office and a 24-hive apiary.
Funded in part by grants and the generosity of neighbors, and with the help of almost 1,000 local volunteers, the Society and The Sharing Farm are run by a small staff team and volunteer Board of Directors. “We have a lot on our plates,” says James of his team. “But we’re committed to our cause.”
