Lyonel Doherty, Times Chronicle Staff
Food security continues to find footholds in the South Okanagan as the Grist Mill and Gardens partners with several businesses to pave that inroad with preserves.
Oliver’s Black Sage Butcher and Osoyoos’ Rooster Mafia Foods have jumped on the bandwagon to support the “Pantry Share” program hosted by the provincial historic site in Keremeos.
The program, similar to a vegetable farm box, features preserves such as jams, jellies, sauces and pickles. Last year nearly 120 products were available to members, who sign up to get their share of the bounty.
The program is seen as an investment. Shares range in price from $200 to $1,000, depending on how much product a member wishes to receive. Once a month, members choose their preferred items, which they can pick up a few days later at one of the community partners, which is where Black Sage and Rooster Mafia come in.
Grist Mill general manager Chris Mathieson said the program is a great way of supporting their work preserving and sharing BC’s agricultural history.
“Each jar gives us the chance to teach the public about bygone ingredients and recipes,” said Mathieson. “It’s a joy to introduce people to flavours like quince, damsons and garlic scapes while also sharing the freshest peach jam, full of Similkameen sunshine.”
As a heritage site that receives no operating funding from government, the Grist Mill has to be creative with how it generates revenue. “What’s most exciting to us about our new partners is that each one is a small business passionate about food and community and they are all run by fantastic people who are clearly doing what they love – just like us.”
Mathieson said it’s a lot of work delivering orders, so they have been looking for local businesses to serve as pick-up locations. “Black Sage Butcher was an obvious choice given how central they are and how passionate they are for fresh, local food.”
Co-owner Ravina Johal told the Times Chronicle that this is their way of supporting local food producers at a time when food security is so important. “With the preserves, I like that they’re home made, and made by the producers themselves, which is what we are about.”
Johal also noted they want to connect with the business community by supporting other entrepreneurs. “When you look at the changing climate, farming is getting harder for local producers, so this is our way of supporting them.”
Mathieson said Rooster Mafia stood out “because of how warm and enthusiastic Jasmine and Marco (the owners) are and how hard they’re working to build their new business in challenging times.” He noted the business purchased jams and pickles from the Grist Mill in the past and were very enthusiastic to be a pick-up point for the program.
Mattieson said he can’t wait to see how much the program grows this year.
