Feature: Urban Digs Farm in Burnaby

We're lucky in Burnaby to have active farms in the Big Bend area. One of the newest and most exciting in recent years is Urban Digs Farm, which operates using organic methods and principles. They have a 3-acre homestead farm in the Big Bend where they grow vegetables and raise pigs, rabbits, chickens, ducks, and geese, among other activities. They offer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes and have a small community garden.

Hard at work on Urban Digs Farm
Credit: Mario Bartel of the Burnaby NewsLeader

Urban Digs Farm is also building some great partnerships with local businesses. For example, the nearby PriceSmart Foods at Market Crossing is donating produce that is past its prime to Urban Digs, which they use to feed their pigs!

Other partnerships include providing free-range eggs and local produce to the Livia Lunch restaurant, which is just down the road in the Riverway business complex, and delivering Avalon Dairy products (an organic dairy producer whose bottling facility is located in Burnaby) with their CSA boxes.

For more details on how the Farm is partnering and working closely with local businesses, visit the great article in the Burnaby NewsLeader about the farm.

If you would like to get more involved, the Farm also accepts volunteers!

A happy volunteer hard at work on Urban Digs Farm
Source: Urban Digs Farm

Feature: Common Ground Community Garden

Want to get your hands on fresh organic produce but worried about the cost? Interested in supporting local farmers?

The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model allows consumers to deal directly with the producers of their food, eliminating the middle person, and in turn supplies them with fresh, local food. The reciprocal relationship between consumer and farmer promotes learning and sharing and allows greater control over what and how we eat.

Participants pay to enroll according to set terms, and their financial contribution is invested into the farm. Though CSA members share in the risks of farming, they also reap the benefits of a bountiful harvest.

Source: Eggs on Sunday

Common Ground Community Garden is a fully sustainable Burnaby-based CSA farm tucked away just off North Fraser Way and, while not yet certified organic, Common Ground is committed to using organic farming methods. The farm uses integrated pest management (IPM) and cover crops as replacements for pesticides and herbicides.

For each week that is paid for, a basket of fresh produce is delivered to your neighbourhood drop-off site, beginning in late June and extending into late October. If potential members are not able to commit to a full season share, or cannot get through a whole basket of vegetables within a week, they can still buy weekly shares, paid one week in advance of delivery. A weekly share costs $32, while a 20-week share costs $500 or $640, depending on whether members choose a small or large box. That breaks down to $25 to $32 a week for groceries!

Want to try it out in advance of the 2013 season? There are a couple more weeks left in October, so be sure to check it out!

For more information on Common Ground Community Garden or to enroll, visit their website: http://www.cgorganicfarm.com/ 

Curious about other CSAs in the Lower Mainland and beyond? For a (non-exhaustive) list of participating farms in the province, visit http://www.farmfolkcityfolk.ca/