+34Fed Urban Agriculture aims to provide more than just food to the Greater Victoria area, but also food security, food education and opportunities to create more urban gardens.
CHEK Livestream Ashley Whelan, FED Urban Agriculture operations manager, waters a crop at the organization's Vic West facility. May 10, 2026. Fed Urban Agriculture aims to provide more than just food to the Greater Victoria area, but also food security, food education and opportunities to create more urban gardens.as a way to explore ways to bolster the local urban food system and educate the community on sustainable urban farming.
At the organization’s farm in Vic West, they practice what they preach. Instead of growing vegetables in the ground, the plants are grown in rows of containers.
“We are growing food on undeveloped land that’s actually been contaminated from a pulp mill that was here 100 years ago,” Ashley Whelan, FED Urban Agriculture operations manager, said. “So we’re growing food in containers as a way to utilize the land and also provide food for community and increase local food insecurity initiatives.
” Aside from FED’s Urban Farm, the organization also fundraises for programming that includes food access by supplying free local produce and growing kits for families facing food insecurity, growing and sharing culturally relevant crops, rooftop and schoolyard garden creation, and a conference for young, aspiring farmers who want to better understand and connect to our local food network and learn best practices for starting their own farming business. FED also provides several programs and workshops where people can learn about where their food comes from and how anyone can utilize small or urban locations to grow their own food.
“You don’t need half an acre of flat land to grow a lot of food,” said Dinah Johnston, FED Urban Agriculture engagement coordinator. “If you have a small balcony or you just have a tiny yard, actually you can really grow anything depending on the temperature or the climate. ”Whelan says approximately 2,000 pounds of which was donated community groups and organizations, like food banks and community associations, to be given to families facing food insecurity.
“We all care deeply about providing that food access of high quality and nutritious foods to those who need it the most,” she said. The CSA program is where the community can buy ‘shares’ in the season harvest in exchange for weekly boxes of fresh produce. Those who buy into the program will receive boxes for 20 weeks, between May 13 and September 23, that are filled with veggies grown on the FED Urban Farm.
“We’re doing a small share and a large share. So a large has about eight-10 items and is good for a household and a small share is about four-five items good for a single or couple households,” Whelan said.
“We’re also offering a workplace share if you just want to bring more food into your local workplace. ” Whelan says each week the boxes are filled with something a little bit different, everything from lettuce to carrots, cucumbers and radishes.
“We try to keep the box sort of full of our items, but here and there we’ll pepper it with other farms to support other farmers more broadly,” she added. Anyone wanting more information on the CSA boxes, volunteering or participating in a workshop is encouraged to reach out to FED Urban Agriculture. Mackenzie is a born and raised Vancouver Island girl who is happy to be home.
She joined the CHEK News team in 2022 as a multimedia journalist, reporting on any and all topics that relate to Vancouver...
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