Shuswap Food Conversations

In this episode Warren's guests are Melanie Bennett and Mary Rodriguez with the Shuswap Food Action Society. Melanie will outline the spring and summer programs for SFAS including what's going on at the John McLean Community Garden, the Community Teaching Garden and with Project Grow, the youth gardening contest. Mary oversees the School Food program for School District 83 and will update us on the successes of the past year and how the School Food program is having a positive impact on the health of children in our community.

In this episode listen to Warren's interview with Dr. Navin Ramankutty, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Data Science for Sustainable Global Food Systems at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Ramankutty's research program aims to understand how humans use and modify the Earth’s land surface for agriculture and to determine the implications of these modifications for the global environment. His research aims to find solutions to the problem of feeding humanity with minimal global environmental impact. Navin and Warren will talk about his life growing up in India, how he came to Canada, and how he hopes his research will help to improve the way we grow food and feed the planet.

This week Warren welcomes Christine Tether, Manager of the Downtown Salmon Arm Farmers Market. Christine will share her experience coordinating this weekly event and working with the many vendors who attend the market. She and Warren will talk about Christine's past roles as a Biologist and her life raising three (soon to be four) children with her partner on their homestead in Notch Hill.

Warren welcomes back Dr. Keith Williams of Athabasca University to talk more about indigenous agriculture practices and returning to the theories of land stewardship that our first peoples have followed for centuries.

In this episode you will hear Warren's interview with Dr. Cary Fowler, an American agriculturalist who served as the U.S. Special Envoy for Global Food Security from 2022 to 2025. He was previously executive director of the Crop Trust, which has a mandate to ensure "the conservation and availability of crop diversity for food security worldwide." Dr. Fowler is known as the father of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which currently houses samples of more than one million distinct crop varieties. In 2024 Cary Fowler received the World Food Prize for his work on seed genetics and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

In this episode Warren welcomes Denise Griffiths and Larissa Stagg of the Sorrento Village Farmers Market. Market Manager Denise and Society VP Larissa talk with Warren about the origins, growth and success of the market that has been running on Saturdays in Sorrento (May to October) for twenty-five years. You will hear all about Larissa's bee keeping business and about the other artisans, brewers, farmers and foodies who come together every week to make the Sorrento Farmers market a great destination for anyone living or travelling in the Shuswap.

This week Warren's guests are Adam and Jenna Wall of Purple Pasture Homestead in Salmon Arm. Working on Jenna's grandparent's land, they started their homestead in 2019 while living in a 26 foot trailer. Now well established, Adam and Jenna are regulars at the Downtown Salmon Arm Farmers Market. Their goal is to be as self-sufficient as possible. They grow their own food, raise their own animals, do their own canning and baking and bring their delicious food to sell at the Farmers Market every week.

This week Warren's guests are Jade and Isabelle Shamen, Quoc Nguyen and Amelia Jensen, all members of the recently formed FRIES Society. This new organization in the Shuswap is dedicated to making available the equipment and infrastructure that local food growers need to establish their farms and help to rebuild our local food system. FRIES encourages using regenerative farming methods to protect our water, to rebuild our soil and to provide the local community with nutritionally dense foods. The group is coordinating a food equipment cooperative including farm implements, transport equipment and food processing equipment such as a grain mill. In addition the team is developing facilities for local food storage.

This week Warren's guests are Kevin and Joy de Vos of Foxtrot Dairy located just off Hwy 97B near Enderby, BC. Joy and Kevin have been running Foxtrot Dairy on Kevin's family land for decades. Now, they have opened Foxtrot Dairy General Store on the property and are offering educational tours of the dairy, local produce and dairy products, and their own farm raised beef. Kevin and Joy are long time 4H leaders and the family has been deeply involved in the community for many years. Listen in to hear about Foxtrot Dairy's latest endeavor and make a plan to visit Foxtrot Dairy soon.

In this episode Warren's guest is Salmon Arm City Councilor Sylvia Lindgren. Sylvia and Warren talk about the role of the City's Environmental Advisory Committee and its relationship to preserving the environment for sustainable farming and food production in the Shuswap. The EAC mandate is to protect, maintain and enhance the natural environment in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental section of the Official Community Plan. Some upcoming projects include an anti-idling campaign and setting up community seminars in conjunction with local nurseries on drought-resistant and fire-safe landscaping.

From November 2022 - Part 1 - Warren talks with Annylise Gruber-Cavers and Steve Maggait of Fresh Valley Farms in Spallumcheen, BC.

From November 2022 - Part 2 - Warren talks with Annylise Gruber-Cavers and Steve Maggait of Fresh Valley Farms in Spallumcheen, BC.

In this episode Warren's guest is Dr. Hannah Wittman, Professor of Land and Food Systems with the University of British Columbia. Dr. Wittman’s research studies agrarian reform, food sovereignty, and agrarian citizenship. Her projects include community-based research on farmland access, transition to organic agriculture, and seed sovereignty in British Columbia, food sovereignty in Ecuador and Brazil, and the role that urban agriculture and farm-to-school nutrition initiatives play in food literacy education.

From November 2022 - Warren talks with Keli Westgate of Lekker Land Design about her work on the Salmon Arm Food Forest and the principles of Permaculture.

From November 2022 - Warren talks with Keli Westgate of Lekker Land Design about her work on the Salmon Arm Food Forest and the principles of Permaculture.

From December 2022 - Warren talks with Brad Demille about the recent highway closures, their impacts on the food supply chain, and how this has increased the focus on local food production and eating local.

From December 2021 - Warren talks with Serena Caner and Melanie Bennett of the Shuswap Food Action Society.

From February 2022 - Warren talks with Melanie Bennett, Serena Caner and Samantha Gambling about current programs and challenges for the Shuswap Food Action Society.

From February of 2022, Warren Bell talks with Jed Wiebe of Elderberry Grove Farm in Salmon Arm.

In this episode Warren's guest is Ashlee Rutherford of Gnominvore Kitchen. Ashlee joins Warren for a lively discussion of her new local food endeavour where she offers tasty foods with sustainability in mind. Ashlee is becoming a regular at the Downtown Salmon Arm Farmers Market where she sells frozen meals, novelty items like cook at home Poutine Kits and Duck breast pastrami - a ready to eat delicious deli or charcuterie meat. Soon to come are convenient 'homestyle' meals perfect for anyone looking for quick healthy options when life gets busy. Originally from Western Australia, Ashlee has had an interesting life of travel, work and education and has recently settled in Salmon Arm. Join Warren and Ashlee for a great story of travel, food, love and love of cooking.

From February of 2022 - Warren's guest is Jed Wiebe of Elderberry Grove Farm in Salmon Arm.

In this episode Warren's guest is Valerie Tarasuk of the University of Toronto. Valerie is the lead investigator behind PROOF, a project conducting research to advance understanding of the causes and consequences of food insecurity in Canada and the policy interventions necessary to prevent this problem. Dr. Tarasuk’s work has helped lay the foundation for food insecurity monitoring in Canada, and in recent years, her research has utilized monitoring data to advance knowledge on food insecurity in this country. Join Warren and Valerie for a deep dive into issues in food insecurity in Canada.

From March 2022 - Warren talks with Melanie Bennett of the Shuswap Food Action Society about the recently past and extremely successful Coldest Night of the Year fundraising event.

From March 2022 - Warren interviews Samantha Gambling about the importance of healthy school food for all children in BC.

From March 2022 - In this episode Warren meets with Samantha Gambling, Lead for the BC chapter of the Coalition for Healthy School Food. Warren and Samantha explore her life in BC and the experiences and education that brought her to her current role, and the issues around providing healthy meals for all school children in BC.

In this episode from April 2022 Warren talks with Jenny Wesle about her certified organic farm in Grindrod BC and about Community Supported Agriculture in the Shuswap.

From April 2022 - Jennifer and Warren talk about Jennifer's life of travel, education, sports and creativity, al of which broaught her back to her family's farm Organic Farm in Grindrod BC.

In this episode from April 2022, Warren talks with chef and entrepreneur Garrett McKill about his company Tsilhgot'in/Chilcotin Products which produces preserves, chutneys and other canned goods for sale at the Salmon Arm Farmers Market. Garrett also describes the Food Truck he has designed and built to serve great food with a first nations emphasis throughout the Shuswap.

In this episode hear Warren's conversation with Brian MacIsaac and Rebecca Kneen of Crannog Ales and Left Fields Farm in Sorrento BC. For Twenty-five years Brian and Rebecca have been developing and running their organic brewery and farm lands with a passion for natural, local and flavourful beer and lamb. They are equally passionate about their impact on the earth and fighting for their cultural agenda which includes social justice, stewardship of the land, the arts and close community. Listen in for an in-depth discussion of some of the critical issues facing our communities, farmers and small businesses today.

From April 2022 - Warren and Sue talk about the options and techniques for planting early vegetables in the Shuswap and planning your garden layout for the best results.

From May 2022 - Warren talks with Master Gardener Sue Moore about important task in your food garden at this time of year.

From May 2022 - Warren talks with Patti Thurston, Executive Director of the Shuswap Family Place, about their programs providing meals and support services for families in need, especially single mothers and their children, in the Shuswap.

From May 2022 - In Part 1 Warren's guest is Afka Zonderland. Afka talks about starting up her food production business Okanagan Rawsome in her home. She describes how she sources local, organic, raw produce, including fruit, seeds, nuts and vegetables, mixes ingredients together and air dries it into wonderful Crisps and Brittles for sale throughout the Okanagan and Shuswap.

From May 2022 - Warren's guest's are mother and daughter team Afka and Anna Zonderland. Afka and Anna talk about starting up their food production business Okanagan Rawsome in which she takes local, organic, raw produce, including fruit, seeds, nuts and vegetables, mixes ingredients together and air dries it into wonderful Crisps and Brittles for sale throughout the Okanagan and Shuswap.

In this episode from June 2022 Warren talks with Sue Moore about preparing the soil, choosing seeds, and planting techniques for your summer garden.

In our latest episode Warren talks with Naomi Robert of Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Naomi holds a Master of Land and Water Systems degree from the University of British Columbia where she studied water resource management in agriculture, a B.Sc. from McGill University in Earth System Science, and is currently a PhD candidate at Simon Fraser University in the School of Resource and Environmental Management. She is a Professional Agrologist with the BC Institute of Agrologists, practicing in research, transfer and application, and a board member of Food Secure Canada. Warren and Naomi will talk about the ways food can forge connections between individuals, communities, and land and how her food system research and community projects help to build a bridge between academic, practitioner, and community initiatives.

Warren talks with Nicolette Richer from Whistler BC about her approach to healing through healthy eating and her Whistler-based businesses Sea to Sky Thrivers and the Green Moustache restaurants.

Warren talks with Nicolette Richer from Whistler BC about her approach to healing through healthy eating and her Whistler-based businesses Sea to Sky Thrivers and the Green Moustache restaurants.

Warren's Interview from October 2022 with Gavin Wright and Alison Round of Northyards Cidery in Salmon Arm, BC.

Warren's interview from October 2022 with Kelsey Gasparini, coordinator with Revelstoke's Local Food Initiative. LFI focuses on food security, supporting citizens and producers and food education in the Revelstoke area.

In the first of two episodes from November 2022 Warren talks with Dan and Kat Saxton about their organic farm in Armstrong BC.

This week (Nov 2022) is part 2 of Warren's interview with Dan and Kat Saxton exploring the successes and challenges of operating their 14 acre organic farm in Armstrong BC.

Join Warren Bell, Serena Caner and Melanie Bennett as they discuss the recent developments in school food programs in the Shuswap, and ways the City council can better support food security within this city limits.

In this episode Warren talks with sustainable agriculture experts Dr. John Ikerd and Dr. Kent Mullinix. Dr. Ikerd is an Agricultural Economist, a prolific author and Professor Emeritus with the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Mullinix is the Director of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security with Kwantlen Polytechnic University. This conversation gets at the necessity and core issues in shifting our mass production methods of food production to community based agriculture driven by cooperation among people in local settings and in concert with the needs of the land. John and Kent share their teaching experience, research and years of practice in developing new and sustainable ways to feed the planet.

In this episode from November 2022 Warren talks with Maylene Loveland about their experience farming on leased land in the Shuswap, selling produce at the local farmer's markets, and holding down a regular job off farm.

In this episode Warren talks with Dani Nierenberg of the US organization Food Tank. Food Tank is focused on building a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters and programs to help fight hunger & poverty.

In this episode from December 2022 Warren talks with Tracey Edwards of the Zest Food Hub in Salmon Arm. Zest is a shared facility for food producers offering all the tools and space they need to produce local food products for sale within the community.

In this episode from December 2022 Warren talks with Sue Moore about overwintering your garden and winter pruning.

In this episode hear Warren's live broadcast with Keli Westgate of Lekker Land Design. Keli is a certified Permaculture Designer helping clients create their own abundant, eco-friendly garden landscape that support climate-positive goals including increasing food security, personal health and community resilience. Keli has clients throughout the North Okanagan and Shuswap and she was instrumental in establishing the Lighthouse Community Food Forest at the Salvation Army Food Bank in Salmon Arm. Join Warren and Keli as they explore the benefits of permaculture design principles in establishing productive and earth friendly gardens.

In this episode from January 2023 Warren interviews Dave Wallace, Operations Manager at Askew's foods about the grocery business, supporting local producers and the impact of the recent highway closures on grocery supply chains.