Facebook
Facebook

Owners of The Local Harvest Market in Chilliwack may be forced out of their own building.
The city issued a press release on Friday saying council will be discussing next Tuesday whether to issue a “no occupancy notice” to the business on Lickman Rd. Upon opening in 2013, the main building was found to not be line with certain bylaws, nor did it meet safety provisions in the BC Building Code. The owner appeared in front of council last year to plead his case, and he was given an extension to make sure the building got up to code, but that still hasn’t happened. Mayor Sharon Gaetz has declined comment until after council discusses it, but the release says council will go in with an open mind and is carefully reviewing the staff report.  The owners have said they’re planning an entirely new building for the property but it won’t be ready until the Fall.  (see below)

Statement from The Local Harvest on their Facebook Page dated Dec 2nd, 2015:

“We’re extremely excited to unveil our plans for a new market. With construction beginning in January of 2016 our estimated completion date is next August. This spacious new market will be located on the same property and will continue to offer nourishing food that’s grown on our farm and in our region. All of our partners including Anita’s Organic Mill, Magpie’s Bakery and Curly Kale Eatery will be joining us in our new home. But how did we get to this point after just two years in operation?

We began with a dream and a vision in early 2013 when we began selling fresh strawberries and an assortment of produce from a veggie shack. That first day in mid-June, only four customers showed up, but we didn’t despair. We knew our community was ready for real food and we weren’t going to let them down. Soon we outgrew the roadside stand and began looking for a larger home. Short on cash, and without a track record to convince investors that our business was viable enough to warrant a new market, we were forced to repurpose the front twenty-five feet of our existing barn into a functional, yet attractive market. With public safety in mind we heeded our engineer’s suggestions and dutifully reinforced the building. We reopened in April 2014 with fresh veggies and fruits harvested from our own farm. It was an excitingly busy time. And then a series of remarkable things happened sending us to new heights in a very short while.

First and foremost, we were welcomed with open arms by a community who flooded us with support during those challenging days of our infancy. A fledgling business, we discovered, needs resolve and incredible determination to survive and our staff certainly didn’t lack these qualities. But most importantly, we were finding new friendships, trust and support in the loyal customers who continued to buy our product though our produce selection was often quite sparse. And then, in April 2014 a successful neighbouring company with a remarkable product approached us and asked if we’d be willing to join forces. Two weeks later, Anita’s Organic Mill and The Local Harvest Market were found under the same roof. By fall of 2014, Magpie’s Bakery with their amazing sourdough breads baked in their wood-fired oven accompanied us. Then early in 2015 Curly Kale Eatery provided a further boost to our market with their delicious breakfast and lunch options using ingredients from our farm.

By early 2015, after less than one year in operation and after experiencing astonishingly rapid growth and increasing positive public attention, we began facing pressure from our municipality who expressed concerns that we were operating in a building that did not meet the rigorous seismic, fire and structural building code regulations of 2015. (In all likelihood, none of this would have mattered if we had remained an insignificant produce outlet with a few regular customers from around the neighbourhood.) Shortly, thereafter, willing to be in full compliance, we provided city council with a timeline and a course of action that would see us moved into a new market by the fall of 2016 (a reasonable date considering the scope and size of our anticipated new market). Not fast enough, unfortunately, for city council who gave us until October 2015 in consideration of the growing season to move into a conforming building so that public safety wouldn’t be compromised. Upgrading our current building, needless to say, would have incurred unjustifiably high costs so we moved forward as rapidly as possible by hiring a design team and securing the necessary financing for new construction. Closing down temporarily, would clearly be detrimental to our success so we completely disregarded that option. While we are exploring other temporary measures, The Local Harvest Market will continue to serve quality homegrown foods to this community despite continued political pressure and high fines.

To date, we have provided our community with hundreds of thousands of pounds of quality, fresh produce from our farm including greens, beans, root vegetables, tomatoes and lots more and we’ve only gotten started. Throughout the year we employ dozens of men and women and students who live in our great city. We’ve supported numerous local farmers, local food enterprises and brought community together through workshops, farm events, school tours and more. We’ve succeeded in bringing food to your table year-round that is free of pesticides, herbicide and chemical fertilizers with minimal reliance on fossil fuels. We use regenerative farming methods that add value to our precious farm land. We continue to provide local restaurants with quality ingredients enabling money to cycle endlessly around this community. Further, we’ve provided charity with thousands of pounds of food that have reached the homeless and less privileged.

As it stands, construction is due to begin in just over one month and we’re incredibly excited as we continue to work hard in accomplishing our mission to create a local food system where every citizen of our city has access to quality food year-round.”