Heather Pritchard

Heather Pritchard

Executive Director

Heather is not new to big innovative ideas. In the early 80’s when she co-founded Folk on the Rocks music festival, bringing together musicians from the far-flung communities in the Northwest Territories, she did so to demonstrate how a racially divided community could unite around music. In 1985, she co-founded an agricultural business on Fraser Common Farm and is recognized as creating the first commercially grown mixed green salad in Canada. In 2006 the company became a coop, Glorious Organics, and since then Heather has been an advocate of “shared farming on shared land”.

As a founding member of FarmFolk CityFolk, her work, over the past 27 years, includes coordinating the BC region of the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, partnering with Young Agrarians, and supporting the development of Community Farm Cooperatives. She is a founding member of Vancouver Food Policy Council and the BC Food Systems Network and is the current Chair of Slow Food in Canada.

In 2015, Heather was given the Brad Reid Memorial Award for her outstanding contribution to the organic sector in British Columbia. On January 1, 2018, Heather left FarmFolk CityFolk to work full time for the Foodlands Cooperative of BC.

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Senior's Hall

UNLOCKING FARMLAND ACCESS

As farmland becomes increasingly tied to the rising prices of speculative markets, accessibility for food producers continues to slip further out of reach. The implications for regional food security are profound, making this issue a pressing concern for our panelists, who have long been engaged in this conversation. Drawing on their firsthand knowledge, experience, and insights, this panel will explore a range of innovative approaches to farmland access—highlighting their strengths, limitations, and the work to be done to ensure the future of farms and farmers.

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Seniors Hall (across parking lot)

UNLOCKING FARMLAND ACCESS : CREATIVE PATHWAYS TO SECURING FARMLAND

As farmland becomes increasingly tied to the rising prices of speculative markets, accessibility for food producers continues to slip further out of reach. The implications for regional food security are profound, making this issue a pressing concern for our panelists, who have long been engaged in this conversation. Drawing on their firsthand knowledge, experience, and insights, this panel will explore a range of innovative approaches to farmland access—highlighting their strengths, limitations, and the work to be done to ensure the future of farms and farmers.