Home / Disasters and Accidents / Farm Fire Loss Fuels Community Food Project
Farm Fire Loss Fuels Community Food Project
17 Aug
Summary
- A farmer lost his home and farm buildings to a wildfire.
- A chef and farmer partnered to create a sauce project.
- Sauce sales fund wildfire-affected farmers and their crops.
Thomas Tumbach, a farmer in B.C.'s Garnet Valley for over two decades, experienced the devastating loss of his home and farm buildings to the Bald Range wildfire. Despite his personal losses, Tumbach collaborated with chef Ned Bell on the Summerland Sauce Project to support local agricultural producers impacted by the fires.
The initiative aims to mitigate food waste and provide financial aid. Chef Bell is creating sauces from produce that farmers could not sell due to the wildfire and evacuation orders. The first product, Ned's Ratatouille, will be frozen and sold locally, with proceeds distributed to affected farmers whose crops were destroyed or damaged.
Bell emphasized the need for such projects to support the farming community in the B.C. Interior, which has faced significant challenges from recent wildfires and climate change. He noted that these fires pose an ongoing threat, necessitating proactive measures to protect and sustain local agriculture for future seasons.
