Another instalment of the video series we’ve partnered with has launched! Produced by Fire and Light Media Group, “Meet Your Urban Farmer” is a series that takes an in-depth look at different urban farmers in greater Vancouver, bringing you a little bit closer to the food you eat!

Meet Seann Dory from Sole Food Farms in this 10th short film in our Meet your Urban Farmer series.

Seann J Dory is the Co-Director of Sole Food Farms. Before starting Sole Food, Seann was a project manager at United We Can a social enterprise creating employment opportunity for inner city residents through environmental enterprises. Seann is a founding member of the Young Agrarians, an initiative to recruit, promote and support young farmers in Canada.
Seann speaks regularly about food, sustainability and inner city development and has presented at the EAT Vancouver Festival and the Projecting Change Film Festival. Seann is a graduate of the Sustainable Community Development program at Simon Fraser University and a member of the National Farmers Union.

About Sole Food Farms:

Sole Food transforms vacant urban land into street farms that grow artisan quality fruits and vegetables, available at farmer’s markets, local restaurants and retail outlets.

Sole Food’s mission is to empower individuals with limited resources by providing jobs, agricultural training and inclusion in a supportive community of farmers and food lovers. Individuals are given basic agriculture training and are employed at the farm based on their capability.

Some participants excel in this environment, but the project is set up to allow for the “ups and downs” of people with multiple barriers. For some individuals, a weekly shift at Sole Food is one of the only meaningful engagements they hold. Unlike mainstream employers, Sole Food uses employment as an outreach tactic, working to build and nurture relationships with even the most challenging individuals.

We believe healthy food systems foster healthy communities. We envision a future where good food is accessible and grown sustainably, where farms thrive in an urban setting and where the community comes together to connect directly with their food and their neighbours.

Working under the guidance of farmer/author Michael Ableman, individuals are trained to install and manage small production farms on leased urban lots. Produce grown from the farms is washed, cooled, and consolidated at a central location, then sold to restaurants, at farmers markets and distributed to community organizations.

With few significant food production farms within the city, the project provides modeling and education opportunities to a population that has little connection to the natural world or to their food sources. The farm provides employees with a place to learn new skills and an opportunity for self-growth.

Sole Food now includes a network of farms throughout the city that are providing meaningful employment to 25 individuals who are dealing with drug addiction and mental illness. The farms are supplying fresh food to city residents, and presenting a successful credible model of high quality innovative agriculture within the urban context.

Visit Sole Food Farms here – solefoodfarms.com

If you’ve never had the opportunity to meet the wonderful array of passionate individuals behind the urban farming movement, and the wonderful food they grow for the community, stay tuned as we meet other urban farmers in the Vancouver Metro area. This will be an opportunity you won’t want to miss.

Support your local urban farmers (and local rural farmers of course), and know where your food comes from.
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