Our Vision
A thriving and resilient local food system in Golden and Area A.
Mission
Vision
Values
We work to
1) support local food producers
2) increase access to local food
3) educate & empower the community on issues of food security.
A thriving and resilient local food system in Golden and Area A.
We honour Mother Earth whose nourishment sustains all life.
We value healthy and regenerative soils.
We value the importance of food for our ability to thrive
We acknowledge that equity & accessibility are imperative to a sustainable food system.
We strive to be a catalyst for collective action towards building a resilient local food system.
We believe a collective approach is the key to community resilience.
We prioritize empowerment through learning & sharing
We value inclusivity, authenticity & professionalism in our work
Meet Our Team
Laura Baer - President
“I want to help tell the story of where our food comes from, so we can sustain a better relationship with the soil and planet which we rely upon!”
I was born and raised on an organic and ecological farm in a very agricultural community. Local food was a large part of my upbringing and I learned from a young age what is involved in producing, processing and cooking your own food. During the year of 2020, I really dove into the art and science of composting and building biologically active soil on my family farm. I love to talk about soil and compost as it is the most important resource in securing our food consumption as we move forward into a critical time of changes on our earth. I love to grow my own food and I also love to cook and talk about food. In my role as president, I want to help build a culture of food where people feel empowered to sell and buy local food and it is an integral part of our commerce. I also hope that we can help build food security, access to nutritious and affordable food into the fabric of our community. Overall, its my mission to educate and inspire our community about the local food in our home here in the Columbia valley.
Karen Temple-Beamish - Director
“I use the garden as a lens for my students to learn how they personally could change the world by caring for the soil, water, plants and animals in the garden ecosystem.”
As an environmental science teacher for 28 years, I am skilled in the science of food growing, the facilitation and delivery of curriculum as well as networking and problem solving. My goal as an educator is to teach and learn about the connection between where our food comes from and environmental health which ultimately led me to creating a school and community teaching garden that helped produce food and educate the community about sustainable farming practices. My projects have included a director role for the Desert Oasis Teaching garden in Albuquerque. Using both new and ancient technologies to successfully grow food in a desert system with little soil and water our team was successful in growing a strong food system at the school I worked for as well as in the educational outreach to the greater community. I applied to be a member of the LFM board because I believe that Local Food Matters focuses on sustainable food systems and how to make the world a better place for all who eat and live on this planet. By joining LFM, I hope to share my experiences and knowledge and help build community whether that be by helping facilitate gardening workshops in conjunction with my role as the Education Coordinator with the Golden Food Bank or developing my knowledge of plant-based cooking to make our food literacy and repertoire more diverse and inclusive.
Elizabeth Lavin - Secretary / Social Media
“I found myself moving towards advocacy for food justice the more I worked towards my own personal food security, which brought me to LFM.”
I first arrived in Golden from the UK in Jan 2017 when I was invited to WWOOF on a ranch in the Blaeberry for a year. In 2018 I moved to Wolfville, Nova Scotia where I worked on an organic multi-generational farm and vineyard. From there I fell in love with regenerative agriculture practices and the ubiquitous farm/wharf-to-table culture of the East Coast.
After returning to BC in 2019 with my new-found love for gardening and growing, food sustainability paired well with my passion for social justice. I work as Program Coordinator the Golden Food Bank, a component of which is running the Communal Garden program; supporting food literacy and homegrown education programs in our community. I support LFM’s stance on equitable access to local food for our community. In my own time I’m an avid angler, forager, and rookie hunter with a passion for conservation. Inspired by the Crofting culture of Scotland, I’m currently building a smallholding on my rental property but dream of a hobby farm of my own one day.
Will Cunningham - Director
“I am a foodie, farmer, gardener, mentor, guerilla gardener, promoter of sustainable food resources and a damn good cook!”
I was raised on a small mixed farm in the central interior of BC and am still a farm boy at heart. I’m a passionate gardener, seed saver and food producer for the last 58 years and currently have a mushroom farm supplying the local areas. As 2023 chair of the Golden Farmers Market, I have broad community ties and I am still committed to teaching/ facilitating/educating as a part of Local Food Matters. Only through these avenues can we evolve to the best "WE", we can be.
I saw a real need for a more experienced director with more life experiences within our area. I have a long history in Golden and get along with folks well here. I have some unconventional ideas that seem to work, such as Guerrilla gardening for one, growing mushrooms, The Seed Swap etc.
I’ve been hungry from lack of food when I was young. I’ve also had times of plenty. In my life I’ve learned that plenty comes from diversification. The Irish Potato Famine came about as a result of a non-diversified food source which disaster struck causing widespread hunger and starvation. Diversifying local food production in conjunction with diverse and innovative production techniques, will ensure food plenty Locally in these times of ever-changing climate and the ever increasing uncertainty of the quality of the global food supply. Change comes through need, and being hungry is a real a tangible need that inspires change! Demonstration and education are key to inspire change. Once food production is at “plenty” status, storage and ‘supply chain” issues locally, are ones to look forward to. We CAN do this locally!
Chrystel Vultier - Executive Director
“I believe that substantial change in our relationship to food - what we eat, where it comes from, how it’s grown, and how it gets to us - is a foundational piece of a human future on this planet”
Hailing from the other side of the Rocky Mountains in Canmore AB, I have been developing grassroots community food solutions for around a decade. I am a passionate local food advocate, community builder and changemaker. I was the co-founder of Farm Box a community food hub, local & organic home delivery service, and regional network connecting the communities of Canmore, Banff & Cochrane to local farmers and seasonal food. I was also involved in the founding of the Canmore Community Garden, and Alpine Edible Schoolyards, a non- profit hybrid school garden & urban farm initiative. Now located in the Blaeberry Valley I am an avid gardener and homesteader increasing our food producing capacity every year.
Rosanna Nicol - Director
“I’m hoping to meet like-minded people who are keen to contribute and make improvements to our community.”
I’m passionate about the local economy and working on climate change as well as making improvements to food justice issues and having more fun together as we increase our local food production and consumption. I joined this board because as a new mom and being new to Golden, I’m hoping to gain a sense of purpose and optimism as we contribute to tangible improvements towards food security in our community. To me this means, access to nourishing food and our food systems working in sustainable, ecologically and economically functional ways. I’m confident that from my experience working in organizational management in the private and public sector as well as volunteer/student initiatives in the refugee space for universities that I bring efficiency, governance knowledge, decision-making skills and curiosity to the non-profit/ Local Food Matters space. Beyond my business acumen, I had the awesome opportunity to be a part of the food growing and farmers’ market scene in Yellowknife and the Ottawa region as a grower and a seller. I’m hoping that with this position, we will have fun gardening and this will be a space where I can explore animal husbandry, hunting and foraging together, skills building, relationship building, and eating tasty food from recipes learned together using the abundance of garden and orchard produce.
Diana Taufer - Treasurer
“I joined LFM to be of service to my community while supporting and learning from others with similar passions. ”
While traveling in Central America I had the opportunity to learn about permaculture and regenerative agriculture. That led me to realize how we have a false sense of security in our current food model and how important it is to shift our paradigm and start on local levels. I believe that a lot of the world's problems can be solved by growing food in your own backyard!
I pursued a life where I could integrate these regenerative practices in order to live more harmonious with the land. I moved to Golden where I quickly got involved in the community through volunteering, fruit tree gleaning and community garden.
I continued my education at O.U.R Ecovillage where I completed the Master Organic Gardener program. I learned all about organic horticulture, relationships with our ecosystems, and soil health.
I now live south of Golden, with my husband and 2 boys on a permaculture inspired homestead where I grow fruit and veggies. We raise ducks, laying hens and meat chickens. I enjoy preserving with canning, dehydrating, and freezing. I love knowing where my food comes from and growing it myself is even better!
Lindsay Mitchell - Director
“I joined LFM as a way to contribute my skills to the community that is raising my children and I look forward to bringing my experience, strategic planning skills and systems thinking in support of a thriving local food production system in Golden.”
My first awakening to the flaw of our conventional global food system was during my time spent working in Ghana. Walking through local food markets flooded with rotting tomatoes during the high season while everyone then consumed canned tomatoes imported from Italy the remainder of the year struck me as fundamentally wrong. Later as the ED of a non-profit focused on serving First Nations Youth I learned about the depth of the connection between people and the land on which we live and play, and food is often at the core of this relationship. Nutritious and healthy food has become an important tool to navigate some family health issues and there is much evidence about the dwindling nutritional content in commercially grown food products. For these reasons and more, I believe local food production is essential for the future of food for health, well-being, community development and even affordability.
Our family found our way to Golden in 2021 in an attempt to live a passionate life while raising children in a small community grounded in nature and the outdoors. I love helping my two girls feel connected and passionate about food in all aspects; growing, cooking and eating!
Dan Geddes - Director
“If we can provide our community with nutrient dense, biodiverse and accessible food, then we have the potential to pursue our greatest imaginations”
I'm drawn to the concept of local food security for its essential nature. Creating resilient systems for basic needs is crucial for success. Access to healthy food in our community means more time to enjoy natural landscapes. I engage with food systems from a teaching perspective and am increasingly involved as a producer through my business, Dirtbag Climbing Corp. Our mission combines food security and sport for wellbeing. I prioritize youth programs and advocate for their inclusion in decision-making.
I'm currently involved with the Kicking Horse Country Chamber of Commerce, the Golden Food Bank's 'Leadership Round Table,' the Golden Regional Youth Network Advisory Committee, the Farmer’s Market Advisory Committee, and the annual Seed Swap. Joining the Local Food Matters board was a natural progression from previous boards I've been part of. What I hope to gain is the communal benefit of functional changes in the way that our community operates.