Online Farm Map for Vancouver Island’s 100-Mile Diet

The 100-mile diet on Vancouver Island has just become more accessible. The online Vancouver Island Farms & Food Map offers a way to find hundreds of farms and fresh local foods in Victoria, Vancouver Island, Salt Spring Island and Gabriola Island.

Local Food on Vancouver Island

A lot has changed since Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon, authors of The 100 Mile Diet, tried their one-year experiment of eating foods produced within a 100-mile radius of their Vancouver home. Their eat-local challenge galvanized the Canadian local food movement. In the past ten years, “sustainability” and “local foods” have become household words.

The Vancouver Island Farms & Food Map is a searchable guide to farms and local food from the major farming regions in and around Vancouver Island.

Nowhere has the 100-mile diet been taken more to heart than on Vancouver Island. Farmers have used the mild maritime climate to push the boundaries of what will grow locally. New crops like citrus fruits, olives, regionally-adapted wheat, gluten-free grains, lentils and green tea now thrive on the Island. Products such as hand-harvested sea salt, edible oils, and fresh-milled flour are extending the range of locally-sourced foods.

Residents and visitors can find these regional foods on the online Vancouver Island Farms & Food Map, along with more typical local farm fare like u-pick berries, vegetables, nuts, meats, dairy, mushrooms and herbs. The map also includes an extensive list of local farm-produced specialty items such as honey, pickles, syrups, fermented foods, baked goods, juice, wine, distilled spirits and cider.

Guide to 16 Vancouver Island Farm Regions

BC Farms & Food created the interactive farm map to connect people with locally grown foods in 16 Vancouver Island regions: Victoria, the Saanich Peninsula, Metchosin, Sooke, Cowichan Valley, Cobble Hill, Salt Spring Island, Ladysmith & Cedar, Nanaimo, Gabriola Island, Parksville, Qualicum, Alberni Valley, Denman & Hornby Islands, Comox Valley, and Campbell River.

The north Salt Spring Island region of the Vancouver Island Farms & Food Map. Users can search for local farm products.

With it users can find farm stands, u-picks, CSA farm box programs and farmers markets. The map also guides visitors to farms that offer tours, workshops, wine tasting, earth-to-table restaurants, events and overnight farm stays.

The Vancouver Island Farms & Food Map is a resource for residents and tourists who want to locate Island farms and enjoy fresh local food. By pointing the way to explore the dynamic local food movement on the Islands, the Vancouver Island Farms & Food Map demonstrates that sustainable farming is not only a dream, but an achievable reality.

In addition to The Vancouver Island Farms & Food Map, people can also use The Vancouver Island Farms A-Z Directory and the Guide to Farmers Markets to source local fresh foods.