Now well into its sixth year, the Wildsight Local Store continues to support small-scale farmers and food producers in British Columbia and Alberta.

In doing so, Local aims to strengthen the food culture and resiliency of the food network in its community.

A social enterprise project of the non-profit Wildsight Elk Valley, Local has continued to increase year-round access to locally-grown food and create low-barrier entry for small producers to get their products to market.

In 2025, Local offered over 120 different types of fresh produce, and partnered with 98 Canadian businesses–numbers that have increased year over year since its inception. From staple items like eggs, freshly baked bread, and ground beef, to prepared foods like lasagnas, soups, and specialty preserves, Local is actively focusing on diversifying its shelves.

Wildsight Elk Valley has published Local’s fifth annual Impact Report, highlighting the store’s achievements of 2025. Local has now paid over $1.5 million to small-scale farms and food producers since opening its doors in 2020, with over 70% of that money staying in the Columbia Basin. This includes local partners in the Elk Valley, and neighbours in Kimberley, Cranbrook, Creston and the Columbia Valley.

Over the past year it has been increasingly apparent that communities must continue to invest in Canadian-produced products and supply chains, as global partnerships can change rapidly and drastically. Local has been creating relationships with Canadian businesses for the past five years and will continue to do so.

The store is grateful to share that once again, their monthly customer base has increased year over year. On average, over 1,200 patrons walked through the doors every month in 2025, demonstrating a strong demand for local food.

Local also has its own community fundraising initiative that aligns with its mission. In its fifth year of operation, Local raised over $13,650 for Feed the Need.

This incredible program uses donated funds to disperse Local Store gift cards to low-income households in the Elk Valley, in partnership with the Fernie Women’s Resource Centre. Feed the Need works two-fold in enabling community members facing food insecurity to purchase fresh and nutritious local food, while also supporting Canadian businesses.

Donations to Feed the Need can be made at the till at Local, or online at www.wildsight.ca/feedtheneed. Tax receipts are available for online donations.

In the same year, Local also secured $7,500 of grant funding to supply senior caregivers in the community with Local gift cards. A recipient of the program commented, “We are finding food so expensive these days…it was such a treat to buy fresh and locally-produced product.”

Others commended the variety the gift card added to their diet. As a social enterprise, Local is always looking for ways to improve accessibility to community-powered local food.

Wildsight Elk Valley and Local staff would like to thank all of their dedicated vendors, volunteers, Feed the Need donors, and customers. All together they create a network of people working toward a thriving and resilient local food system–which is what it’s all about.

If you have yet to get involved, find out more online or stop by to visit them in the store in downtown Fernie.

Wildsight

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