Food is a powerful connector. At Elk Root Conservation Farm Society (ERC), this idea is at the heart of a growing collaboration with the Circle of Indigenous Nations Society (COINS), which is helping to increase fresh local food access and strengthen community connections in the Kootenays.
In 2024, ERC launched its Community Food Box Program in collaboration with COINS as its first community partner to provide free, locally grown, nutritious food to Indigenous community members. And in 2025, ERC is continuing to partner with COINS and also expand the programs’ reach by also partnering with the Nelson Community Food Centre. ERC’s Community Food Box Program is rooted in relationships and built on the belief that connecting families with locally grown food is an opportunity to strengthen community connections with food, ceremony and environment.
What began as a small initiative has grown into a model for how food can nourish not only the body, but also relationships, knowledge, and tradition. Alongside the cost-free boxes, the Elk Root Conservation Team has also piloted a small revenue stream through five paid Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes, with all proceeds reinvested into Elk Root Conservation’s nonprofit farm operation. ERC is focused on modeling sustainable, regenerative food production while also offering food literacy and education programs. “We’re creating gardens and spaces that are respectful and provide opportunity for Indigenous communities to access native plants for food, medicine, and ceremony,” says Kate Mizenka of Elk Root Conservation.
The food box program has already made a visible impact. Community members are not only receiving fresh produce, but are also building a network of community support. At its core, the approach prioritizes relationships — with patience, passion, and care forming the foundation of the work. Elk Root Conservation is also developing a native plant education initiative to support Indigenous communities’ access to culturally important plants used for food, medicine, and ceremony.
Key funding to support the infrastructure component of Elk Root Conservation;s market garden expansion was through the Local Food Infrastructure Fund, which helped expand their production and build their regenerative gardens. “We officially received funding through various sources early on — little bits here and there that we were so grateful for,”. But what was the real catalyst was the Local Food Infrastructure Fund through the federal government,” says Kate. “Last year was our first year producing food in the market garden and greenhouse space and we produced over 5,000 kilograms of vegetables last year. In the next five to six years, we’re anticipating producing about 15,000 kilograms of fruits, nuts, vegetables, edible flowers — a whole bunch of things.”
Investing in the next generation is also a key part of ERC’s educational demonstration farm’s work. Elk Root Conservation has begun training and employing local youth, helping them become part of the farm’s long-term expansion model and building capacity for future food security projects.
The nuts and bolts of delivering perishable food directly to homes required a lot of energy and keen volunteers last season, by loading up cars with rubbermaid bins, bringing them to Castlegar and then delivering to doorsteps. After the first season it’s clear that the delivery portion of this program is a bottleneck to continued food distribution and that a refrigerated van would strengthen current operations and create capacity for future program growth, which will be the next step to expand and secure this program in the future.
“There was a level of connection that COINS staff were finding with families that were hard to reach, that was happening through the delivery of the food… We’re not just producing food. There’s connection to the land, connection to the water, connection to life,” says Kris Salikin, Executive Director of COINS.
By highlighting this initiative, Elk Root Conservation and COINS hope to inspire broader support for equitable food systems in the region. Their collaboration demonstrates how local food can support both well-being and relationships — and how farmers and community organizations can work together to drive meaningful change.
