photos and story by Janis Jean –
I returned to Bullock Lake Farm, one of Salt Spring Island’s many hidden gems, for my second mid-summer workshop focusing on Farm to Table food photography. The workshop, taught by the talented women behind the Eat Creative team, is intended to inspire a photographic story that connects people, and the food on their table, to their local farmer. For three magical days we dug into local farming practises and developed a deeper appreciation for local organic food production, the importance of family farms and reliance on community connections.
Zack and Molly Wilson, owners of the 24-acre Bullock Lake Farm, run a Community Supported Agriculture program. CSA is a farming practise where local families buy a share of the farm’s harvest early in the growing season. In exchange, CSA members receive produce (including flowers) all season long. Zack provides insight into the benefits: “part of the idea of CSA is that members share in both the rewards and the risks of farming – some seasons are very bountiful; other years there are disappointments. We may lose our tomatoes to disease, or have rabbits mow down our peas. It doesn’t happen often, but the CSA model is designed to help farms shoulder losses. And, of course, you’ll share our successes, too – extra beans for canning, or all the cucumbers you can eat!”
On our last evening of the workshop, we gathered together just outside the barn on farm tables beautifully adorned with Molly’s flowers. We shared our own stories and workshop discoveries while enjoying a delicious locally sourced meal and sharing many, many laughs. I miss it already.
