Be the change in your world, in your town.
Invest in local farmers & food producers. Investing in the Farm gets their products to market. We represent local & bc farmers & small producers.
Our Vision - Slow down. Go back a generation to a simpler time. When you knew your milkman, your butcher, your baker & your farmer. They were your neighbours. Welcome to On the Farm- bringing back the relationship between you & your food producers.
My
name is Natalie Pereman. I am the owner of On the Farm Country Market in
Squamish BC Canada. I am born and raised here is town. On the Farm Country
Market opened in 2012. We offer a full service garden centre, fresh cut flowers, locally produced organic fruit and veg as well as dairy, bread & pantry items. We also carry farm feed and supplements
Squamish
is a town of 16,000 people, of which 60% of population is under 40 years old. It is a seaside community nestled half way in between the city of Vancouver and
the world renowned Whistler Ski Resort. Squamish is the Outdoor Recreation
Capital of Canada, home to young families and outdoor enthusiasts.
I
am looking for $50,000 to expand my existing shop to offer a full line of locally
grown and produced grocery items plus weekly home delivery.
Money
raised will be used to do minor upgrades to the building, purchase and install
display coolers and invest in inventory.
History-
first started negotiating to purchase property in late 2010, started rezoning
the property in 2011, rezoned in early 2012.
Has
been a garden shop for over 35 yrs, we re-opened the garden shop in April 2012. We
re-zoned the property to be able to have a country market & garden centre
but also 11 Boutique retail shops, 4 food trucks, playground, gazebo, picnic
tables and green space & mountain bike wash station. Construction for these buildings
was in 2012 and in spring of 2013 all of the above opened.
We
have created a community gathering place, of which Squamish was in need of, new
shops include: Cloudburst Café, Woop Woop Accessories, Stock Home home décor,
Devlin Salon & Barber, Black Tusk Beef Jerky, Toy Corral, Royal LePage
Black Tusk Realty, the Little Sweet Shop, Angelware Designs Bead Store, One
Small Room Childrens Clothes and food trucks- Locavore & Picante.
At
my shop On the Farm Country Market we are fostering and nurturing local famers
and food producers. We sell their products 7 days a week all year long, not
just once a week at the farmers market. Many more people want to start small
farms but have not seen a way to get their product out to market until now. We
can facilitate this.
We
noticed in the summer with our locally sourced fruit & veg that there is a
huge demand for locally produced food. People want to know and learn where
their food comes from. People want real food and we are bringing it to them.
They want it all and that is why I need you!
I
am just a regular person like you, working hard & raising a family. I am
running a small business of 10 staff, that has seen success despite being a new
business. I need to expand to truly flourish but do not have the capital to do
it like so many small businesses.
I
have done this project with no partners or investors, I am the sole owner of
the property and my shop On the Farm Country Market. Having said that this
property is a testament to small town passion and commitment. The support from
my community has been overwhelming, from words of encouragement, donation of
time, ideas and historical pieces to supporting all of the shops in our
development. It is heartwarming to know that people bring friends and family to
On the Farm when they are visiting from out of town. We are the place people
come for a coffee or lunch and hang out and visit. This is where I came to get
my pumpkins and Christmas trees as a child and we have created that again but
with even more to remember. We host community events here, fundraisers and
group excursions come here as a meeting or rest stop.
My
vision is almost complete. After more than 3 years of dreaming and 2 years of
building we have come to the final stage- getting my shop fully expanded and
open.
Our
community is full of health conscious folks who are looking for local,
responsibly grown food. Before we launched our fruit and veg shop this summer
the only way to get local was at our amazing weekly farmers market. We do not
have Whole Foods, Kin’s Market or local butcher. By completing the final phase
of my shop, On the Farm Country Market, we will be making available local fruit
& veg, locally raised meats, local dairy & eggs, locally created baked
goods and a full line of organic pantry items. We are also launching our weekly
grocery delivery service. The community has been waiting almost 2 years for
this store to open. Not a day goes by that we don’t have at least 3 different
people walk in the shop asking for meat or dairy!
As
one can imagine it is not easy to finance any business today with the state of
global finances. For me a 35 year old widow with 2 small children it is very challenging.
I have had to be very creative with funding to get this far and I am on the
last leg to get complete. The money raised by this campaign will help complete
the project, it will enable us to get the finish line. With your help we will
be selling free range organic turkeys for Christmas!