Tea Creek Farms in Kitwanga has been awarded a $1 million grant from United Way B.C.’s Large Food Infrastructure Grant to help address food insecurity in the Skeena Valley. The funding will support the creation of a 4,000 square-foot longhouse, which will serve as both a food hub and a training centre. This initiative is part of a larger effort to promote food sovereignty and economic self-sufficiency through Indigenous-led development.
The longhouse will provide space for workshops on food production, preservation, and economic empowerment, as well as serve as a regional hub for food coordination and emergency preparedness. Tea Creek Farms, which already hosts workshops on farming, wild harvesting, and nutrition, currently lacks the indoor space to expand its programs, limiting the number of participants they can accept.
Jacob Beaton, co-owner of Tea Creek, shared that the longhouse project has been a dream since the beginning, with elders and chiefs emphasizing the need for such a space. The $2.5 million project is still short $1 million, which Tea Creek plans to cover with in-kind support.
This project is part of a broader provincial effort to support regional food hubs in Northern B.C. and address food access challenges in underserved communities.
