Expanding Our Impact
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fair Finance Fund Expands to British Columbia and Announces First Investment in Regional Food Infrastructure
[25 June 2026] — In partnership with Young Agrarians, Fair Finance Fund is excited to bring accessible, impact-driven financing for food and farming enterprises to British Columbia. As part of this expansion, the Fund is also announcing its first investment in the province: participation in the LocalMotive Food Innovation & Distribution Hub in Summerland, BC.
Established in 2019, Fair Finance Fund is a social finance organization dedicated to supporting food and farm businesses with strong environmental, social, and community values. To date, the Fund has invested more than $6.2 million in 70 enterprises operating across the food and farm value chain. For more than five years, Fair Finance Fund has operated in Ontario, helping strengthen resilient local food systems, thriving community economies, and sustainable agricultural enterprises. In 2026, with financial support from Heart Lake Committed Capital, the Fund is expanding its impact to British Columbia.
"British Columbia is home to a vibrant community of farmers, food entrepreneurs, and local food advocates who are building resilient regional food systems," said Justin Abbiss, Executive Director of Fair Finance Fund. "We're excited to bring our financing model to the province and work alongside partners who share our commitment to strengthening local food economies."
First BC Investment Supports Regional Food Infrastructure
As part of its expansion into British Columbia, Fair Finance Fund has completed its first investment in the province through participation in the LocalMotive Food Innovation & Distribution Hub, a major food-system infrastructure project currently under development in Summerland, BC.
Led by Canadian FarmCraft Corp. and LocalMotive founder Thomas Tumbach, the Hub is being developed to provide food processing, cold storage, warehousing, distribution, shared-use kitchen facilities, and value-added production capacity for farmers and food entrepreneurs throughout the South Okanagan and Similkameen regions.
The facility will be anchored by two key tenants: the LocalMotive Farmers Network Co-operative, which will occupy warehousing, cold storage, and distribution space, and the Okanagan Food Innovation Hub, a provincially supported food innovation program focused on food processing and shared-use production facilities.
"This investment reflects exactly the kind of impact we hope to achieve through our expansion into British Columbia," said Abbiss. "The LocalMotive Hub will strengthen regional food infrastructure, create opportunities for local producers and food entrepreneurs, and increase food-system resilience in a region that has experienced significant supply-chain disruptions in recent years."
The project represents a collaborative financing model involving public, private, and community capital, including support from the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC, Farm Credit Canada, Community Futures South Okanagan, and other aligned partners.
Meeting a Critical Financing Need
Fair Finance Fund is well-positioned to make a meaningful contribution to British Columbia's local food and farm sector. In Ontario, the Fund has demonstrated that patient, flexible, relationship-based financing can unlock growth for sustainable farms, food processors, co-operatives, and community-rooted enterprises that conventional lenders often underserve due to land tenure issues, scale, or non-traditional business models.
BC has a large farm base and a notably strong local-food orientation, with thousands of farms selling directly to consumers and many using farmers' markets and CSA channels — exactly where small, community-rooted enterprises tend to operate.
The need for accessible capital for British Columbian farmers is clear. According to the 2024 BC “New Entrants Needs Assessment” report, the top barriers to entry reported were all related to farm financing. Affordability of landownership (22%) was the most mentioned barrier, followed by a lack of access to capital, credit, or other sources of financing (11%), and a lack of grants for small farm businesses (11%).
What’s more, the Fund’s mission aligns with the BC government’s recent mission to “accelerate sustainable agriculture through the implementation of regenerative agricultural practices…to help prepare for and mitigate climate change to ensure a food secure BC.”
By bringing its proven lending approach to British Columbia, Fair Finance Fund aims to help strengthen local food businesses, enhance regional food infrastructure, and support enterprises that contribute to resilient, community-based food systems across the province.
Media Contact:
Rebecca Jacobs
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
rebecca@fairfinancefund.org
