Our Story
Food 4 Life is more than just a market garden or farm; it is a way of life. We believe that fresh, nutritious and delicious food does not start on the supermarket shelf but begins in the soil. We are proud to be accredited Certified Organic and Regenerative Organic Certified™ by ECOCERT CANADA, and we grow healthy, flavourful garlic on our 6.25-acre farm in Fenwick, ON.
We are a small family farm that practices Regenerative Farming, also known as biological farming. This focuses on maintaining healthy soil so that plants can be grown and consumed in a way that not only sustains human health, but is also much kinder to the environment.
Regenerative farming is a simple, environmentally-friendly process that does not use pesticides or harmful chemicals. Instead, it relies on natural elements such as air, water, and sunshine. Carbon dioxide from the air is converted to simple sugars in the roots of plants by photosynthesis and water. These sugars are then consumed by microbes which produce a beneficial byproduct (their poop) that is absorbed by the plant. To maximize the benefits of this process, multiple cover crops are used at Food 4 Life Regenerative Farm. By using 35+ cover crops, the healthiest soil and crops are produced. Mother Nature certainly has her hand in this process!
Farming (gardening) is our passion, and we have been actively teaching agriculture students and garden enthusiasts from our local area and around the world. We strongly believe that it is essential to educate each new generation on the value of growing their own healthy food. Typically, we use hand tools, but when required, we also employ mechanized equipment such as farm tractors and walk-behind tractors.
​
From day one, we have been building our soil naturally by incorporating organic sources such as composted cow manure, chicken or fish fertilizer, blood or alfalfa meal. We have strived to create the perfect environment to attract beneficial insects, reptiles, amphibians, and birds to call our market garden home. To do this, we have been planting or allowing natural wildflowers such as buckwheat, clover, sow thistle, alfalfa, sunflower, chicory, and lemon balm to grow. Additionally, we have added wildflower seeds to our cover crop seeds mix in order to improve and increase bio-diversity for the soil microbes. We sow at least 35+ types of seeds when cover cropping our beds to ensure a flourishing ecosystem.
​
In 2018, we created a pond by following the natural contours of our land. This pond has become the natural habitat for frogs, dragonflies, birds & other beneficial insects.
