Located in Hillsburgh, Ontario, Bela Farm is a place where farmers, environmentalists, artists, and educators address environmental crises and share resources to form a unique, integrative farm.
10 years ago, Rochelle Rubinstein purchased 99 acres of organic farmland in Erin, Ontario. Rubinstein was committed to creating a space for the community to grow and engage with the land while offering landowners and farmers to work together.
Rubinstein named her farm Bela, in memory of her father. Previous owner and a lifelong cattle farmer, Fred Cox, stayed on to work on Bela Farm for another five years. With 60 years of organic matter from cattle, Bela’s soil was ready to be certified organic along with any produce grown in those rich fields.
Rubinstein watched Bela evolve into a sanctuary for people, plants, and pollinators drawn to this space of community, healing, and hope.
Everdale Community Farm (ECF) is a farm-based organization and registered charity, providing hands-on, solution-based food and farming education to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Over the past 4 years, ECF harvested 100,000 pounds of organic vegetables including carrots, Swiss chard, squash, potatoes, and onions, at Bela Farm to distribute to locals in need. This was accomplished through the Good Food Project, a partnership between ECF and The Seed, a not-for-profit food project of the Guelph Community Health Centre (GCHC)
This coalition of community organizations and individuals work to provide food with dignity for 20,000 people living with food insecurity in Guelph and Wellington counties.
On Fridays and Saturdays, Community Harvest Days gives everyone in the community a chance to pitch in, and that in turn, makes it possible to provide the food for free or at a minimal price.
ECF and The Seed aim to reach the goal of harvesting 100,000 lbs. of food for community members in need within this region.
“On paper, the relationship would look like a standard land rental agreement, but Rochelle [Rubinstein] is far more supportive than that,” says David Alexander, Farm Programs Coordinator at ECF.
“She is engaged in helping in the fields and promoting our work. Always asking how she can help and is there anything else we need to make our work more impactful. We are very fortunate.”