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the Stir

Empowering local people to access, grow, create, and market local food.

The Stir is the food hub for the Kamloops region, providing facility rentals, business mentorship and support to help local food entrepreneurs reach a wider market than they would otherwise be able to break into. 

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A project of the Kamloops Food Policy Council and member of the BC Food Hub Network, The Stir is much more than a building. Our food hub is a network of shared kitchen facilities, support, and resources spread out across Kamloops and the surrounding region. Acting like a mycelium - a network of microscopic strands connecting mushrooms and the surrounding ecosystem - we work collaboratively to connect and strengthen our regional food system.

 

The Stir Phase One:

In phase one of our food hub we helped fund the new Gardengate Training Centre with a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen shared between Stir Makers and Gardengate’s horticultural therapy program. We also supported the Kweseltken Kitchen, a mobile food processing trailer that services rural indigenous communities.

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The Stir Phase Two:

The Stir is the second phase of the Kamloops food hub project. Located at 185 Royal Avenue in the heart of the North Shore, The Stir has two areas of focus: its Stirfront community spaces and a full-scale food processing facility, The Stir Kitchen. 

 

The Stir Kitchen focuses on food preservation methods, such as canning and dehydration. Our facilities can help a small-scale sauce producer scale-up their business from a few dozen jars per day to over 1000 jars per day, giving them more time to work on their business, rather than in it. For more details on what our kitchen offers, check out our Stir Maker page.

 

​The Stir also provides ample opportunities for community connections around food, with its Stirfront. Located right off the bustling Tranquille Market Corridor, it's easy to attend workshops, peruse our seed library, or pick up CSA boxes and meat orders in our Stirfront space. Whether enjoying our beautiful public parklet, or attending community food-based events at our riverfront courtyard, The Stir brings our community together over the sharing of good food!

 

The Stir Phase Three:

In phase three, The Stir is strengthening our local food system by increasing our capacity for both local food processing and local food aggregation and distribution. The better we are able to feed ourselves from our own backyard, the more resilient our community will be in the face of global uncertainty and climate crises.

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We have secured funding in partnership with a local Indigenous fishery cooperative, Authentic Indigenous Seafood, to improve The Stir warehouse, and have constructed a large-scale walk-in freezer and dry warehouse storage. This partnership also includes ground transportation to distribute Kamloops-made products from our Stir Makers to various locations in BC. 

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Phase three expands the use of our Stirfront space for food retail pop-ups, promotional events, and as a pickup location for online orders and third party vendors.

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In order to implement our local food distribution system, we hired a full-time Distribution Manager in the spring of 2023. 

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Interested in what we do? Become a mushroom supporter to help us build a resilient local food system. â€‹

OUR TEAM

Working collaboratively to build a resilient and empowered local food system.

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KENT FAWCETT

food hub manager

Kent Fawcett is the Food Hub Manager and face behind The Stir. He is a highly skilled food entrepreneur and founder of the award-winning food processing company Local Pulse. He’s here to help local food businesses and up-and-coming food entrepreneurs along their journey using his own path as a guide.

 

Food is a labour of love for Kent. Passionate about food and sustainability, he thoroughly enjoys working with prospective food entrepreneurs at The Stir to turn their dream products into a “made in Kamloops” reality

Contact

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Lindsay HARRIS

food policy implementation lead

Lindsay Harris is the KFPC’s Food Policy Implementation Lead. Passionate about growing our local food economy in a just and equitable way, Lindsay has a PhD focused on participatory research in the Kamloops food system and a background in community economic development. In her role at the KFPC and The Stir, Lindsay facilitates collaborative efforts to grow the agriculture sector in our region.

 

Lindsay is excited about working with local producers and community partners to find creative solutions to get more local food on our shelves year-round.

Contact

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jess payette

stirfront coordinator

Jess is our Stirfront Coordinator, helping us plan and co-create community development around food. She has a BA from Thompson Rivers University and is working on her post graduate certificate in Instructional Design.

Jess is excited to help bring the Stirfront to life and connect with our community through events, workshops, and other food initiatives!

Contact

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JAMES MAINE

distribution manager

James Maine is our Distribution Manager.  He is a food systems professional with a background in remote supply chain design and implementation, culinary arts, and sustainable tourism.  

James is dedicated to the ideology of food and food equity as a core building block for the foundation of community and culture.  He is keen to contribute to the ongoing history and objectives of food evolution and security with the Kamloops Food Policy Council.  

Contact

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Mary blando

kitchen coordinator

Mary discovered the KFPC while searching for a shared kitchen space to craft her artisanal ice cream that features local fruits. With a background in holistic nutrition, Mary felt it was nourishing to be a part of an organization dedicated to transforming food systems to create a healthier and more sustainable future.

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As the kitchen coordinator, Mary is dedicated to maintaining a clean, safe, and productive kitchen environment. Her own entrepreneurial experience helps her mentor and support other Stir Makers on their own business journeys.

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In her free time, Mary enjoys creating unique ice cream flavours and selling them at the Kamloops Farmers’ Market.

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