Organic Oasis Farm Store opened in June 2001. However, the “Oasis”part actually began evolving many years before. Our family’s farming operation started in 1971 as a small, mixed farm. We soon became full-time dairy farmers milking purebred Holsteins. In 1985, upon realizing the potential hazards to the health of our family, animals and the environment, we discontinued all use of chemical fertilizers and sprays.Our 100 acre farm became ‘Certified Organic‘ in 1993 and soon after that, our livestock as well. In 1991 we bought the adjoining 100 acre farm which is now the home of Organic Oasis Farm Store. We then had 200 acres of good farm land to nurture with the best, healthiest practices in order to produce good nutritious food for our family and animals.
With 5 energetic children helping out on the farm, an abundance of good food was also needed. Our ever-enlarging garden was always a plentiful source of fresh, nutrient rich, organic vegetables.
Through extensive reforestation, our farms have become home to many different types of birds and animals. With contented cows grazing on the hillside, happy chickens pecking through the grass, birds singing their joyful songs and vegetables ripening to perfection in the garden, we felt sure we had our own little “Organic Oasis!”
While working on an urban gardening project in 1996 Alvaro Venturelli & Melanie Golba came up with the wild idea of starting their own organic CSA farm! They convinced Alvaro’s brother Rodrigo to join in and and in the spring of 1997 Plan B Organic Farms was born! We thought the name “plan b” really conveyed our intention of providing our community with an “alternative” food source to foods produced through “conventional agriculture” aka plan a. In 1998 we moved to our beautiful 50 acre sandy and rocky piece of land in Flamborough Ontario. The first 5 years we worked the land by hand, symptoms learned that there was a lot to learn about growing vegetables, sick but with the support of family and the local community we made it work. We continue this work still with this mission in mind:
• Grow delicious, price high quality vegetables, herbs, and fruits using certified organic farming methods that are in harmony with our environment.
• Provide freshly harvested, certified organic produce at affordable prices to local households.
• Work in partnership with other local organic farmers to reliably provide our shareholders with the variety of crops that our region offers.
• Create a place where our community can come to learn about organic farming, the source of our food, and the natural cycles of our bioregion.
Ontario’s leading natural organic food distributor.