The Apple Barn & Windmill Garden Centre

We are lucky enough to have The Apple Barn just a block away. It's run by Billy & Shauna Boerboom, who also own the Windmill Garden Centre down the street. I believe most of the business is wholesale but on Saturdays throughout the later fall and part of winter we can walk over and pick up our apples for the week. Here's my favorite part - payment on the HONOUR SYSTEM. I love this little town. Other fruits and vegetables show up on occasion and we often snap them up. I almost want to keep this a secret but Billy's got the best Ambrosia apples.


The Windmill Garden Centre opens in spring and closes by early July. They've got a great selection of annuals, particularly flowers. They do also grow vegetables though and I ended up getting most of what I wanted there. By the end of their season that honour system shows up again and they use it to clear out remaining stock, putting the proceeds towards Agur Lake Camp.


Community Garden Plots
If anyone wants to grow some of their own food but doesn't have the space, plots can be rented seasonally in the Windmill community garden. I don't know the cost right now but will post it when I do.



Billy& Shauna Boerboom
Windmill Garden Centre
9100 Jones Flat Road (Apple Barn & garden plots are a little East of this)
(250) 494-3178

Tom's Deli

I think the official name is "Tom's Deli and Seafood", I'll have to check next time I walk past. (eds. note - "Summerland Meat and Seafood was the offical sign title). Vegetarians can scoot on over to the tasty cheese display and bypass the meat counter. Or bypass this post altogether. I am aware that it's not hip to be a meat eater these days (yes, I know the arguments for being vegetarian/vegan), but a lot of people are still doing it so we might as well do it a better way. Why do organic meat & dairy seem to be slower to catch on than fruit and vegetables?

I'm a sucker for any place that's family run and/or employs very few people. I can walk in to the deli and know that any one of three people will be there and all of them can answer any question I might come up with. I think it's getting rather rare to be able to talk to the butcher and have him/her not only know how best to cook it but also where it came from and what the animal was fed. They make all of their own sausage and it's free of fillers and nasty stuff (I believe that means it is gluten free as well but double check if it's an issue).

I like the option to try different meats although I tend to stick to my favorites - the bison pork sausages for the bbq and the Summerland City Sausage for wine and cheese picnics. We have also ordered both pork tenderloin and turkey for special occasions with great results.

Yes, it costs a fair bit more than what you find in a grocery store. It's a choice I'm glad to have if I'm going to eat meat.


Tom's Deli
9917 Main St.
494-2296

update: The deli is moving to Trout Creek beside the gas station as of early March and they've changed the name to "Paradise Meats & Market".

Little Creek Dressing

This one isn't from Summerland but it's really, really good. Little Creek Dressings are made from produce grown either on the owner's organic farm near Kelowna or obtained from local farmers. The "Original" dressing is by far my favorite these days. Not that greens are easy to come by, I miss the fresh lettuce.

Green Hills Organic Farm

Green Hills is run by organic farmer Joe Bienz. We buy our vegetables from him whenever possible at both the Summerland and Penticton farmer's markets. When he has fruit available we take advantage of that too. The raspberries are fantastic. I appreciate his quiet manner and good advice. If we were a little more proactive I'm pretty sure we could contact him directly and avoid the crapshoot of the markets. We don't tend to get out early and miss a lot of good stuff.

Certified Organic products: Assorted ground crops, assorted tree fruit, berries, forage

The Certified Organic Association of BC has a site that you can search for organic farmers in your region.

GreenHills Organic Farm 15815 Denike St Summerland, BC V0H 1Z8
Phone: (250) 494-8496 Email: jbienz@img.net

Purpose

This is a place to record all of my favorite locally sourced food & drink items. I hope that other Summerlanders will find it, take advantage of it and contribute their favorite places through comments or emails.