Soul Bite Food is very special organization that we are so lucky to have in our Pomme community. You might recognize them from our aisles in the form of incredibly delicious vegan comfort foods based on recipes from Eastern Europe and the Middle East. But the story behind Soul Bite Food is as awesome as their creations. They began as a local Tri-Cities charity dedicated to fighting hunger and combating food waste, by redistributing viable food at risk of going to waste to families experiencing food insecurities. After five years of relying on volunteer hours and paying for various expenses out of pocket, they decided to create a social enterprise that would support their work. Using traditional recipes from their own families and communities, they developed their amazing retail line of appetizers, and the profits from these award winning products help them continue their incredibly important work. We’re really grateful co-founder Igor Bjelac found some time to answer our Meet The Maker interview questions this month.

From the UK to BC! Born in London, Parma Vik has had a really exciting and varied culinary career that has included working for the likes of no less than Jamie Oliver! Soon after relocating to Canada in 2013, he began working on Jann Foods, his own company designed to focus on clean eating. Jaan Foods' first product is an incredibly delicious plant-based butter chicken sauce based on family recipe: Parma's Butterless Chickenless Sauce. It's been super popular with our customers (and staff!) and we're so happy we get to share a little of Parma's story and personality with you. And we can't wait to try whatever fab creations Jaan Foods offers next!

We’re really excited to introduce you to Beth Campbell, of Viva Cacao! Based in the Slocan Valley, Beth’s approach to creating fabulous, ethical chocolate bars, barks, and drinking chocolates is to treat cacao like the superfood that it is—and combine it with more superfoods! She also uses super sustainable coconut sugar, or lucuma, as sweeteners. With keto, plant-based, and dairy free options, there’s something perfect and deeply nourishing for all dietary preferences, and her products come in incredible flavours, like Vegan Chai with Reishi, Raspberry and Camu Camu, and Coffee and Cardamom. As with so many of our awesome local makers, Beth started off in her own kitchen with some ideas, a willingness experiment, and a whole lot of determination. Read on to learn more about how her wonderful small business developed.

Charmaine Ng developed her Love Me Some line of keto, plant-based, non-gmo crackers using her Masters of Food Science from the University of British Columbia when her growing family drove home how important it is to balance convenience with real nutrition. Her made-in-Vancouver products are based on using the benefits of super seeds to help support our immune systems and natural cycles. These crackers are a delicious snack food with a fantastic nutritional profile designed to fuel humans of all ages—in as much time as it takes to dip your hand into a box! That said, they're also amazing with all kinds of toppings and spreads, and make a beautiful addition to snack and appetizer boards. We’re really grateful to Charmaine for sharing some insight into how her small business developed!

We love a good “side-hustle-to-successful-independent-business” story! Christine Yee’s certified gluten-free dumplings have pretty much achieved cult status in the coastal BC region. Available in four flavours—including two vegan options, Golden Dumplings and Jade Dumplings—her premium product draws on and honours her family culinary tradition. Equally amazing for both a quick, healthy snack or a big, beautiful dinner with friends and family, the care she puts into creating them definitely shows in their quality and deliciousness! We’re really glad Christine was able to find some time to answer our Mini Interview questions so you can get to know her a bit, and get little peek into the life of another awesome local maker in our community.