04/08/2026
Free Potato Day – A Thank You & Goodbye 🥔
Free potatoes!!
After several years of farming in the beautiful Pemberton Valley, we (Matthew and Cristina) have made the extremely difficult decision to stop farming and relocate out of Pemberton. For those of you that do not know us, we have been operating Pemberton Valley Farms — supplying the Sea to Sky and beyond with potatoes, beets and carrots.
As a thank you to the Pemberton and area community, we will be hosting a free potato day at the farm this coming Saturday April 11. Stay tuned for details.
The most important reason behind our decision to leave is our son, Lucas. He has Möbius syndrome, a rare neurological condition, and accessing the care and support he needs in the Sea to Sky has been extremely limited. Navigating this has been a difficult and ongoing challenge, and we are relocating to better support his development and give him the best chance moving forward.
Farming here was not just work for us — it was our dream. We put everything we had into it. This land has a long history, first started by Matthew’s grandparents, Tony and Nel Van Loon, many years ago, and it meant a lot to us to be part of continuing that. But sometimes, even when you do your best and build something real, the conditions around it make it difficult to continue.
We’ve experienced firsthand the challenges of small scale farming in Pemberton such as shortage of labour, affordable land, ability to compete with large scale growers, etc. and hope that farms continue to overcome these hurdles and thrive in the valley.
We are deeply grateful to every person, store, and restaurant that chose to support us and buy from a small local farm instead of large-scale agriculture. That support mattered to us, and we did our best to honour it.
Thank you to Matthew’s parents for this opportunity. A special thank you to Marty — Matthew’s dad and mentor — who always believed in us and worked tirelessly to help us succeed. And to our farm crew over the years: Evelyn, Wyatt, Steph, and many others who worked alongside us. As well as our friends and family who showed up, got muddy, and helped bring this farm to life.
To close this chapter, we’re hosting:
🥔 Free Potato Day
📍 9302 Pemberton Meadows Rd
📅 Saturday, April 11
Come by, say hello, and take some potatoes.
• Potatoes are free
• Donations are welcome and will go toward Lucas’s therapy
• We will also have some baby items available (free or by donation)
We’d love to see you, share a moment, and say goodbye.
Our veggies will continue to be at the stores that support us for the next while, please keep supporting local when you can :)
