Good clean food grown close to home
Fat Chance Farmstead is a small-scale fruit, vegetable and grain farm operated by Josh Suppan and a couple seasonal workers each year. Established in 2012, the farm was certified organic from 2016-2022 but has opted out of the certification process. The farm is still operating following the organic standards to learn more about that head to the “how it’s done” page. Fat Chance offers high quality healthy food to people through the Food Box program. We are committed to supporting our local economy and are proud members of the National Farmers Union.
The Farmstead
In 2017, after years of farming on a variety of locations, we landed on this farm. The only catch is that it didn't come with a house! (If you have two hours and want to hear the story of where the house came from, ask Josh at the pick up some time)
The farm is roughly 92 acres (30 is forested), while we currently have over 30 acres in cultivation for fruit, vegetables and grain. Having enough space to grow allows us to properly manage soil fertility and have a robust crop rotation, which helps minimize pest, weed and disease pressure. The farm received organic certification in 2016 and was certified until 2022 when it was decided to continue farming un-certified organic.
The Food Box pick up is on-farm, which gives members a chance to get up close and personal with the food they take home.
Farmer Josh
Little did Josh know that in landing his first job at the ripe young age of 13, he would be foreshadowing his future career path. The only place that would hire him? A peach, plum, and kiwi farm in Niagara on the lake. At the time this was just a way to earn some extra spending money and pass the summer hours outside. Fast forward to the summer of 2009 in the Okanagan valley of BC where Josh spent the summer and fall picking, thinning, packing, and tractoring on a unique and innovative fruit farm. The experience inspired Josh to set his sights once again on agriculture. While much of his experience comes from cultivating fruit, he has spent many seasons on vegetable farms ranging from small-scale organic to large-scale conventional operations. He has a passion for raising animals and in some parts he is known as a chicken whisperer. His hands are always dirty, whether it’s from soil, tractor grease, or cake batter.
Farmers-in-training
When the kids aren't napping on the farm, or eating all of the strawberries, they perform many important tasks. They are in charge of marketing, taste-testing, and (scribbling in) the books.
“Not only are your veggies, bread and berries delicious, but you are very friendly and knowledgeable. It has been a real pleasure for the kids and I to come every Tuesday and get to know our farmers.”
