We care about the health of our family, community & planet.

It's why we grow organically and the reason we sell all of our produce locally within 100km of the farm. 

We think it's important to know where your food comes from & feel good about how it's grown.

It's why we value having a direct relationship with our customers.
We're there at every farmers' market or online store pick-up and are always happy to talk farming. 

We know that starting with fresh, high-quality ingredients is the secret to a delicious meal.

It's why we're proud to offer vegetables that look & taste & smell like real food.

We love to cook and enjoy trying new things in the kitchen.

It's why we plant unique varieties like candy cane beets or unusual veggies like radicchio.
We also share tips & tricks for simple, seasonal eating when you sign up for our newsletter.

We believe in good food shared with good company.

Food is the catalyst that connects us with the people, places & moments that make every day extraordinary.

“[Eating] is inescapably an agricultural act, and how we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is used...
A significant part of the pleasure of eating is in one's accurate consciousness of the lives and the world from which the food comes...
Eating with the fullest pleasure - pleasure, that is, that does not depend on ignorance - is perhaps the profoundest enactment of our connection with the world. In this pleasure we experience and celebrate our dependence and our gratitude, for we are living from mystery, from creatures we did not make and powers we cannot comprehend."

-Wendell Berry in “The Pleasures of Eating"

Meet Your Farmers

Plenty Wild Farms is owned & operated by Alyssa Belter & David Tanner. We are partners in farming, life and love.

With backgrounds in Environmental Studies, cooking & cheese-making, we were originally drawn to farming by a passion for good food and concerns about environmental sustainability.

Now, twelve years later, we're still at it.
This year we'll grow over 4 acres of organic veggies that will be sold directly to our Sea-to-Sky community between May and December. 

This wouldn't be possible without the hard work of our past & present crew. Huge appreciation to the 2023 team: Ariane, Emalee, Hannah, Heather, Jazz, Julia, Lauren, Mckinley, Meg, Michelle & Miriam.
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We are also inspired & supported by the farming community in Pemberton & beyond, our families, friends and loyal customers. 

Alyssa Belter

Felix Belter-Tanner

David Tanner

Alyssa is a writer, trained cheese-maker, certified Red Seal cook and one-half of Plenty Wild Farms. She holds a B.A. in English & Environmental Studies from the University of Victoria.

She likes hiking in the mountains, playing board games and making spreadsheets. 

​Previously, she wrote about life on farm for the Whistler Question.

David is a lover of plants & animals, food & farming and was the impetus behind the creation of Plenty Wild Farms. He holds a Diploma in the Restoration of Natural Systems as well as a B.A. in Anthropology & Environmental Studies from the University of Victoria. 

He is currently a volunteer board member for the Pemberton Farmers' Institute.

​He likes chocolate beet cakes, reading nordic noir novels in the winter and watching Felix learn new things.

​​Our Story

Alyssa was born & raised in a suburb of Edmonton, Alberta although she spent many happy & memorable weekends on her grandparents' farm in Bluffton, Alberta. David grew up in Coquitlam, BC but always enjoyed reading James Herriot's stories about country life in Yorkshire, England. 

After high school, both Alyssa & David moved to Victoria, BC where they met one fortuitous day in 2008 when Alyssa wandered into the produce store where David was working. She figured out his schedule and (as she admits) stalked him until he asked her out for coffee.

During her university days, Alyssa cultivated a keen interest in food & cooking that led to work at Fol Epi bakery in Victoria, BC, school at the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver and a cheese-making internship with Farm House Natural Cheeses in Agassiz, BC.
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Meanwhile, during his university days, David developed a fascination with farming. He completed an apprenticeship at Cropthorne Farm, a certified organic veggie operation in Ladner, BC, and became totally hooked.

Next, Alyssa & David spent a season on a pastured-based dairy & livestock farm in Kitscoty, Alberta where Alyssa made sheep's milk cheese and David worked with the animals. David also planted an enormous garden and Alyssa pickled & preserved the overabundance it provided.

After being presented with an opportunity for employment & land they moved to Agassiz, BC where Alyssa worked as a cheese-maker for Farm House Natural Cheeses while David took the leap and started Plenty Wild Farms in 2012. 

That first year was an intense trial by fire for David but he emerged more confident than ever that farming was the career for him. It also cemented his desire to find a permanent location for the farm so Alyssa & David began to search for a place to call home in Pemberton, BC.

With the generous help of their parents, they ended up purchasing the first property they looked at - 10 acres of land with a charming but uninsulated farm house built in the early 1930s. Since there was no cheese-making work, Alyssa agreed to help David on the farm for one season.

In 2014 Alyssa & David worked together to establish Plenty Wild Farms at its new location. They designed & set up the field layout, built a hoop house, installed a well and laid down permanent irrigation lines. They also became proud puppy parents to a sweet border collie named Sky. By the end of the season, Alyssa realized her plan to start running a B&B had been foiled because she was completely in love with farming. 

In 2015 they began raising heritage pigs, started their flock of Clun Forest sheep and introduced a livestock guardian dog named Bean into the mix. They also fenced the perimeter of the veggie field to keep out bears.

In 2016 Alyssa & David built an equipment shed, two hoop houses, a greenhouse and hired their first full-time employee. It was a year of highs & lows as they got married and both David's dad Simon & their beloved dog Sky passed away unexpectedly. 

In 2017 their son Felix was born in June, right in the thick of farm season. As a result, they made the difficult decision to stop raising pigs and sold their flock of sheep. They planted a 1.5 acre apple orchard in the former pig paddock. 

In 2018 & 2019 Alyssa & David juggled the demands of both their babies - Felix and the farm. They were happy to not tackle any major infrastructure projects for a change!

In 2020 a global pandemic tested their mettle but with the support of dedicated customers, their awesome crew & helpful families they made it through the year in one piece (and even managed to start growing on a bit more land).

In 2021 they adopted a crazy orange kitten named Fox. Alyssa & David also added two new greenhouses to the farm. They were built during the rainiest fall ever but were well worth the wait!

2022 was their 10th season farming. What have they learned in the past 10 years? To expect the unexpected, never say never and understand that they'll never stop learning. 

2023 was an awesome year with great growing conditions, a fantastic crew and exceptional yields. Alyssa & David were also happy to (finally) get their self-serve farm stand ​up & running!

Stay tuned for what 2024 will bring...