CULTIVATE CANADA SOCIETY

Cultivate Canada Society #820694404RR0001 is a registered charity established to demonstrate and interpret the vital connections between farming, land stewardship, and community well-being; to model the economic and social possibilities for small and medium scale urban projects, to address disparities in access to healthy food and the knowledge to produce it, and to nurture the human spirit through public programs, classes, and events.

Sole Food Street Farms is wholly owned by Cultivate Canada, which oversees its operations and activities. Together we cultivate hope for a brighter future! 

Board of Directors

Andrea Carlson

Andrea Carlson is a Michelin Star chef and owner of Burdock & Co., Bar Gobo, and Harvest Community Foods. Burdock & Co. is the first restaurant owned and operated by a female chef to receive a Michelin Star in Canada. Born and trained in British Columbia, Andrea studied organic farming and landscape design before making her mark on some of the best restaurants in Vancouver. Interconnection between food and nature is a foundation of Andera’s culinary philosophy, and she has become a driving force behind the city’s food security movement.

Peter Ladner

Peter Ladner is a retired author, columnist, politician and business owner. He is the author of The Urban Food Revolution: Changing the Way We Feed Cities and a former Fellow at the SFU Centre for Dialogue. He is chair of the BC Cycling Coalition, and a former chair of David Suzuki Foundation and Natural Step Canada. He was first elected to Vancouver City Council in 2002 and re-elected in 2005. He ran for mayor in 2008. He is a former vice chair of the Metro Vancouver board. Peter was publisher, president and part owner of the Business in Vancouver Media Group, which he co-founded in 1989. He has more than 35 years of journalistic experience in print, radio and television and has been a frequent speaker on community, transportation and food issues. Peter lives in Kitsilano with his wife Erica, where he grows a wide variety of fruits, berries and vegetables on his city lot.

Tiago de Souza Jensen 

Tiago is an urban planner and sommelier. Having grown up in Vancouver, he completed his BA at UBC focusing on urban studies and critical theory. Concurrently, he completed the WSET Diploma and French Wine Scholar certifications. Tiago has a background working in and writing wine lists for several restaurants in Vancouver. As for many post-covid, he made a pivot, and moved to Edmonton to pursue an MSc in Urban and Regional Planning. He now works at the City of Fort Saskatchewan as a Planner I and teaches wine classes. He is honoured to advance the mission of Sole Food Street Farms through the work at Cultivate Canada.

Johanna Li

With nearly 20 years of experience in the Downtown Eastside, Johanna is deeply committed to supporting community economic development initiatives. She is passionate about creating meaningful employment opportunities, recognizing the profound value of work that extends far beyond income. Johanna began her career in the DTES at the Potluck Café Society and further contributed to social enterprise development at the Vancity Community Foundation. Most recently, she served as the Director of EMBERS Eastside Works, a program she founded to champion equitable and inclusive employment services for individuals facing barriers to employment.  She currently continues her work in community economic development as the Director of Exchange Inner City at Community Impact Real Estate Society and as the Program Director at the Central City Foundation.