Just more than five years after a farm set up shop on the site of a previous major employer, the community of Okanagan Falls is set to lose another as Avery Family Farms shuts down.
Okanagan Falls director Matt Taylor shared the letter he received from owner Garry Peters with the community on Wednesday, Jan. 21, that as of Feb. 1 the vertical lettuce farm would cease operations.
“This decision reflects the financial constraints and critical equipment failures impacting our growing environment,” Peters wrote. “While we remain proud of the product we have delivered, the team behind and the mission we set out to advance, continuing operations under the current structure is no longer financially viable.”
It’s a major blow to the community that had already weathered the exit of Weyerhauser’s mill in 2007 and worked on recovering from that loss ever since.
“It’s an economic blow to this community that is working hard to regain economic sustainability, and it’s difficult for the employees who are losing work, and for the owners who have without a doubt put everything into making this a sustainable business that contributes to Okanagan Falls’ future,” Taylor said.
The Avery Group had invested heavily into the community since purchasing the former mill site in 2020.
The property was planned to be turned into a 90-acre business park, and the family also purchased the OK Falls Hotel in 2022, with a portion being used for out-of-town employees of the farm.
The sudden announcement will come as a surprise to many. The company’s website boasts multiple articles from 2025 celebrating how the push to buy Canadian in the wake of the U.S. president’s tariffs had greatly increased the demand for its lettuce.
Boundary-Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson also shared her condolences to the employees and the community following the announcement.
“I sincerely hope a path forward can be found that allows this operation to reopen, restore local food production and bring those jobs back,” Wilson said. “Communities like Okanagan Falls benefit when innovators are supported and given the conditions they need to succeed.”
The letter from Peters to Taylor about the impending closure does not mention the business park or hotel.
Taylor noted that regardless of what happens with the farm in the future, the work that was put into it should pay off for the community.
“Less than 10 years ago there was an old abandoned mill site, and now there is a modern building on an 80-plus-acre business park that is near completion,” Taylor said. “Time will tell whether these are sold to a new investor, or the current owner takes a partner.
“At some point — and I agree we’d probably all like that to be sooner than later — that building and business park will provide jobs that serve the local economy.”
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