June 2026 - Community Futures North Okanagan

Located on a plot of land at the bottom of the Foothills in Vernon, BC, SilverStar Veggies has become a popular farmstand—offering residents a bounty of seasonal produce twice a week. After six years of growing on rented land and working out of tents and trailers, the young farmers behind SilverStar Veggies were ready to put down roots of their own.

SilverStar Veggies grows a number of crops, including lettuce mix, carrots, and beets.

“It’s grown leaps and bounds since we started and we are just going to keep moving forward,” says Eric Feehely, co-owner.

Back in 2021, when he and his partner, Miho, started their farming business, Eric had been growing vegetables for Okanagan winery restaurants and Miho was a chef out of work during the pandemic. Eric grew up on a farm in Ireland, and he’d gained heaps of experience building restaurant gardens and greenhouses in the Okanagan climate.

“I was really blown away by the high standard of vegetable farming here,” says Eric, who was originally drawn to the region by work at wineries.

He and his partner realized it might be the ideal time to start a farm of their own. An acquaintance introduced them to someone who owned farmland along Silver Star Road, and had an acre to rent. With help from the Young Agrarians, a network that supports emerging farmers, the couple started SilverStar Veggies by opening up one acre. It was the year that a heat dome saw a third of their crops perish.

“We kind of wondered, what are we doing? But by the end of the year, things were better, and every year afterward we’ve grown in space and grown our earnings by about 20 per cent.”

These days, their summer carrots, beets, lettuce mix and more can be found at the Farmer’s Market, in veggie boxes for pick-up and delivery and their popular farmstand, which operates out of a 20-foot trailer that replaced a canvas vehicle shelter. Some days, nearly 700 cars pass by.

With strong, consistent growth, embarking on their sixth year, Eric and Miho began plans to build their own wash and pack house with space for retail sales.

“Having this building will take care of a lot of our challenges,” says Eric. “It’s going to be a game changer.”

Currently, they have to drive from one end of the property to the other to bring their harvest in for washing and packing, and operating a farmstand out of the trailer means they can only offer that service twice a week in the warm months.

SilverStar Veggies is constructing a farmstand out of four shipping containers.

They set out to have an engineer design a modular 2,250 square foot building made from four shipping containers, two of which are already freezer insulated. The building is mobile so it can easily move with them if the arrangement on the rented land ever changes.

Some of those elements—the mobility of the structure, the rented land, the need to bring in water, sewer and power—presented challenges when Eric and Miho sought financing.

“We had all of these challenges ahead of us, but we were determined.”

When they were passed over by a major agricultural lender with a cap on what could be financed for non-land ventures, the representative mentioned Community Futures North Okanagan. This was in the fall of 2025, and the couple was already planning the growing season ahead counting on the additional acreage and revenue, and the building construction being underway.

“Community Futures really came through for us,” says Eric.

After demonstrating their projections and a solid plan for growth, their loan application was underway. Engineers, meanwhile, had the plans ready and excavators were nearly at the gate ready to go. When their loan was approved by Community Futures, Eric remembers feeling “tremendous relief.”

“We’re big believers in investing in our future and doing things properly and that’s what we feel we’ve done here, and Community Futures made it possible.”

SilverStar Veggies is expecting to open their new wash/pack/retail farmstand in early July, and they’re looking forward to year-round operations and opportunities to expand what they offer, including the produce of other small family farms.

“I haven’t got enough thumbs up for Community Futures and our dealings with people there.”

Are you thinking about starting your own business? Explore how Community Futures North Okanagan offers flexible lending options and business advising services.

Community Futures North Okanagan recognizes the ongoing support of Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan).

Amy (L) and her mentee Juanita Miller, of Juanita Miller Nutrition, at the Enterprize Challenge finale event in 2017.

Every winter, excitement builds for Amy Gillies as she thinks about who she’ll get to mentor in the next Enterprize Challenge.

Amy is a commercial services account manager at VantageOne Credit Union in Vernon—and for the last 10 years, she has volunteered as a mentor for Enterprize Challenge participants.

The Enterprize Challenge is a high-energy business pitch competition that provides North Okanagan entrepreneurs with professional mentorship, networking opportunities and the chance to win a share of significant prize packages to help launch or grow their local ventures.

Over a period of several weeks, Amy meets one-on-one with her mentees for at least an hour—going above and beyond the minimum number of four hours to set them up for a successful experience in the challenge and afterwards.

“I get to meet these business owners and listen to their ideas and questions, and I share what I can to help them succeed,” says Amy, who brings 32 years of experience at VantageOne and 15 years in business banking.

“I really love working with business owners. I get such satisfaction out of sharing resources and helping them grow.”

Mentors support participants as they prepare their financials and their pitch as they prepare to win over judges, first to become a finalist, and then to earn a top spot on the stage every May.

Theresa Sanders (L) and her volunteer mentor Amy (R) in 2019 during the Enterprize Challenge.

Since Amy became a volunteer mentor 10 years ago, a handful of her mentees have won Enterprize Challenge and others have taken top spots. First place winners she has mentored include Teresa Sanders of FILL Vernon’s Refill Store, Amanda Homeniuk of Kaleco Clothing, and Jaye Siegmueller of Farm Bound.

“When your person wins—though I would never take any credit, I was just a little part of that—it’s so exciting,” says Amy. “Those are moments that really stand out.”

Other participants she’s mentored who have won second or third place include Juanita Miller of Juanita Miller Nutrition, Kristy McLennan of PV Boulevard Coffee, and Kylee Howard of Vicky’s Play Place.

“I’ve established so many great relationships over the years. We stay in touch and get together. The value of those relationships is huge for me.”

Amy gives credit to VantageOne, her employer, for letting her make time in her busy schedule to volunteer for Enterprize Challenge.

For the many, many hours of dedication and passion she has brought to her volunteering, Amy was named this year’s Community Futures North Okanagan Volunteer of the Year.

Amy (C) receives the Volunteer of the Year award from Board Chair Michele Hill (R) and Vice-Chair Kara Kazimer (L).

“I’m very honoured,” she says. “I don’t think anything of it. I’m just so passionate about what I do.”

So passionate that she also volunteers, often alongside a Community Futures North Okanagan business services team member, at a similar entrepreneurial competition held for business students at Okanagan College.

Both mentees and students alike stop her when she’s out and about to share thanks, and she realizes how, over the last decade, she’s become a part of the fabric of the local business community.

“It’s been an amazing experience.”

The 2026 Volunteer of the Year Award was presented to Amy at the June Board of Directors meeting in recognition of her outstanding volunteer efforts.

Harvesting Hope: The Growth of SilverStar Veggies’ Success

Amy Gillies, Enterprize Challenge Mentor, Named Volunteer of the Year