And the Award Goes to…
The BC Organic Conference is all about celebrating everything that makes organic food and farming in BC so amazing—but especially the people. And while the organic sector is truly the sum of its parts, over the years, a growing number of awards have emerged to recognize people who have made special contributions.
The Brad Reid Award honours an individual whose passion, leadership, and advocacy have inspired progress and achieved real, positive change in the organic community. Since 2025 saw the inauguration of the ‘new’ Organic BC, the Board of Directors recognized the need for more award categories to effectively honour the spectrum of leaders and change makers in the community. The Innovation Award emerged to honour an individual whose creative and novel approach has advanced solutions in the organic agriculture sector, and the Organic Champion Award to honour a person, business, or organization that has demonstrated exemplary support to organic agriculture in BC.
Thanks to nominations made by you, the community, we had the pleasure of cheering on some truly special people at the 2025 awards ceremony!
From wheat to potatoes and back to wheat again, these winners are anything but starchy in how they show up for BC organic day after day, year after year.
Brad Reid Award: Jim Grieshaber-Otto
Jim is no doubt a leader and inspiration in the organic community, most notably for his work in grain production. He is always innovating—trialling new grain varieties, engaging in participatory breeding, and following organic principles to bring organic grains directly to consumers.
Jim is more than a producer—he is a mentor, innovator, and cornerstone of the organic movement in Canada. His leadership and advocacy continue to shape the future of organic grain, empowering growers and eaters alike.
Organic Champion Award: Anna Helmer
Anna is an amazing representative of organics both in the organic community and beyond. Her humorous snapshot of farm life contributions to this very publication are oft-commented on with appreciation. No matter how busy the season, she is always game to contribute to the Grower and other agriculture publications such as Country Life in BC, as well as community papers.
Ambassadors like Anna have a huge impact not just within the organic community, but also to show consumers what it means to be organic, educating hundreds of people at farmers’ markets for years. Farmers from across the spectrum can relate to her incredibly entertaining writing and are uplifted by her humour!
Innovation Award: Tanya Belanger
In 2009, A Bread Affair stumbled upon a few rare heirloom wheat kernels of the original 1904 Marquis wheat strain. Tanya understood the importance Marquis wheat played in producing the highest quality loaves, and so endeavoured to bring it to BC to better serve the community with the best quality bread.
Tanya and A Bread Affair worked with two farmers in Creston and Agassiz to cultivate the grain, which required incredible patience—it took six years to produce a viable harvest. Once harvested, A Bread Affair began baking with it, and now any use of Marquis wheat in BC can be attributed to these two farms and A Bread Affair.
A huge thank you to Jim, Anna, and Tanya for nourishing and inspiring us.
Keep an eye out for future calls for nominations, and be sure to put forward someone you think deserves to be recognized! See past recipients of BC Organic Awards here.
Featured image: Tanya Belanger. Credit: Tanya Belanger.
