History
Our history & How we farm
How We Started
The founder of Stable Harvest Farm, Syd Belzberg, began his journey in the horse racing industry in 1967. In 1989 he purchased the 65-acre farm to establish Budget Stables, which included a fully operational race track, barns, and a complete thoroughbred operation with 70 horses. Led by trainer Bud McDonald, the operation was successful in racing, breeding, and raising homebreds. In 2004, due to the government’s increased emphasis on gaming and concerns about its impact on the racing industry, Syd made the difficult decision to move his operations from Budget Stables to Seattle and California.
Before Stable Harvest Farm was even established, its founder Syd was already actively involved in giving back to his community. Growing up in a Jewish household, Syd learned the importance of taking care of those around him. Through his years founding and running Budget Rent A Car, Syd generously donated millions of dollars to numerous charities, hospitals, and educational funds.
Syd’s deep-seated desire to feed people and educate children about agriculture became his driving force. He developed a profound appreciation for the farm-to-table experience and found immense joy in watching children learn about agriculture. In 2019, after an impressive 57-year career with Budget Rent-a-Car and Park-n-Fly, Syd retired. However, just two weeks into his retirement, he was eager to pursue his lifelong dream of cultivating organic produce, helping those in need, and educating the next generation at Stable Harvest Farm. Today, Stable Harvest Farm stands as a testament to Syd’s unwavering commitment to his dream and his unrelenting passion for improving people’s lives through agriculture.
Where We Are Now
In 2020, Stable Harvest Farm’s first crop yielded an impressive 90,000 pounds of organic vegetables, all of which were generously donated to a dozen food banks and community meal programs. Since then, the farm has donated an estimated 250,000 pounds of food to those in need, embodying our commitment to fighting hunger in our community. We are proud to say that we are doing even more this year, by planting additional crops to increase our donation efforts and help even more people in need.
In addition to our philanthropic efforts, we’re also dedicated to educating children about agriculture. In 2020, we partnered with Vancouver Talmud Torah, a Jewish Day School in Vancouver, to create in-class lessons and field trips that teach students about beekeeping, planting, harvesting, and preparing vegetables. Our partnership with Agriculture BC has allowed us to expand this educational mission, and we were thrilled to welcome approximately 2,000 kids to the farm in 2022. Looking ahead to the upcoming 2023 season, we anticipate hosting double the number of students and continuing to inspire the next generation of farmers and environmental stewards.
