Sara Dent of Young Agrarians, which hosts farm tours, potlucks, workshops and a website with networking tools like connecting retiring farmers with land to young farmers seeking it. (photo from Sara Dent)

Whether it’s visiting a farmers market, signing up for a CSA (community-supported agriculture) box or just paying attention to where the produce in the grocery store was grown, local and sustainable eating has been in the zeitgeist for nearly a decade and it shows no signs of flagging. For many North Americans, food has proven an accessible entry point into issues of consumption, environment, community and health. All this, of course, doesn’t happen by itself.

Meet Sara Dent, one of British Columbia’s behind-the-scenes farm organizers. Dent is the co-founder of Young Agrarians, a network and community that supports young farmers as they attempt to start and develop farming businesses. She is also starting to do farm business development consulting, and teaches workshops in permaculture, a design philosophy focused on long-term sustainability. On top of that, she maintains a photography blog, mainly documenting the farmers with whom she visits and works.

As anyone who speaks to Dent will soon realize, the vibrancy and growth of Young Agrarians can be largely attributed to her specific abilities: as a fundraiser, organizer and speaker. Dent is perhaps predisposed to seek respite from some of the harsher aspects of urbanization. Her parents relocated to Vancouver in the 1970s, seeking a healthier, less crowded environment.

In her twenties, Dent did administrative work for nongovernmental organizations around youth, social change and community building. But, in 2006, she said she was broke and decided to take a break from the city, volunteering on three farms over four months. That summer, a light bulb turned on. Since then, Dent has photographed and volunteered on dozens of farms, completed the Linnaea Ecological Garden Program on Cortes Island and become a certified permaculture design teacher. All through this period, she continued to do contract fundraising work.