Rising Waters, Rising Fears: How Our Community Responds to Flooding
In December 2025, those impacted by flooding were experiencing many of the same fears that arrived in November 2021, when Abbotsford experienced unprecedented flooding that impacted many of our community members and businesses.
During the 2021 flooding, Archway Food Bank received an outpouring of generous donations, allowing us to provide vital support to clients and community members affected by the floods. Because of this generosity, we were also able to redistribute essential supplies to the neighbouring communities of Chilliwack, Agassiz, and Hope.
Four years later, the Nooksack River flooded once again, impacting numerous community members. At the height of the flooding, 474 properties were evacuated. And thousands more were unable to travel to work or had to miss work due to school closures which affects already stretched budgets.
As we reflect on the generosity and mobilization of our community during the 2021 flood, we were hopeful that this same spirit will inspire us as we work together to support those impacted by the floods and experiencing food insecurity.
The flood also impacted us firsthand at Archway’s Urban Farm, located next to the Sumas Way highway exit.
As the flood waters rose, the Urban Farm team waited anxiously for when they could safely return to the farm and assess the extent of the damage. With brand-new vertical farm growing containers and equipment onsite, the potential loss would be a devastating blow.
“I’m worried about the water damage to the containers and sheds they’re just about touching the floor, and they will flood if it gets any higher. I’m also concerned about the many years of soil work we’ve done to be able to grow if the field, we don’t know the soil’s viability at this point, it was living soil but now all the nutrients and living organisms we have built up over years will be gone. We may need to replace top soil which puts us in a tough position” said Arlene David, Urban Farm Supervisor.
The Urban Farm partners with the food bank to provide our clients with locally grown food and donated 2038 heads of lettuce through their brand-new vertical farm this past growing season. To learn more about the impact of the Urban Farm flooding on our community’s access to fresh local foods, watch the CBC video here: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.7015176
The flooding of the Nooksack River also greatly impacted members of Sema:th First Nation with many households being evacuated. During this time, community members had limited access to fresh and nutritious foods. In collaboration with the Mission Food Bank, we were able to deliver pallets of fresh foods to Sema:th. We are deeply grateful for partnerships like this, which make it possible to share food with those in our community. Sema:th First Nation began partnering with our food bank this year and hosts a program satellite once a month in their community.
Collaboration and partnership have been essential to us as we support our community members impacted by the floods with access to food. The food bank was also able to partner with CEDAR Outreach and Archway’s Legal Advocacy program to provide food hampers for their clients. CEDAR provided 42 hampers through their Community Engagement and Encampment Response program, and Legal Advocacy provided 6 hampers to farm workers.
Food insecurity happens when factors outside someone’s control make it difficult for them to get the food they need for their health. This can include money, social conditions, the environment, and where people live. The recent flooding of the Nooksack River is an example of an environmental factor impacting our community members’ access to food due to stretched budgets as many were unable to travel to work or missed work due to school closures.
Archway Food Bank currently serves more than 6200 individuals each month. We continue to anticipate a rise in food bank access in the coming weeks. If you’d like to join us in supporting our community by helping ensure food is always available to anyone who needs it, please donate today.