KELOWNA, BC (June 28, 2025) — A Kelowna-based fruit packing company with deep immigrant roots is launching a wide-reaching philanthropic initiative aimed at supporting communities across British Columbia. The program, titled “Sandher Feeds Canada,” is a long-term commitment by Sandher Fruit Packers to invest in the health, development, and wellbeing of British Columbians through charitable contributions and in-kind support.
The Sandher family arrived in Canada in the 1980s, starting out as fruit pickers in the Okanagan Valley. From those modest beginnings, they worked their way up to eventually own orchard land and, in 1995, founded Sandher Fruit Packers. Today, the company is a major supplier of apples and cherries across Canada and abroad. Their success, they say, was only possible because of the welcome and opportunity they received in Canada.
“This country gave us a chance,” said a company spokesperson. “Now we’re in a position to say thank you—not just in words, but in action.”
The “Sandher Feeds Canada” program will direct both financial donations and fruit contributions to a wide range of nonprofit organizations working in youth sports, the arts, health care, cultural inclusion, and poverty relief. While the initiative will have reach across the province, the company says its heart remains in the Okanagan, where it plans to concentrate a large portion of its giving.
The company’s first steps in the program rolled out earlier this month. Sandher Fruit Packers was the title sponsor of the 2025 Summer Solstice Soccer Festival in Richmond, a two-day youth tournament that brought together 86 teams from around the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. The company’s support helped fund equipment and operations, elevating the quality and visibility of the event.
Next, Sandher is sponsoring the Canada Day game for the Vancouver Canadians baseball team on July 1. In partnership with local youth organizations, the company will donate game tickets to children from underserved communities, offering a fun and inclusive way for families to celebrate the national holiday.
But the company says these are just the opening moves in a much broader campaign. Plans are underway to contribute to food banks, hospital programs, school meal initiatives, and arts organizations throughout the fall and winter. Sandher also intends to direct in-kind donations—primarily fresh fruit—to kitchens, shelters, and community organizations in areas experiencing food insecurity.
“We feed people for a living,” said the company’s spokesperson. “But feeding people isn’t just about nutrition. It’s about community. It’s about dignity. And it’s about belonging.”
The philanthropic plan is guided by five priority areas: youth development, food security, health and wellness, arts and culture, and poverty relief. The company is working with regional partners to identify high-impact, underfunded programs where even modest support can make a difference.
Although Sandher Fruit Packers is based in Kelowna, the company says its reach—and its gratitude—extends far beyond the Okanagan.
“We’ve shipped fruit across the country,” the spokesperson said. “Now we want our impact to follow that same path.”
Additional giving announcements are expected throughout the year. The company is currently developing a formal grant process to be launched in 2026, but says many of its early partnerships are being formed through direct outreach and community engagement.
While many corporations take up philanthropy as a branding effort, Sandher’s approach feels personal, even generational. Their journey from field labourers to industry leaders is central to the story they want to tell—and to the kind of Canada they want to invest in.
“Everything we have came from this place,” said the spokesperson. “And this is how we give back.”
Reporter