Pender Island couple spends the year living off the land in pandemic challenge

Many people took up different hobbies or challenges during the pandemic, but one couple decided to make a massive lifestyle change: to only eat foods that they grew, raised, harvested and caught themselves.

Stef Lowey and Chris Hall, who live on Pender Island in B.C., completed the challenge on Monday.

Hall said the experience has been challenging but rewarding.

"The pandemic ... made us kind of realize how much we rely on grocery stores and corporations to provide us with our food," he said.

"[We] just decided to jump in and see if it was something we could do to fend for ourselves."

Both Lowey and Hall, who work in hospitality, had lost their jobs at the start of the pandemic.

"That allowed us to set up some infrastructure — which was a lot of work — and get started," Hall said.

The couple started by giving away all their packaged and processed foods, alcohol, coffee and soft drinks to friends and family. 

Lowey said they relied on the Pender Island community, podcasts, YouTube videos and articles to help with research — like how to raise chickens or keep bees.

There was a steep learning curve.

"It was a lot of things that we gave up all at once," she said. "It was a bit of a shock to our system and figuring out our energy levels and balancing that out, and learning to do all the chores that we do daily."

The couple had to get used to a much less varied diet.

"Shopping in grocery stores, you get so used to eating whatever you want when you want," Hall said. "Every week we've tried to learn something new and find something else that's edible that we can add into our diet."

There were obstacles to contend with, like when their boat broke down the second week and put a stop to any plans of seafood dinners for a while, or when a harvest of sunflower seeds set to be pressed into oil spoiled in their basement. 

But some obstacles led to creative solutions.

Hall dearly missed coffee and learned how to make a substitute out of dandelion root. 

"It doesn't have caffeine, which is a big downer, but it surprisingly tastes a lot like coffee. We figured out the things that we missed and tried to replicate them the best way we could," he said. 

When Hall and Lowey both returned to work, they had to balance their busy farm life with their work life. 

"It's a lot of work, but it doesn't always feel like it when you're kind of enjoying it and doing fun things and pulling up crab traps and you're out in the garden in the sun," Hall said. 

Lowey said the experience, which she documented in a YouTube channel both to share the journey and for the "accountability," has brought the couple closer together. 

She says she also feels a lot healthier.

"It's a huge change. My health —  it feels amazing. I'm so much happier. Me and Chris are so much stronger in our relationship and the way we work together," she said. 

The couple says they plan to continue their lifestyle, with some modifications.

"We'll have some allowances along the way. We won't be quite as strict — a coffee here and there and the odd meal out," Hall said.