LifeCycles Project Society

What LifeCycles Project Society does

LifeCycles Project Society is a registered Canadian charity (CRA #89120 0743 RR 0001) founded in 1994 and headquartered at Unit A-808 Viewfield Rd, Victoria, BC. The organization operates a portfolio of interconnected food security programs in the Greater Victoria area, including the Fruit Tree Project (volunteer-led urban fruit harvesting), Welland Community Orchard (a publicly accessible gathering and learning orchard), Farm Gleaning (produce rescue from farms), the Victoria Seed Library (community seed saving and sharing), and the Community + Food program. LifeCycles explicitly works on the unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples and integrates a territorial acknowledgement into its public-facing materials.

The organization's underlying technology consists of community food systems infrastructure rather than a software product: an online Gleaning Hub for coordinating harvests, a seed library platform, and orchard management practices supported by an extensive historical archive of community research, school food curriculum, and educational resources spanning more than 25 years. Services such as fruit tree harvesting, pruning guidance, and orchard access are provided free to community members, with no formal pricing structure disclosed.

LifeCycles' business model is donation- and grant-funded, supplemented by small merchandise sales (jam, juice, hats, shirts) via a Square online storefront, and sales/distribution of community publications such as the LifeCycles Community Cookbook. Go-to-market is community-led: volunteer orientations, events listed on Eventbrite, a Keela-powered newsletter, and partnerships with organizations including Cool Aid's Downtown Community Centre, S.O.L.I.D., VIDEA, Evergreen, and the Cities Feeding People Program of the International Development Research Centre. Customer segments include community members experiencing food insecurity (primary), home fruit tree owners needing harvest/care assistance, and community volunteers seeking hands-on engagement with local food systems.

Name

LifeCycles Project Society

Legal name

LifeCycles Project Society

Website

https://lifecyclesproject.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

LifeCycles Project Society is a registered Victoria, BC charity, founded in 1994, that runs volunteer-driven urban fruit harvesting, a community orchard, farm gleaning, and a seed library to address food insecurity across Greater Victoria.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Food Security Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

Keywords

• Community food security
• Fruit tree harvesting
• Volunteer gleaning programs
• Seed library services
• Community orchard management

Headquarters

HQ city

Victoria

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The organization relies heavily on donations from the public to sustain its Fruit Tree Project and community food programs. It is a registered charity (CRA #89120 0743 RR 0001) and accepts tax-deductible donations.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of jams, juices, hats, shirts, and other merchandise through their online storefront (Square site) to support programming.
3. Community Publications: Sale and distribution of community resources including the LifeCycles Community Cookbook and educational materials on food security, seed saving, and sustainable agriculture.
4. Grant Funding: Annual reports indicate the organization receives support from funders and community partners, suggesting grant-based funding from government and foundation sources.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

LifeCycles Project Society is a registered Canadian nonprofit charity that operates volunteer-driven food recovery and urban agriculture programs in Greater Victoria, BC. Its core work involves harvesting fruit from urban trees that would otherwise go to waste, rescuing unsold produce from farms, maintaining one of Canada's largest community orchards, running a community seed library, and redistributing food to community members experiencing food insecurity.

Product overview

LifeCycles Project Society operates as a community-based nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of interconnected food security programs in Greater Victoria, BC. The core offerings include the Fruit Tree Project (volunteer fruit harvesting), Welland Community Orchard (educational gathering space), Farm Gleaning (produce rescue), and the Victoria Seed Library (seed saving). Supporting services include pruning assistance, educational resources on fruit tree care and seed saving, a community cookbook, and merchandise/products for fundraising. These programs work together to reimagine food systems through sustainable practices, volunteer engagement, and food knowledge sharing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fruit Tree Project: Harvesting fruit that would otherwise go to waste and ensuring it reaches community members who need it most.
• Welland Community Orchard
• Victoria Seed Library
• Farm Gleaning
• Community + Food

Products and services

• Fruit Tree Project A volunteer-driven initiative that harvests fruit from urban trees across Greater Victoria that would otherwise go to waste and redistributes it to community members in need; operates through volunteer orientations for Pickers, Fruit Assessors, and Harvest Leaders.
• Farm Gleaning A produce-rescue program that collects large quantities of unsold produce from farms in the region and redistributes it to community members, addressing both farm food waste and food insecurity.
• Welland Community Orchard One of the largest and most diverse community orchards in Canada, hosting workshops, public gatherings, and hands-on learning activities for community members across Greater Victoria.
• Victoria Seed Library A seed saving and library service that enables community members to borrow and share seeds, promoting seed security, biodiversity, and local food sovereignty.
• Community + Food Community food security and food justice program offering education and engagement initiatives focused on sustainable local food systems in Greater Victoria.
• Pruning Services Fruit tree pruning services provided to community members to maintain healthy, productive urban orchards and trees.
• LifeCycles Community Cookbook A community cookbook featuring preserving tips and recipes contributed by volunteers, staff, and community members, focused on using harvested fruit from LifeCycles programs.
• Jam, Juice & Merch Online merchandise store selling hats, shirts, and value-added products such as jam and juice made from harvested produce, with proceeds supporting LifeCycles programming.

Quantifiable outcome

• One of the largest fruit harvests on record in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cool Aid's Downtown Community CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Co-developed the Food Literacy Pilot Report (2017) with Cool Aid's Downtown Community Centre, focusing on food education and community food security initiatives.
• S.O.L.I.D.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Co-developed 'From the Ground Up' guide (2015) for food-based community organizers working with marginalized populations.
• Nelson, Vancouver and Richmond Fruit Tree ProjectsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2002Co-developed 'Harvesting Abundance: How to Start a Fruit Tree Project' (2002) sharing knowledge across Canadian fruit tree projects.
• EvergreencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2002Co-developed 'Patterns Through the Seasons: A Year of School Food Garden Activities' (2002) with Evergreen for school garden implementation.
• Cities Feeding People Program of IDRCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1998Developed 'Urban Agriculture and Food Security Initiatives in Canada: A Survey of Canadian Non-Governmental Organizations' (1998) in partnership with the Cities Feeding People Program of the International Development Research Centre.
• VIDEAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996Co-developed Teacher Gram - Sustainable Agriculture (1996), a 5-part learning resource for secondary schools on sustainable agriculture.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Community Food Centres Canada: National umbrella supporting community food centers across Canada. Provides infrastructure and funding to organizations like LifeCycles, operating at a broader scale in the same food security and food justice space.

Direct peers

• The Stop Community Food Centre: Toronto community food center combining food access, urban agriculture, and education. Mirrors LifeCycles' integrated model of food distribution, community gardening, and food literacy programming.
• Seeds of Diversity: Canadian organization dedicated to seed saving, biodiversity, and seed library programming. Direct overlap with LifeCycles' Victoria Seed Library and seed preservation mandate.
• FarmFolk CityFolk: BC-based nonprofit advocating for sustainable food systems and supporting seed saving networks. Shares LifeCycles' focus on agricultural biodiversity, seed security, and community engagement across British Columbia.
• FoodShare Toronto: Large Canadian nonprofit focused on food security, community gardens, and food justice programming. Operates a comparable portfolio of community-led food access, school food, and urban agriculture initiatives similar in mission and program design to LifeCycles.
• Not Far From The Tree: Toronto-based fruit gleaning organization that recruits volunteers to harvest fruit from residential trees for redistribution. Highly comparable to LifeCycles' Fruit Tree Project in model, scale, and volunteer-driven mechanics.
• Vancouver Fruit Tree Project Society: Vancouver-based peer that co-developed the 'Harvesting Abundance' guide with LifeCycles. Operates a near-identical volunteer gleaning model in a neighboring BC municipality, directly comparable in program scope and beneficiary base.

Regional players

• FoodStash Foundation: Vancouver-based food rescue and redistribution nonprofit operating in a different BC geography. Comparable food recovery and surplus redistribution mandate though focused on commercial surplus rather than residential fruit gleaning.

Emerging players

• Fresh Roots: Vancouver-based nonprofit operating schoolyard farms and educational food programs. Shares LifeCycles' educational and community engagement focus on sustainable food systems, with overlap on school garden curriculum.
• Sole Food Street Farms: Vancouver urban farming social enterprise producing food for underserved communities. Comparable in BC-region food access mission though differs in commercial urban agriculture model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lifecyclesproj
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lifecycles-project-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LifeCycles Project Society