David Wood was born in Scotland, educated in England, and moved to Toronto in 1973 to work with Pollution Probe at the U of T, where he served as Executive Director from '74 to '75. In 1976, with the arrival of the first energy crisis, he and a partner started Solartech, a small business specialising in solar and other renewable technologies. He stayed with Solartech as President until 1983.
In 1984 David opened the David Wood Food Shop, a specialty food shop with an emphasis on prepared food to go, located on Yonge Street near Summerhill. In 1987, a second store was opened in Forest Hill Village, and a third and much larger store in 1989 on Yonge between Eglinton and Lawrence. The business also operated a separate kitchen for its off-site catering division. Although they were a popular success, the business faced financial challenges which led to its being sold in 1990, and all of the stores eventually closed.
In the same year, David and his family moved to Salt Spring Island, and started to work on a sheep milking and cheese making business. Six years later, the first piece of cheese was sold, the business has expanded steadily ever since, and is now entering its 15th year.
Salt Spring Island Cheese Company specialises in sheep and goat milk cheeses made from local milk. Although no milking is now done on the farm, all the cheese is hand made using traditional methods, and following traditional styles. The main wholesale markets are Vancouver, Whistler and Victoria in BC, and Toronto and Calgary outside of our home province. The company became federally licensed in 2007. About 25% of production is sold at the farm gate, through the farm shop and the Saturday Market, with most of these sales being in the summer tourist season. David continues to live on the farm and is the president of the company.