Connecting Farms, Food and Families: Fresh Food Champions
Jim Bardenhagen on the farm - Just some of the bounty from MI Farm Co-Op CSAs - Nic and Jen Welty at 9 Bean Rows
Jim Bardenhagen and Nic Welty are champions for farms and all that they grow.
They are passionate about the health and well-being of people, notably kids. They pour their heart and soul into making local food connections so everyone wins.
With unyielding dedication, they build paths for families, schools, wholesalers, restaurants and others to access fresh wholesome food they need.
One path is MI Farm Co-Op started by Bardenhagen and Welty in 2015.
The other, through 9 Bean Rows, managed by Nic and Jen Welty, includes a farm, café and bakery.
What began a decade ago as a fledgling food supply business, MI Farm Co-Op has since grown in annual sales from $50,000 to over $600,000, encompassing 25 growers providing an assortment of vegetables, fruits, grains, meat, eggs and bread. They cater to restaurants, schools and retail grocery stores through their Wholesale Program, and individuals, families and groups through their year-round Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program, a subscription to the freshest foods farms have to offer, supported with hoop houses to extend the growing season.
“We’ve weathered many changes over the years,” says Jim Bardenhagen. “We grew rapidly during the COVID pandemic, then leveled off and now we’re growing consistently with consumer interest in supporting local, sustainable food sources and fresh, healthful foods, including a wide assortment of organic options.”
“We’re also fortunate to have great partners like Goodwill Industry’s Food Rescue, led by Taylor Moore, and Venture North, led by Laura Galbraith, a source of creative capital to enable our growth, like their current bridge loans to cover our required reimbursement for State and Federal grants,” Bardenhagen says.
Venture North recently provided MI Farm Co-Op with bridge financing to support the reimbursement process for a grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD), which was awarded to help purchase a delivery truck. Once outfitted with refrigeration, the truck will be used this summer to make deliveries to wholesalers and other partners.
MI Farm Co-Op greens being sorted and bagged, ready for distribution - Nic with fresh lacinato kale at the 9 Bean Rows farm
Fresh, often organic food choices abound at Welty’s 9 Bean Rows at their Farm, Bakery and Café. Their home-grown farm and bakery products make appearances at Farmer’s Markets such as the Grand Traverse Commons and Traverse City’s Sarah Hardy Market. Their bakery has breads and a rotating assortment of freshly-made baked goods. The café is often where everything comes together in the form of breads, sandwiches, soups and salads, beverages and sweets. You can pick up online orders or sit and relax as long as you’d like. 9 Bean Rows is good for the heart and the soul and is a popular option for individuals, families, groups and food services.
“We also have a great relationship and funding support working with Jodi Gruner and MDARD as well as USDA’s Rural Development program and Keith Sebright,” says Welty. “We understand the value of collective action in serving our rural communities.”
Welty also notes their interest in a new business – grain milling. “We’re exploring this carefully with the help a MDARD grant program,” Welty said.
“With bridge financing from Venture North to cover our initial reimbursement under the MDARD grant, we’re expanding milling of fresh flour at our Suttons Bay bakery,” said Welty. “We’re incubating this service to understand the potential.”
While Welty and Bardenhagen continue to forge ahead with innovative ways for people to access fresh, healthful foods, they say current economic conditions have made their mission ever more difficult. Sadly, people challenged with poverty, including those who are homeless, now make up about half of their purchasers. This also includes schools, where the number of children eligible for free and reduced lunch has skyrocketed.
“Many of our early programs focused on school feeding programs, ranging from safe ways to clean produce to directly supplying fruits, vegetables, milk and more,” they say. “We need to focus on ways to stabilize and reduce food costs that includes things like our new delivery vehicle and through expanding our food offerings locally during a time when national and international circumstances impact food accessibility in ways that are completely out of our control.”
Still, with collective action and iron wills to succeed, there is reason for optimism based on the quality, track record and reputation of northern Michigan’s food supply systems.
“We simply can’t lose by working with organizations and people of great character like Jim and Nic, who are helping all of us pursue the true potential of our fresh food bounty and the natural resources that support it,” said Laura Galbraith, President of Venture North. “Our two recent bridge loans – one to each organization – are a great way to support their innovation, which is the foundation for growth. And really, who doesn’t love fresh, locally-harvested food? We in northwest Michigan are incredibly fortunate in this way – and even more so with MI Farm Co-Op and 9 Bean Rows building on this abundance.”
For media inquiries:
Contact: Tim Ervin - Ph: 231-794-0089 - Email: timervinassoc@gmail.com
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*All photos of 9 Bean Rows courtesy Courtney Kent Photography