Grain Share beginnings
Our original Grain Share program was created in response to the demand for flour in the early days of the pandemic. Grocery store shelves were running bare, bulk purchasing was all the rage, and our neighbors were calling and emailing the Mill asking if we could sell them a 50 lb bag of flour (or two?!).
Now even the most experienced home baker would have a hard time using up 50lb of flour before its best by date. Halee realized that it was less about needing 50lbs of flour, and more about wanting flour in your pantry when you need it. She had a hunch that a regular delivery of smaller quantities of freshly milled organic flour each month would better serve people’s needs.
We found our selves uniquely positioned to provide this service to the surrounding community. As a vertically integrated, value-added farm, we had access to a consistent supply of grain, a working flour mill, and the resources (bags!) to pivot our operations to launch the Meadowlark Grain Share Program. Within three months, our membership had tripled and we've been going strong ever since the spring of 2020.
In a time when businesses and manufacturers were cutting budgets, business hours, and staffing levels, we were able to invest and expand! We milled more flour, purchased equipment that enabled us to fill our bags faster and more efficiently than we could by hand (that's right BY HAND!), brought on new team members, re-arranged workflows and physical layouts, and stretched our e-commerce software to its limits (and then some).
By 2023, it became clear that our original reasons for providing a consistent supply of flour weren’t as relevant as it was in 2020. We switched to a different system to allow our our Grain Share members greater control and flexibility over their subscriptions. Solving some of the issues that arose in the early days, the new system allows members to easily pause a share while on vacation, update your address after a move, or swap out that 2lb bag of Whole Wheat this month because you still haven't used up the last two months worth and you could really use some Bolted Pastry flour instead.
We hope you give it a try and enjoy having fresh grains delivered to your door every month!
