Show-Me Missouri Agriculture
From the forested hills and large lakes in the Ozark Plateau to the rice fields in the Bootheel, Missouri is home to nearly 100,000 farms on more than 28 million acres of farmland. With agriculture’s economic contribution of Missouri at $88.4 billion, it is the number one industry in the state. Below are some of the stories of the businesses and producers that make this industry as unique as its diverse landscape.
2019 Missouri Legacy Award
By Leslie Fischer
July 2, 2019
"No exclusions. No exclusions of race, gender, or background; no exclusions at all. We are all a part of this. Everybody is. That is what community means to us."–Sam and Dorothy Harris
As if a mantra by which they live their lives, "community" is at the heart of a mission for Sam and Dorothy Harris, cattle and poultry farmers from Wentzville, Missouri. A mission devoted to agriculture. A mission devoted to inclusion.
2019 Missouri Legacy Award
By Leslie Fischer
July 2, 2019
“No exclusions. No exclusions of race, gender, or background; no exclusions at all. We are all a part of this. Everybody is. That is what community means to us.”–Sam and Dorothy Harris
As if a mantra by which they live their lives, “community” is at the heart of a mission for Sam and Dorothy Harris, cattle and poultry farmers from Wentzville, Missouri. A mission devoted to agriculture. A mission devoted to inclusion.
Recipients of the 2019 Missouri Legacy Award, honoring agriculturalists who are committed to evolving the industry for generations to follow, the Harris’ are dedicated to progress in the field they know and love. Progress, by way of correcting societal misconceptions about the industry they hold dear.
Sam and Dorothy Harris, cattle and poultry farmers from Wentzville, Missouri, receive the 2019 Missouri Legacy Award from Missouri Governor Mike Parson and Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn.
Common misconceptions like you can’t work in agriculture unless you inherit a large plot of land. Societal misconceptions like you can’t really contribute unless you’re sitting atop a tractor. Social misconceptions like you don’t belong if you don’t look exactly like everyone else.
A minority family of six, with four grown children, three of whom collectively hold five degrees in agriculture from the University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, and one with a business degree from William Jewell, the Harris’ have seen the returns of their investment time and time again. Now accomplished professionals with careers spanning pharmaceutical management, economic development, corporate food production, transportation management, and with the United States Department of Agriculture, they credit their kids’ familial upbringing in agriculture as key to their success.
“A strong education in agriculture has helped our kids in so many ways,” Sam said. “It taught them to remain grounded, and it has made them the people they are today.”
Knowing the invaluable role agriculture has played in their lives, the Harris family has made their farm a welcoming haven for city kids unfamiliar with the riches of rural life. Partnering with the USDA’s AgDiscovery initiative, a program giving high school and middle school students a first-hand look at the many career paths in agricultural sciences, Sam and Dorothy use their experience as an example for generations to follow.
“When kids picture a career in agriculture, the image in their head is very specific, and they don’t see themselves in it” Dorothy said, “We tell them our story, and show them the various ways agriculture has made an impact on our family, and hope to broaden that mental picture so that it includes them.”
No exclusions.
As African Americans working in agriculture, the Harris’ know the important role they play in changing the mindset of the public. But it wasn’t until they attended a conference devoted to minorities in agriculture that their own view of the field, and understanding of their own impact, began expanding.
“We thought we were some of the only ones. But then we saw people that were Indian, Mexican, African, female—any minority you can think of—we were all represented,” Dorothy said. “And they all had the same passion we did. It was truly incredible to see.”
Realizing the breadth of opportunity for minorities in the field, they began sharing their story and changing minds. Advocates for progress, the Harris’ began recruiting for the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program, which provides full tuition, employment, employee benefits, fees, books, and room and board to selected students pursuing a bachelor's degree at historically black land-grant universities. Because of Sam and Dorothy’s efforts to recruit for this program offered at Lincoln University, several minority students have graduated and are contributing their talents in the field today.
No exclusions of race, gender, or background.
True activists for inclusion, their definition of community doesn’t end with what they see in the mirror. The Harris’ have also partnered with Camp CARVER, a non-profit dedicated to creating opportunities for inner-city youth to learn the virtues of animal husbandry and farming, to provide medical transportation equipment for disabled community members. In-kind donations of such valuable and expensive transportation vehicles has made agricultural exposure a reality for even the furthest removed.
No exclusions at all.
In addition to their tireless support of like-minded organizations and initiatives bigger than themselves, the Harris’ know that simple neighborly assistance can be the critical difference between success and failure. Although they may not know the details of God’s larger plan, they believe in its power, and are committed to loving thy neighbor—especially in times of need.
When a local girl could not participate in the county fair because she couldn’t afford to purchase any livestock necessary to compete, Sam gave her a steer. That steer went on to win second place in the overall competition. The money the girl received for it, along with a scholarship, made it possible for her to attend college.
She was not planning on receiving that steer. She was not planning on going to college. “That was success for us,” Sam recalled with nostalgia.
Much like the Harris’ own children, all she needed was a little support and a steadfast example.
We are all a part of this. Everybody is.
“At the end of the day, we all want the same things in life. We want security. We want to have a safe life. We want to be able to provide for our families, and we want our children to be treated fairly” Dorothy said, “When you talk to people long enough, no matter how different they seem, you’ll find we’ve all got a lot in common, and there’s always a seat at the table.”
That is what community means to us.
McKaskle Family Farm
By Leslie Fischer
March 7, 2019
Steve McKaskle is a man of stories.
Stories with intrigue, characters and drama. Stories that are wrapped in a drawl that is distinctly southern and carried on a cadence that is distinctly gentile. The kind of stories that pull you in, take you on a ride, and drop you off at a life lesson that sticks with you long after the book has been closed.
McKaskle Family Farm
By Leslie Fischer
March 7, 2019
Steve McKaskle is a man of stories.
The McKaskle Family Farm rice fields at sunset.
Stories with intrigue, characters and drama. Stories that are wrapped in a drawl that is distinctly southern and carried on a cadence that is distinctly gentile. The kind of stories that pull you in, take you on a ride, and drop you off at a life lesson that sticks with you long after the book has been closed.
These stories are not bound by exact dates marked in history, but rather remembered moments–moments that catalyze change, differentiating one segment of life from those that are meant to follow. Moments that climax in drama, only to settle in memory. Moments that are endured, pass and serve as foundation for the next. Moments that, when taken in aggregate, culminate to comprise the story of a life. These are a few of the stories of Steve McKaskle’s life.
He’s got a story about adventure, unknown lands and incredible risk.
This is a story about a young Steve whose course of direction changed, as so many often do, upon meeting a woman who would later become his wife. Professional aspirations of a legal career set aside, he joined his father-in-law’s family farming operation. At 19 years old he found himself taking a seat he’d never considered before–a seat atop a tractor, amidst a field of cotton.
“Farming was terrible back then,” he attests.
Working conventional cotton and beans without irrigation was nothing short of a constant struggle. Searching for alternative avenues for success, Steve was intrigued by a flier he saw advertising a meeting for opportunities in organic cotton farming, held at the local Delta Research Center. Hosted by a female clothing company with a French title, he had no idea its brand would soon be a household name. He did know, however, that this company calling themselves “Esprit” had sparked his innovative spirit, and he was going to give organic cotton farming a try. Quite literally pioneering unknown fields (as the U.S. Department of Agriculture had yet to develop an official organic certification), Steve started adapting his acreage to a new method of farming. Receiving a dollar per pound for organic lint, premiums were sufficient to handle the challenges of weeds, and he slowly started converting his land. Finding success, it wasn’t long before he caught the curious eye of the press, and began receiving notoriety as one of the first farmers of his kind.
Gaining momentum in the field, Steve attended a vitamin health food show, and met the largest buyer of organic products at the time. He agreed to produce organic soybeans for the buyer, which he would later rotate with organic cotton and eventually popcorn.
Farming was by no means easy, but he had found a niche that worked for him. And although he didn’t know it at the time, he was laying the foundation for the next notable moment to come. A moment which would in turn, produce another story to be told.
A story about a monster. A monster so big, so voracious, it would go on to devour his farm, his home, and his town in seconds.
This monster was as dark and as ominous as any villain written into a children’s book, and it was staring him in the face less than a half mile away. Later to be classified as an F-4 tornado, Steve didn’t need a meteorologist to tell him he was in trouble. He grabbed his wife, sprinted to his truck, and flew across 20 acres of field desperately seeking refuge in his cousin’s basement, the closest semblance of shelter he could find. Barely making it in time, the pair joined his extended family underground and held their breath, just thankful to have it. In the frightening moments that followed, down beneath the very earth he made a living caring for, they listened to its utter destruction, grateful for their protection from the same. It’s hard to say how long they were down there as moments like that skew time and rationality, but like all moments, even the most frightening pass. Shaken as they were, they emerged from the basement to face their new reality on that April day.
A reality that included a pile of rubble where his cousin’s home once stood. A reality that included a crumpled piece of metal in place of the truck they had been in minutes before. A reality that included walking across the same 20 acres to find just half of his own house and his beloved pecan tree in the kitchen. A reality that included a macerated cotton gin – the broken remnants of his life’s work. A reality that, because of this monster and its path of destruction, included a realization that he would never farm cotton again.
And in that moment, when reality became a bit too much to bear, Steve turned to the only thing he had left–faith. Faith that, despite all evidence otherwise, life would go on. And go on it did, full of new realities. A new reality that took its shape in the form of cost effective rice farming. Unable to afford a new gin, rice would help him survive.
Having developed a passion for organics, Steve farmed the rice in the same fashion he’d come accustomed to, and adapted to the new crop accordingly. True to form, this moment, humble as it seemed, would serve as foundation for the next.
The next moment manifested itself in a story of love at first sight and the multi-year long courtship that followed. As with any occasion of such proverbial grandeur, he remembers being struck with it immediately.
“I was in Memphis, and I wandered into a new fast food chain restaurant I had never heard of before, and there it was, two huge bowls of organic rice.”
The restaurant was Chipotle, and while standing in the line of people clamoring for its rice-filled dishes, he was served a moment of pure unbridled motivation. On fire with excitement, Steve took a business card near the cashier, and began his pursuit to become one of the restaurant’s rice suppliers. Multiple phone calls, samples, flights to corporate headquarters, product tests, and an abundance of anticipation later, Steve got the call.
“We want you to start supplying rice for local Chipotle restaurants.”
It was a dream he had since walking in the door. And once again, a moment that served as groundwork for yet another story to come. As they say, “good things come in three’s”, and Steve was about to experience the next two. The first of which was the moment his farm was selected as a recipient of a grant used to pay for a feasibility study and business plan for expansion, the results of which would indicate that his farm would be able to support an expensive rice milling operation and exponential growth. And the second, was learning of the Missouri Agricultural Small Business Development Authority, which would enable him to pay for it.
Overjoyed that years of hard work and turmoil were paying off, he told Chipotle of his soon-to-be increased capacity to supply, and just like that, another moment bore way for another story.
This story is one of angels.
Angels descending from the Heavens with further gifts of grace and good fortune. These angels were filmmakers from New York City, sent by Chipotle to tell the story of McKaskle Family Farms. They trudged through the fields, they took pictures of the land, they recorded Steve’s story. As a result of the crew and the film they produced, Steve’s rice is in every single Chipotle in Missouri; not to mention 60 Chipotle restaurants spanning Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas and Tennessee. Steve’s rice is even carried in Blue Apron food preparation delivery boxes landing on doorsteps across the country.
“It’s not every day planes from New York with gifts like that land on a farm in the Bootheel of Missouri” he said. “Now that’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
Success found and manifested in a myriad of monumental moments to his name, this man of stories, is as down-to-earth as the seeds he planted after that devastating day in April so many years ago. Asking nothing more of his provider than an opportunity to do it all again, he says his greatest vision–his most perfect reward for a lifetime of work, is to “Wake up early, have a great cup of coffee, go to work, come back to my house and wife, and see my grandsons one more time.”
Fiction has no place in a story like that.
Connecting People, Delivering Good(s)
An Interview with Dave Shogren
By Leslie Fischer
Nov. 29, 2018
Calm. Quiet. Understated. The kind of person that takes a pause before responding to a question and delivers thoughtful answers reflective of his demeanor. As CEO of US International Foods, a high-end global food and grocery export company, his character surfaces in humble disparity from his title. Naturally swapping boastful pride for considerate introspection, he is not the profile of a typical executive. Taking time out of his day to share his expertise for this interview with the Missouri Department of Agriculture was nothing new for him; in fact, he sees mentorship as one of his primary roles.
Connecting People, Delivering Good(s)
An Interview with Dave Shogren
By Leslie Fischer
Nov. 29, 2018
Calm. Quiet. Understated. The kind of person that takes a pause before responding to a question and delivers thoughtful answers reflective of his demeanor. As CEO of US International Foods, a high-end global food and grocery export company, his character surfaces in humble disparity from his title. Naturally swapping boastful pride for considerate introspection, he is not the profile of a typical executive. Taking time out of his day to share his expertise for this interview with the Missouri Department of Agriculture was nothing new for him; in fact, he sees mentorship as one of his primary roles.
This is Dave Shogren.
Q: US International Foods has become known for its work exporting high-end foods and grocery products to countries that don’t otherwise have them. With your wide variety of packaged food products and service offerings, including product sourcing, factory direct purchasing, brand consolidation, customized shipping, export documentation and logistical assistance, running the gamut of export needs, how did you become a jack of all trades, so to speak? What have you found has helped you maintain excellence across such a wide range of responsibilities?
A: Well…, he says with a knowing smile, as a small business, you really must learn everything along the way. My wife Linda is our CFO. We have student interns from local schools, foreign students interested in international business and a sales manager in Shanghai, but with such a small team, I wear a lot of hats. When I became a business owner, I realized there is no one I can complain to or complain about. If I don’t do it, it doesn’t get done. The buck stops with me.
Q: I bet that has been just as much a personal journey as it has been a professional one. What have you learned about yourself since tackling the challenges of small business leadership?
A: How to take rejection, he says immediately. That is one of the things I learned from my second boss and put into practice here. Rejection never stopped him. He loved problems. He was like the Energizer Bunny. He never ran away. He just charged into danger.
Q: Speaking of danger, what were some of the challenges you faced early on, and the key turning points that have gotten you where you are today?
A: Getting the first customer was very hard. The first two years were very lean. Going, networking and cold calling-it can be exhausting. Getting the first and second customers took a ton of time, travel and patience. But, after we got the first few on board, then I think we were considered “real” to others. We also gained a lot of experience with our first shipments, documentation, forwarding and logistics. Each of those were milestones, he says with a sense of nostalgia.
I would say another milestone was consolidation. Once we were able to consolidate and offer that as a service, it opened doors to many new and potential customers that needed that service because they didn’t want to order a full container of one product.
And now, every time we get into a new country, I consider that a new milestone. We are in seven countries now, and none of them happened overnight. Each one took tons of patience, attention to detail and follow-up.
Getting the first and second customers took a ton of time, travel and patience. But after we got the first few on board, then I think we were considered “real” to others.
Dave Shogren
Q: Those are definitely major milestones. From the early days of one to two customers to your current footprint in multiple countries, what specific tactics help you grow?
A: We get into these markets in various ways. Trade shows help, but trade mission participation has been most pivotal. We went on a trade mission to Vietnam with Food Export-Midwest, [a non-profit organization that promotes the export of food and agricultural products from the Midwest], and another one with the Missouri Department of Agriculture to both Vietnam and Taiwan.
We got into the Philippines from a referral by the local Agricultural Trade Office there. We then participated in another trade mission to the Philippines with the USDA to develop that market. Going on government sponsored trade missions gives us a higher profile and instant credibility with buyers that don’t know who we are.
In Taiwan, our first customer found us on the internet. They were a new buyer for a large retailer that wanted to do more with American food, so they searched, contacted us and we did the follow-up. That opened the door to that market. Once we got one buyer, others in the market followed based on building trust and a track record. Then there was a buyers’ mission which helped us grow our footprint in Taiwan. I would then go to Taiwan to meet with them as follow-up. My team also participated in another Food Export trade mission to Taiwan with the same goal which opened the door to another major retailer in the market.
Our customer in Japan came as a referral from a supplier–Gilster Mary Lee. They got an inquiry from Japan, passed it along to us and we followed up. When we started that relationship, we had a staffer that was Japanese, and she would translate, negotiate price and trade terms all over email. Japan is probably where we have seen most cultural differences as far as doing business. China and Taiwan were very direct, but it took me a long time to understand the nuances of the Japanese marketplace. Our Japanese customers have incredible attention to detail and demand perfection. There is a right answer and a wrong answer with nothing in between. In other countries there is a right answer and a good enough answer, but in Japan there is not. If you can break through and get your food in the door, they are very loyal customers.
From Left to Right: Dave Shogren, Cleo Fu (American Institute in Taiwan), Phoebe Chen and Hank Ma (Missouri Department of Agriculture) with Taiwanese friends at the Food Taipei Show June 27-30, 2018.
Q: Interesting. Do the differences in cultures impact how you market your products? Apart from trial and error, how does US International Foods learn distinctions between markets far from home?
A: For us, since we are a trading company, it’s more about building a wide portfolio of products. We go to a lot of trade shows to see new food trends and find new suppliers. We make a lot of sales calls and customers tell us the type of products they need and want. Then we work to match up suppliers with product demand. We are constantly asking ourselves, ‘What did that buyer ask for that we didn’t have?’ We have a huge network both domestically and internationally and maintain those connections over a lot of travel, personal selling, meetings and trade shows. We also get lots of inquiries from our website, which is a result of a concerted effort behind strong search engine optimization (SEO), and our name–US International Foods–helps with that.
Q: So an interesting mix of traditional business and modern practice. SEO is built into processes for most companies now, but it wasn’t that long ago that the concept was new and cutting edge. How have you seen the business of global export change over the years? Was there ever a proverbial ‘Wild Wild West’ in international food exporting that feels like a distant past compared to where the industry is now?
A: Definitely. For example China was the first market we penetrated. China has evolved and matured a lot since those early days, and it changed very fast. When we started selling in China, imported food was a hot topic. A lot of new companies started jumping into it. That trend has leveled off. Now everything there has centered on technology. Alibaba, [a Chinese multinational conglomerate specializing in e-commerce, retail, internet, AI and technology], was ramping up. A few years ago, cross border e-commerce emerged out of Free Trade Zones. China then started taxing e-commerce to protect traditional retailers. Six months ago, everyone was talking about selling on WeChat, [a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media and mobile payment app]. HEMA is now a new store in China, owned by Alibaba, which is bringing massive tech into grocery stores. For example, each product is barcoded in HEMA stores. You scan the barcode and immediately learn where the product is from, how old it is, what its ingredients are, etc.–even down to individual pieces of shellfish. Then you can have it cooked for you in the store and delivered to you via robot. If you are near a HEMA but don’t want to go inside, you can order groceries and prepped, cooked food, and HEMA will deliver it to you within half an hour.
For us, we have to try to get the buyers attention again. The import craze in China has gone past, and now people are on to the next thing.
Left to Right: Dave Shogren, Chris Frederick and Kin Moy from the American Institute in Taiwan, and Linda Shogren. The group meets during the Food Taipei Show June 27-30, 2018.
Q: Wow. Incredible. Staying on-trend across oceans is nearly a full-time job in and of itself. Yet, you are active in professional organizations and your local community, serving both nonprofits and academic institutions. What compels you to give back with such a full plate of corporate responsibilities?
A: I don’t have kids, so I have more free time, he laughs. Mentorship is really something that I think is important. My mentors and first two bosses were critical teachers when I was coming up, so they have been a good example to follow.
Q: Speaking of people, who are some of the most memorable individuals you have met through your work?
A: I have developed some nice friendships and relationships with customers and suppliers. I feel like I have friends all over the world. I can go to most of the big cities in Asia, and there is always someone there I can have dinner with.
Q: Relationships are key to international business, that is for sure. From your vast experience working with all types of people, what do you believe most people have in common?
A: Yes, the thing that I have learned through export and international business in all these different countries is that people are more alike than different. People still want the same things; a buyer in Taiwan is still motivated by the same things as a buyer in the U.S. They only want to take something that they can sell. What I’ve learned is that international business is about 95% business and 5% international differences. That 5% I call international refers to differences in technical processes, customer requirements, tools for international payments, logistics and HS codes. The fear factor of that 5% keeps a lot of people out.
We leaned on freight forwarders a lot to help educate us, we did export trainings at the WTC, and lastly, weren’t afraid to ask for help. I even got a lot of help from customers telling us what documents they needed. I learned a lot from our customers. Food Export-Midwest was a great resource, too. There are a ton of resources available, and we try to use all of them.
Q: Regarding local assets, having traveled extensively, and always coming back to your home base in St. Louis, what do you love about living here?
A: St. Louis is a great transportation hub. We can ship a lot of containers with good rates because we are a rail center, and the highways and rail infrastructure around it are great. Being in the Midwest, we are close to a lot of food production. People ask, ‘Why aren’t you in California?’ And, I answer that while St. Louis is home, we are also much closer to our local suppliers–farms, food processing, food production–it’s all right here. We enjoy the benefits of being close to suppliers.
Q: That makes it easy for going from local to global. What do you first miss when you leave?
A: Imo’s Pizza, he says without hesitation. And my wife. But not in that order.
Q: Such a classic Missouri staple! Have you seen St. Louis change throughout your lifetime? If so, how?
A: St. Louis has definitely changed for the better. There has been a significant rebirth of many neighborhoods in the city in areas around Grand Center, South Grand, U-City and The Loop.
Q: Very cool. What do you wish you could change about home?
A: I wish we had high speed trains like they do in Asia, but generally, my feelings are those of gratitude for things we take for granted in America that aren’t present when I go overseas. It definitely makes me appreciate what we have. We have so much bounty here that we don’t even think about. Bounty in terms of the size of our supermarkets, sheer abundance and choice. If you go on the street in the Philippines and Vietnam, people don’t have as much. Our infrastructure is developed and in place. Our traffic is nothing compared to what it is in other parts of the world. We complain after five minutes of traffic, but the traffic in the Philippines redefines the word. You see everything from cars, to motorbikes, to coach busses, to old busses, to SUVs with bench seats that run long ways in back. They have something called a Jeepney, which is a converted army jeep stretched to fit more people. Then there are motorbikes with sidecars and pedal-powered bikes carrying people.
Q: What are some of the things you’ve learned from your local environment?
A: Well working with folks all across the state from Kirksville, to Kansas City, to Springfield, to the Bootheel, I’ve learned how rewarding it is to be a connector.
Connecting, teaching, helping and making friends near and far–it’s such a gratifying line of work.
Freddie Lee’s Gourmet Sauces
By Leslie Fischer
Nov. 16, 2018
Adulthood came fast for Freddie Lee.
At age 16, living in the ghetto of inner-city St. Louis, Freddie learned he was going to be a father. While most kids his age were learning to drive, tasting the freedoms of what it is to be an American teen, Freddie was looking down the barrel of parenthood in one of the roughest neighborhoods in the state.
Freddie Lee’s Gourmet Sauces
By Leslie Fischer
Nov. 16, 2018
Adulthood came fast for Freddie Lee.
At age 16, living in the ghetto of inner-city St. Louis, Freddie learned he was going to be a father. While most kids his age were learning to drive, tasting the freedoms of what it is to be an American teen, Freddie was looking down the barrel of parenthood in one of the roughest neighborhoods in the state.
Shortly after finding out about the pregnancy, he bore his impending responsibilities with grit and determination. He married his girlfriend and prepared for a life together. Moments after the wedding ceremony took place, still waving at the departing family and friends that had come to his parents’ house to witness the nuptials, he was hit with the gravity of his new role.
“You’ve got man’s shoes on now, boy,” his father said. “Men don’t live with their parents. Men provide for the family they’ve created.”
That would be the last morning he would ever wake up in his childhood home. A freshman in high school, with a mere $200 dollars to his name and new bride in tow, Freddie found a room to rent that night and began to piece together the realities of his changing life.
By 17, Freddie quit school and began an education of hard knocks under the mentorship of his life’s greatest influence, his father. With no more than a third grade education, Freddie Lee Sr. was the first black carpenter at the largest home construction company in the region. Beginning as a laborer and retiring as a foreman, Freddie Lee Sr. climbed his way up, working tirelessly to provide a life for his wife and family of nine children. The oldest of his father’s kids, Freddie Lee Jr., intended to do the same.
Work was no foreign concept to another young teen just a few blocks away. Under the example and full time guardianship of her great grandmother, Deborah had been learning the value of a dollar since she was a child. Assisting in her grandmother’s grocery store, picking fruit and greens as a field hand in Mississippi and taking odd jobs here and there, Deborah followed the work, because from the start, work was what she had been taught, and work was what she knew.
“Nobody gonna hand you anything,” her great grandmother said between shifts in a never ending day. “You gotta work for everything you’ve got.”
And for Deborah, everything meant just that. Everything meant paying rent in her grandmother’s home. Everything meant buying her own food. Everything meant spending spare change on a bus fare to get to another job, to pay for everything else.
Freddie and Deborah Lee pose behind their booth while giving out samples of their mild and spicy barbecue sauces.
Coming from a long line of single mothers, Deborah also knew the harsh realities of what she was up against when her pregnancy test turned pink. Her unborn child in mind and two I-do’s later, she knew that her “everything” just got a whole lot bigger.
As childhood hopes often dwindle at the expense of adult experience, it was not long before both Deborah and Freddie found their ideals of whole families disintegrating before their eyes. Broken promises and young love lost, they both found themselves with a title they never intended to attain—single parent. For Deborah, this meant taking her daughter and fleeing her husband for a better life. Even though that life meant living in and out of decaying shelters and “playing house” in abandoned vehicles to hide homelessness from her child. For Freddie, this meant getting through the hard times by finding a roof to put over his head, even when that roof was falling in, over buildings vacated or left for foreclosure.
But for both, a hope for brighter days and an unbeatable work ethic made dark nights more tolerable.
Although they didn’t know it, brighter days were on their way. True to form, each kept doing the only thing they knew how—work. And work pulled them through. In addition to his job at the construction company, Freddie took every paying gig that came his way. He mopped each floor of a multi-story building. He unloaded trucks at the local Goodwill. He waited tables at Adam’s Mark hotel (now the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch). Nothing was below him, and everything was an opportunity.
Similarly, Deborah took the early shift at an aerospace part manufacturing company, just so she could turn around and work the late shift at a large pharma conglomerate when she was through. Waking every morning at 4 a.m. for jobs in corporate worlds unknown to her; returning each night at midnight to the crime-ridden streets of a neighborhood she was all too familiar with. Day in, day out, every one the same.
Years of toil and routine eventually found returns in steady paychecks. Things began to slowly turn around. Deborah was able to save some menial extra cash and put it toward a home which she would live in, fix up and rent out room by room to create additional passive income. Similarly, after becoming financially stable enough to enjoy some free time, Freddie began tinkering in the kitchen, making barbecue sauce to give to family and friends. Life was by no means easy, but it wasn’t the constant struggle that it was before. Each accustomed to their own path less traveled, neither anticipated them to cross.
After meeting Deborah through a mutual acquaintance, Freddie knew within minutes that he had found his counterpart in another. Practical and self-reliant, she was like no one he had ever experienced; and his uninhibited character softened her reticence, resulting in the last thing either expected—a partnership that worked, founded in love.
Love and barbecue sauce.
After years of testing everything in his kitchen cabinet, it was not until Deborah weighed in on his barbecue sauce recipe that he found the perfect ratio of spices. Quite frankly, she was his missing ingredient.
The perfect combination finally realized, it wasn’t long before the neighborhood was clamoring for it. Ghetto Sauce, they jokingly called it, was a glib reference to a dim “dream ticket out” of current circumstances and out of the ghetto.
Now in nearly 600 grocery stores throughout the nation, on Amazon and exported to China, Ghetto Sauce has most certainly made its way out of the hood. A decade of continued work, door-to-door sales, intimidating meetings with grocery store conglomerates and the boon of internet retail, Deborah and Freddie Lee watch as their sauce now travels from East St. Louis to the Far East. Born out of a small home kitchen, where the sounds of sirens and gunshots were as commonplace as the ingredients on the stove, the pair never thought they would see such growth come from such humble beginnings. Partnering with corporate barbecue giants like Big Green Egg and a strategic initiative that includes opening their own factory in the neighborhood they call home, the pair are sharing their success. With their own history and challenges as the foundation of their commercial blueprint, their factory pay will nearly double the minimum wage, and its convenient placement on the city bus line should make life a little bit easier for their employees than it was for themselves. With incentive packages in place as a reward for success, Deborah and Freddie Lee know that at the core of every good job done, is the human doing it.
“You’ve got to recognize that everyone is facing their own battle,” Deborah said. “Black, white, rich or poor, everyone has a story, and it’s worth listening to.”
Humility and work ethic central to their success, the streets they grew up on are still shaping their story every day. While the sauce has opened doors, they don’t plan to leave the home they know.
“As long as it’s taken us to get where we are, it can be gone in a flash—that’s life,” Freddie said. “This is all God’s doing, not ours. We are his vessels, but we are enjoying the ride he’s got us on.”
Nutra Blend Gives Back
By Leslie Fischer
Sep. 10, 2018
September.
A month rife with transition, as kids and parents alike are switching gears–trading pool bags for backpacks, morning cartoons for morning announcements, and homeruns for homeroom. For many families, this shift in mindset–from the splendors of solstice, to the rigors of routine–is a difficult one, as schedules and extracurriculars suppress the spontaneity of the season. For other students and families, however, this change is long-awaited, as the start of school means the return of something else—regular meals.
Nutra Blend Gives Back
By Leslie Fischer
Sept. 10, 2018
September.
A month rife with transition, as kids and parents alike are switching gears–trading pool bags for backpacks, morning cartoons for morning announcements, and homeruns for homeroom. For many families, this shift in mindset–from the splendors of solstice, to the rigors of routine–is a difficult one, as schedules and extracurriculars suppress the spontaneity of the season. For other students and families, however, this change is long-awaited, as the start of school means the return of something else—regular meals.
17.4 percent of Missouri children, or 1 in 5 kids across the state, are food insecure. On its face, this means that they do not know where, or if, they will get their next meal, apart from those provided in the school cafeteria. This means hungry bellies manifest themselves in a cruel correlation of low test scores and high tempers. A lack of self-esteem and pervasive stress, lost focus and despondence are far too familiar. Devastatingly, hunger to this degree touches our urban centers, rural back roads and most places in between. In the land of the plenty, we are still struck with a huge need.
17.4 percent of Missouri children, or 1 in 5 kids across the state, are food insecure. On its face, this means that they do not know where, or if, they will get their next meal, apart from those provided in the school cafeteria.
But one Missouri company is stepping up to the plate. Nutra Blend, headquartered in the southwestern corner of the state and the nation’s largest distributor of animal feed ingredients, is reaching outside its corporate mission to serve a necessity beyond the bottom line. With a Drive to Feed Kids that is both literal and emblematic of their impassioned employees, there is no doubt Nutra Blend is doing their part to end hunger. With a robust assistance initiative to support backpack programs throughout the nation, Nutra Blend works with customers to help financially back meal supplement platforms through organized fundraisers. Customers participating in the program see the proceeds going toward food put into backpacks of kids in their community that are in need.
Volunteers working at a Drive to Feed Kids event. Customers participating in the program see the proceeds going toward food put into backpacks of kids in their community that are in need.
Additionally, Nutra Blend contributes directly to these funds through a point program, wherein a portion of every dollar participating customers spend at Nutra Blend is given to the drive. Driven indeed, Nutra Blend raised enough money to fill more than 20 million empty stomachs in its first three years alone.
Their reach doesn’t end at the borders of our homeland. Nutra Blend, its customers, and suppliers in the feed industry, have furthered the national initiative to feed kids by taking the program into developing nations like Haiti, where the problem of childhood hunger is overwhelmingly clear. As seven percent of Haitian children die of starvation before they reach kindergarten, Nutra Blend is working hard to shrink this alarming statistic. Realizing that the answer to world hunger is found in sustainability and sound agricultural practices, Nutra Blend is working to support Meds & Food for Kids (MFK), a nonprofit that has taught hundreds of local farmers how to grow peanuts on their land. The peanuts are then sold back to MFK for use in a peanut-based product made of sugar, oil, milk powder and a vitamin/mineral blend. This product, and the producer system it is founded upon, is providing a livelihood for farmers and saving thousands of Haitian lives.
If that wasn’t enough, Nutra Blend has a third pillar to support the global modern agriculture industry as a whole. Drive the Message is an educational mission to dispel myths and misconceptions around today’s farming industry by supporting a partner nonprofit called Farming to Fight Hunger. Committed to telling the truth about modern food production, Farming to Fight Hunger works to spread the message of the good work American farmers and ranchers are doing to provide safe, affordable and sustainable food while raising awareness of the realities of domestic and global hunger.
If you ask Nutra Blend’s leadership what compels them to go the extra mile when up against the hardship of global hunger, Randy Shanks, vice president of North American Sales, puts it best: “How can we not?”
Beckmeyer Farms
By Leslie Fischer
June 21, 2018
Rolling hills, vineyards, a farm house that sits amongst vines, views that last for miles. There are few scenes more idyllic than those abundant at Beckmeyer Farms, nestled on the southern border of Boone County, in the heart of central Missouri. Once used for traditional row crop, the dynamic plot has changed roles over the years, beginning with the production of grapes for Missouri’s wine industry in the late nineties. Under the stewardship of owner Orion Beckmeyer, life-long farmer, producer, volunteer and home vintner, the land has produced far more than the inputs initially planted. As someone who understands the gifts inherent in the American farmer,the bounties of his land and a yearning to do more, Beckmeyer has made it his life’s mission to give back on a global scale.
Beckmeyer Farms
By Leslie Fischer
June 21, 2018
Rolling hills, vineyards, a farm house that sits amongst vines, views that last for miles. There are few scenes more idyllic than those abundant at Beckmeyer Farms, nestled on the southern border of Boone County, in the heart of central Missouri. Once used for traditional row crop, the dynamic plot has changed roles over the years, beginning with the production of grapes for Missouri’s wine industry in the late nineties. Under the stewardship of owner Orion Beckmeyer, life-long farmer, producer, volunteer and home vintner, the land has produced far more than the inputs initially planted. As someone who understands the gifts inherent in the American farmer,the bounties of his land and a yearning to do more, Beckmeyer has made it his life’s mission to give back on a global scale.
Under the stewardship of owner Orion Beckmeyer, life-long farmer, producer, volunteer and home vintner, the land has produced far more than the inputs initially planted.
In addition to numerous daily tasks that come with running a successful farm operation, Beckmeyer is an active participant and producer for the Foods Resource Bank (FRB). This nonprofit organization works to raise money to help people in developing countries grow their own food through numerous growing projects, volunteerism and fundraising. Each year, he opens his vineyard to the local community inviting them to share his passion for agriculture as well as provide an opportunity to donate their labor to FRB. By welcoming harvesters to participate in a charitable “u-pick,” in conjunction with partners at his church and surrounding community churches, Beckmeyer has raised more than $300,000 for the global food organization. Not alone in their efforts, the U.S. Agency for International Development matches the money to further leverage the gifts to recipient markets for farm equipment, fertilizer and seed. In addition to his work to raise capital, Beckmeyer donates his time and expertise through traveling to Kenya, a market where the organization serves to teach, give and learn. Kenya is a country of more than 48 million people, with nearly 70% of the population living below the poverty line, many of whom regularly live on just one meal a day.
In a region of the world repeatedly devastated by realities unknown to the modern American farmer, Kenya is a country plagued with widespread crop disease, livestock-eliminating viruses carried by infected insects and an influx of refugees because of the continental prevalence of AIDS. Beckmeyer has learned nearly as much as he has imparted and is touched by the sight of hungry families compounded with statistics indicating that an African child loses their fight to hunger every seven seconds. He is committed to doing his part to remain grounded and true to the mission of the American farmer–providing the fruits of bounty to those who need it. These facts, figures and firsthand accounts keep him motivated to make a difference; even in lands far away from the peaceful, safe-haven of the hills of Hartsburg.