Farm to Summit
Farm fresh and flavor packed. Meals that give a damn.
Farm to Summit was founded in 2021 by Jane and Louise Barden, a Durango based couple with a passion for adventure and a shared love for farm fresh and flavor packed meals. Together their backgrounds in farming, fine dining, and ecology combine to create a product that intends to not only shake up the way we eat in the backcountry but also help mend the broken links in our food system. Farm to Summit is their vision for a viable future of food, a radical paradigm for our new era of sustainable consumption.
OMNIDEGRADABLE ®
So you’ve heard of biodegradable, compostable, and of course recyclable but what the heck is this omni – degradable? To put it simply, Omnidegradable means that the packaging will break down in any environment where microbes are present.. even a landfill.
TO DISPOSE:
- Backyard compost
- Burn in contained fire
- Trash - even in a completely anerobic landfill they will break down into organic matter in 1-5 years
- Recycle - when stripped to single layers
Why Omnidegradable® ?
We put A LOT of research into our packaging. We (like many of our customers) live and recreate in a small mountain town- where access to municipal compost facilities is limited. Without access to these costly facilities, most 'compostable' plastics become trash- sitting in landfills for years and even decades. We didn't like that. While our pouches can not be composted in all municipal compost facilities due to longer composting times (check with your local facility before composting) they are consumer compostable AND will break down even in an entirely anaerobic landfill environment.
We think that is pretty awesome.
The Nitty Gritty
How does it work? Our Omnidegradable® pouches breakdown thanks to an additive blend of organic compounds, which in the presence of microbes, creates an enzyme that breaks down the long-chain molecules of the plastic. This allows the microbes to then consume the plastic. These bags are FDA compliant and comply with ASTM standards for biodegradability.
Jane, having grown up in Michigan on her family’s third generation farm understands first-hand the broken links in our food system. Imperfections mean waste. Veggies left unharvested and tractor loads of flawed produce thrown over the bank were common sights on her family’s 100-acre produce farm. She is also an avid foodie and businesswoman at heart. After graduating from Fort Lewis College with a degree in Business and Finance she excelled in numerous sales and marketing positions while also working within fine dining. Her years of experience in the restaurant industry have guided her deep appreciation for quality food and excelled her masterful skills in the kitchen.
Louise is a botanist with a Masters in Ecology from the University of Colorado in Boulder. She is an avid conservationist and has spent the last decade working in remote wilderness settings across the globe. Raised in Georgia where elaborate home cooked meals were common, she also cultivated a deep-rooted appreciation for fresh foods and food culture. Throughout her career as a research ecologist, she has backpacked extensively- and occasionally for weeks at a time. During these trips her largest struggle was often food. With current backpacking meals not meeting the mark, she became inspired to design her own. Lightweight and instant cooking meals that are packed with flavor, loaded with nutrition, and which don’t pollute the ecosystems that she cherishes most.
Together, Jane and Louise combined their passions to create Farm to Summit- a dehydrated food company on a mission. Farm fresh, flavor packed, sustainably produced and packaged, and working to reduce food waste within our system!
identity
Women-Founded
Women-Founded
impact
% to People
% to People
activities
Camping, Hiking, Climbing
Camping, Hiking, Climbing
organization
Small Business
Small Business
offerings: backcountry meals | backpacking meals | camp kitchen | camping | plant based meals | vegetarian meals
identity
Women-Founded
Women-Founded
impact
% to People
% to People
activities
Camping, Hiking, Climbing
Camping, Hiking, Climbing
organization
Small Business
Small Business
