Mar 31, 2025
By Jen Kern
On March 24, the Border Queen Harvest Hub (BQHH) hosted a Lunch and Learn at Sugar Sisters in Caldwell. Owned by Jeff Janzen and Steve McCullough, Sugar Sisters is a catering service that also opens its restaurant for special events, including Boozy Breakfasts every other Saturday and lunches on Mondays. Guests enjoyed a hearty chicken and noodle meal while learning more about the mission and purpose of BQHH.
I led the presentation to clarify the role of BQHH and highlight the benefits of the new commercial kitchen being built in the downtown Workspace.
Another key focus was explaining the BQHH website and Facebook page. Modeled after the Shop Kansas Farms website, our platform is hyperlocal, covering a 60-mile radius around Caldwell. I described it as an “Angie’s List” for the local food economy—connecting producers, processors, and distributors while helping consumers find fresh, local products. Whether someone is searching for eggs, beef, honey, herbs, or even value-added products like salsa, the goal is to make it easier to source these goods from nearby farms and businesses. Soon, we will also include breweries, distilleries and agritourism opportunities.
The Midwest has an advantage when it comes to accessing farm-fresh ingredients. I shared a recent example of this by demonstrating small-scale flour milling. We recently acquired a 12-cup flour mill for the commercial kitchen, and I was able to source wheat from my neighbor, Wes Almond. He had it cleaned at the local co-op just three blocks away, and by noon, I was milling fresh flour for my presentation.
I also obtained oats from another local farmer, Shane Schmidt, and used both grains to bake banana bread and cookies. The experience underscored the nutritional benefits of fresh-milled flour, which retains more bran and germ compared to store-bought varieties. While sifting these elements creates softer flour with a longer shelf life, the bran and germ are valuable byproducts that can be used for additional nutrition—or even for making homemade dog food!
To cap off a day centered on local food, one of our attendees later stopped by with a batch of homemade salsa—a perfect example of the type of product we hope to feature on the Harvest Hub. This event reinforced the incredible opportunities we have to support local producers, processors, and distributors while enjoying the bounty of our region.
Stay tuned for more updates from BQHH as we continue building connections in our local food network!