Celebrating Women-Owned Farm to Fork Partners

During this year’s Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating the women-owned businesses who are part of our Farm to Fork program and supply our teams and the communities they serve with produce, meat, and artisanal food products.    

In 1999, Bon Appétit was the first food service company to formalize our commitment to local farms, ranches, and artisan food businesses through our Farm to Fork program, which tasks our teams with purchasing 20% of their ingredients from small, owner-operated farms, ranches, and artisan food businesses within 150 miles of our cafés. Fast forward 25 years, and Bon Appétit spends millions of dollars annually on local products from our ever-expanding network of Farm to Fork vendors. Our commitment to local food allows our teams to purchase food directly from small businesses and family farms, many of which are led by women.   

Read on to learn more about these women-owned local food businesses, from Equator Coffees in Northern California to Hilltop Greenhouse and Farm in Southern Minnesota, as well as Hoffman Farms near the Rocky Mountains. Wherever in the country these vendors might be, we’re thrilled to call them our partners.   

Equator Coffees 

Co-founded by Brooke McDonnell and Helen Russell in a garage in Marin County, CA in 1995, Equator Coffees was started with the idea of making people’s lives better through coffee. Almost three decades later, Equator has brought new meaning to transparency in the coffee industry, as well as a commitment to equitable and sustainable practices in action. The B Corp certified company provides high-quality and ethically sourced coffee to customers throughout the Bay Area and nationwide while still holding to their core values of sustainability and social responsibility.  

Hilltop Greenhouse and Farm 

Hilltop Greenhouse and Farm in Ellendale, MN has been dedicated to growing high-quality plants and vegetables for over 25 years. Co-owned by Gretchen Boldt and her husband Glenn, Hilltop began with one small greenhouse to start vegetable transplants for their fields. Now working with their three daughters, Gretchen and Glenn have grown into a full-service garden center and source for local, farm-fresh vegetables. Hilltop Greenhouse proudly sells its produce to the Bon Appétit teams at Carleton College, St. Olaf College, and other teams in the Twin Cities area.  

Hoffman Farms 

Co-owned and -operated by Hanmei Hoffman and her husband Derrick, Hoffman Farms is located north of Greeley, CO, and specializes in diversified fruit and vegetable crops, which they supply to Bon Appétit at Colorado Christian University and other nearby accounts. Hanmei was born into a family of farmers in Southern China, and never thought she’d follow in their footsteps after immigrating to the U.S. What began as a small three-acre family garden got turned into an urban farm in 2014, and a much larger farm shortly thereafter. Now, they farm over 100 acres of land and sell a variety of produce to wholesale and institutional markets.