NCFIL Supports NC Mushroom Farmers

In our recent blog Rethinking Mushrooms, we sang the praises of the humble mushroom, noting the many varieties, the multitude of health benefits, and all the new mushroom products. 

The North Carolina Food Innovation Lab has had the fortune of working closely with two North Carolina mushroom farmers in the past year, Haw River Mushrooms and Growing for Good. Let’s learn more about these partnerships. 

Haw River Mushrooms: Mushroom Ambassadors

Within minutes of speaking with Laura Stewart, who owns Haw River Mushrooms (HRM) with her husband Ches, it’s evident the passion the Stewarts have for telling the story of mushrooms. 

“We want to not just grow mushrooms, but focus on telling the full story of what mushrooms have to offer. A story so relevant in these times as we focus on soil restoration and feeding a growing population. We interact with hundreds of customers at farmers markets and want to welcome more people to the inspiring world of mushrooms.” 

And they also happen to be just the type of business NCFIL was created to serve. 

HRM: Who They Are 

A family-owned mushroom farm in Saxapahaw, NC, Haw River Mushrooms ships mushroom jerky nationally, offers mushroom-related workshops, and grows a variety of mushrooms for wholesale, farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscriptions and direct-to-consumer delivery. They sell freshly harvested lion’s mane, oyster, shiitake, cinnamon cap, black pearls, maitake, and reishi mushrooms, as well as value-added products, such as jerky, lion’s mane ‘crab cakes,’ tinctures, and cultivation kits. 

The Stewarts started with diversified produce farming, adding mushrooms to the rotation in 2013 and were quickly enamored. They began growing mushrooms on hardwood logs, then in a high tunnel and soon, with the assistance of a RAFI grant, converted a shipping container into a mushroom grow house, enabling them to grow mushrooms in every season. Next came the value-added products, like their popular mushroom jerky. 

Similar to so many, COVID has stymied some of HRM’s success. After winning two Specialty Food Association’s sofi™ Awards in 2020 for their mushroom jerky, they had to pull out of their local kitchen and currently do not have the capacity to cook the jerky until they rethink their infrastructure. 

HRM + NCFIL: The Perfect Partnership

NCFIL invited HRM for a tour of the lab, and Laura and Ches quickly realized NCFIL could help solve some of their business challenges.  

“We were a Mom-and-Pop farm who stumbled our way into the prepared foods world, and the learning curve was immense. Just the way you do business, the vocabulary, and thinking about scaling were all new,” said Stewart. “To have an organization so close to our farm that had the ability to help us examine market outlook, recipe refinement and food safety was too good to be true.” 

But true it was. In fact, working with NCFIL, HRM was able to convert its mushroom jerky process from a three-day production to a four-hour job. Using its state-of-the-art equipment, NCFIL took a time-consuming process that often resulted in product losses and delivered not only a faster production time, but also increased product consistency. 

NCFIL has helped HRM prepare to build a new kitchen, allowing for on-site production. HRM plans to work at NCFIL to launch additional products, like mushroom sausages, new jerky flavors and other “outside-the-box” mushroom ideas. 

NCFIL: Beneficial to Food Innovators 

Stewart believes NCFIL can benefit other entrepreneurs: “The big benefit of having NCFIL here is that it helps smaller food innovators connect with this brain trust. They are a powerful arm to advance food research and so well-positioned to understand the day-to-day concerns of small businesses. If you are kicking around an idea, they are a tremendous resource.” 

“We were impressed with the breadth of what NCFIL can and will do and that they invested so much time into a little farm like us.” 

Where to Find Haw River Mushrooms

You can purchase Haw River Mushrooms at these farmers markets: Durham Farmers Market, South Durham Farmers Market, Chapel Hill Farmers Market, Eno Farmers Market and Greensboro Farmers Curb Market. HRM also offers a weekly CSA, available for pick-up or delivery and door delivery throughout much of the Triangle.

Growing For Good: Mushrooms With Purpose

Growing For Good Owners Chris Burns-Fazzi and Janet Shaw have been friends for over 40 years. Business women who met early in their careers, in 2019 they launched a mushroom growing business with a social purpose—breaking the cycle of poverty by education, specifically for women and girls in Central America. 

COVID also impacted Growing for Good, who after meeting with NCFIL in January 2020, was all set to launch its wholesale mushroom business when the pandemic hit. A quick pivot to farmers markets proved successful, and Growing For Good was selling mushrooms and value-added products at four markets by the end of summer. 

Growing For Good sells fresh mushrooms, mushroom jerky, broth, soups, gravy and baked goods. This year, they used their king trumpets to make a mock BBQ. They also make mock crab cakes, using lion’s mane mushrooms. The company is currently working on its organic certification. 

NCFIL Advises Growing For Good 

Chris was introduced to NCFIL at the NCFIL Grand Opening in November 2019, where she met Senior Food Scientist Cindy Calhoun. She then consulted with NCFIL, receiving advice and direction, but was never able to produce a product in the lab because of restricted client access due to the pandemic. 

Chris foresees an opportunity to work with NCFIL again as her company will focus on improving packaging in 2021. She also believes NCFIL could help others: “If you are trying to find your way, NCFIL is so helpful to point you in the right direction and connect you with the right people.” 

“I think NCFIL is the poster child for the country in terms of plant-based foods,” said Chris. “In the next 10-15 years, I think plant-based foods will take over, especially with all that is happening with climate control and people’s shifting preference to healthy eating. NCFIL is on the cutting edge.” 

Where to Find Growing For Good

You can purchase Growing For Good products at these farmers markets: Denver NC Farmer Market, High Country Food Hub, Alleghany Farmer’s Market, University City Farmers Market, and Uptown Farmers Market. 

Work With NCFIL 

Are you a food entrepreneur with a small or big idea for food innovation? Or do you run a large food company and are interested in testing new products? NCFIL has the equipment, talent and partnerships to offer an unmatched level of support in achieving your goals.