the story behind nourish food club

What started with eight backyard chickens at Angel Acres slowly grew into something much bigger than we ever imagined.

Hey there! We're Ash and Sarah (aka, the 'Strong Sistas').

A few years ago, if you had told us we’d someday be running a food club connecting families with small regenerative farms, we probably would’ve laughed right along with you.

We had zero farming experience.
No animals.
No agricultural background whatsoever.

But the pieces were starting to come together...

Like many others, we had reached a breaking point. After years of struggling with unexplained health issues, and finding that conventional medicine often offered little more than prescriptions and vague answers, we started digging deeper into nutrition, farming, food quality, and how modern agriculture impacts human health.

The deeper we looked, the more frustrated we became.

Misleading labels.
Hidden ingredients.
Nutrient-poor food.
A food system optimized for convenience and profit instead of long-term human health.

Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

But what we discovered changed everything for us.

Real, farm-fresh food helped us feel better in ways we never expected. For the first time in a long time, we finally felt like we had answers.

But sourcing that kind of food required long drives, endless research, multiple checkouts at niche online stores, and constant compromise.

Clean food shouldn’t be this hard to find.

So despite having absolutely no idea what we were doing… we decided to leave our careers behind and build our own regenerative farm from scratch.

In 2020, with zero farming experience, we took out a loan to purchase 26 acres in southwest Michigan. A year later, we officially became first-generation farmers and named our little patch of land Angel Acres.

At the time, Ash had just completed her PhD in Mechanical Engineering and was preparing for a career in academia. Becoming a farmer was definitely not part of the original plan....

I still remember telling my graduate school advisors that instead of becoming a professor, I was going to become a farmer instead. The look on their faces is permanently engraved in my memory. 😂

But we couldn’t shake the feeling that the food system needed to change, and we wanted to be part of building something better.

Our mission was simple: raise the kind of food we wished existed for our own families.

Food with healthier fats.
Cleaner ingredients.
Real nourishment.
Food our ancestors would recognize.

And while we didn’t have much experience…

We did have overalls.

Armed with curiosity, grit, and a lot of determination (plus very little clue what we were doing), we started with just eight backyard chickens.

(And yes… our original “we now have 8 chickens and here are their names” YouTube video still exists if you want to witness the humble beginnings for yourself. 😂)

We started with eggs because we weren’t happy with the options available to us, even many “healthy” pasture-raised ones. Some had similar amounts of polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) to canola oil. No thanks!

As we started searching for feed for our own hens and digging deeper into animal nutrition, we discovered something almost no one was talking about: what animals eat becomes the fat in their eggs and meat.

And modern livestock feed had changed dramatically because of industrial agriculture.

Most chickens today (even many pasture-raised chickens) are fed corn byproducts, soy, flax, and other ingredients high in PUFAs: the same unstable fats found in industrial seed oils.

More PUFAs in the feed = more PUFAs in the eggs.

That realization became a turning point for us.

Because if feed directly changes the nutritional composition of food, then truly producing healthier food meant rethinking feed from the ground up.

So Farmer Ash rolled up her sleeves and formulated her own feed because nothing on the market met our standards.

At first, it was literally homemade feed experiments hand-mixed in our garage. Over time, that evolved into the custom low-PUFA, corn- and soy-free feed we still use today across our farm network.

The result: a fatty acid profile much closer to what traditional eggs would have contained historically!

Independent fatty acid testing later confirmed what we suspected: our eggs contained over 70% less omega-6 linoleic acid PUFA compared to Organic pasture-raised eggs.

That’s when we realized: how food is raised and what animals are fed truly matters.

But what mattered most to us wasn’t just the lab results.

It was hearing from customers who told us they could taste the difference and suddenly felt better eating our eggs, especially people who have never been able to eat eggs before without digestive issues.

> "Yours are the first eggs I've been able to eat in over 40 years without stomach upset." - John
> “For the first time in more than 35 years, I am able to tolerate and benefit from eating eggs; both the yolks and the whites! As someone who needs to restrict so many foods, your eggs have given me the ability to enjoy so many more interesting meal options.” - Christie
> "When switching to your eggs, I stopped having histamine reactions to eggs!" - Sam

Messages like these deeply impacted us because they confirmed that food raised differently truly affects how people feel.

As more families experienced the difference in our eggs, word quickly began to spread. People noticed the richer yolks, incredible flavor, healthier fats, and for some, the ability to finally enjoy eggs again without digestive discomfort.

Before long, demand had grown far beyond what our small farm could realistically provide.

And that forced us to make an important decision:

Should we scale one farm bigger and bigger like the industrial food system does…

Or grow in a way that protected the very standards we built our farm around?

We chose the second path.

Instead of turning Angel Acres into another large-scale industrial operation, we chose a different path: partnering with other small regenerative farms that shared our values, farming philosophy, and commitment to raising food the right way.

By growing through a network of trusted small farms rather than one massive operation, we were able to increase supply while protecting the quality, transparency, and farming standards that made our eggs different in the first place.

Each farm stays within its natural capacity, allowing the animals, soil, and ecosystems to remain healthier and better cared for.

More small farms.
Not bigger factories.

It’s definitely not the easiest way to build a food business. In fact, it requires far more coordination, logistics, and relationship-building than simply scaling one industrial operation.

But we believe it’s worth it for higher quality food, healthier animals, and a stronger future for small regenerative farms.

But families were looking for more than just better eggs, because the deeper we looked, the more we realized how many parts of the modern food system were broken.

They wanted cleaner meat. Traditional sourdough. Raw A2 dairy. Seasonal pesticide-free produce. Food they could actually trust.

But we quickly realized something important: no single farm can do everything well.

Between caring for animals, working the land, formulating feed, building websites, filming content, answering customer emails, and shipping highly perishable food across the country… we learned that rebuilding a better food system takes a team and a community.

That’s when Nourish Food Club truly began to take shape.

What started with eggs from our small farm slowly evolved into a virtual farmstand connecting families with a wider variety of clean, farm-fresh foods from regenerative farms we personally know and work with directly.

But producing high-quality food is one challenge. Getting it safely from small farms to families across the country is another challenge entirely. Perishable shipping is no joke! 😂

That’s when Brandon (now Sarah’s husband) stepped in and took the lead on fulfillment, packing, and shipping.

With help from family and close friends (shoutout to Chad, Shando and Gooby!), the Nourish shipping team was born inside a tiny shed on the original Angel Acres farm.

Week by week, we began picking up food directly from our partner farms and bringing it back to our small fulfillment hub at Angel Acres.

Step by step. Farm by farm. Order by order.

Nourish slowly grew into something much bigger than we ever imagined.

Bringing truly traditional food into a modern delivery system is uncharted territory. But we’re committed to doing the hard things so more families can access the kind of unaltered, nourishing food that sustained generations before us, while also creating a reliable, financially sustainable future for small regenerative farms.

And honestly, none of this would exist at the scale it does today without Brandon, who stepped in and built the systems that allowed Nourish to reach families across the country. From fulfillment logistics and cold-chain shipping to packing standards and operational flow, he helped turn what started as a small farm idea into a functioning nationwide food network.

Leading our fulfillment team with incredible care, precision, and grit, Brandon has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make farm-fresh food delivery possible without cutting corners or compromising quality.

Today, Nourish operates from two hubs:

- Michigan: where most Nourish orders are packed and shipped, sourced directly from our network of small regenerative farms
- Kansas: where our heritage wheat is freshly milled, and where some eggs, all flour, and build-your-own sourdough boxes ship from our regenerative farm and sourdough bakery partner

And Yes, Angel Acres Still Exists Today!

As Nourish Food Club grew, Angel Acres never disappeared.

It simply became one of many small regenerative farms helping supply food for Nourish Food Club.

Sarah and Brandon have since moved off the original farm property, but Angel Acres is still home to pasture-raised pigs, cows, and laying hens, continuing to supply the Co-Op with eggs, pork, and beef.

Some things may have grown… but the heart behind all of this still feels very much the same.

And if you’d like to see the Angel Acres story in video form, you can watch it linked below!

nourish food club today

Inside Nourish Food Club today, families have access to foods you can't find in modern grocery stores:

- Corn- and soy-free, drug-free meats & eggs
- Raw A2 dairy
- Traditional sourdough & heritage grains
- Seasonal pesticide-free produce
- Collagen-rich bone broth
- Clean farm-fresh pantry staples & more

We refuse to compromise by turning to industrial confinement systems or shortcut-driven food production.

Instead, we’re building a food system from the ground up: patiently, intentionally, and in partnership with farmers who care as deeply as we do.

Our farm partners share our vision and follow strict production standards, including our custom low-PUFA feed and regenerative farming practices. Through close relationships and regular farm visits, we work together to produce nutrient-dense, pasture-raised food with integrity and intention.

Old-fashioned food, with the convenience of modern delivery.

Today, our original founders each steward a core part of this family-run business:

- Farmer Ash leads farm partnerships, farming standards, low PUFA feed formulation, and website development. She oversees product and project development, writes our educational blog content and recipes, and shares behind-the-scenes insights across weekly emails, blog, and all of our social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, & TikTok) because education is just as important as food!
- Sarah leads customer experience, customer support, and labeling (how gorgeous are her label designs?!?) She manages a high volume of member communication, order questions, and issue resolution with care and precision. She ensures clarity, transparency, and trust at every touchpoint, and also writes our weekly entertaining Momma Hen emails for our Angel Acres Egg Club subscribers.
- Brandon leads order fulfillment, packaging systems, and logistics to ensure that your farm-fresh food arrives safely, efficiently, and with care (this is not an easy task!) He also manages our financial operations and accounting.

(And yes, there's always a lot to do!)

Nourish is more than a food club!

At its core, Nourish is fueled by a deep, instinctive desire to care for others. The same motherly instinct that wants to feed, protect, and truly nourish the people we love.

Combine that with an obsession for traditional farming practices, a deep curiosity about fatty acids and human metabolism, and the realization that the modern food system is actively working against our health… and Nourish was born.

> We believe food should support your metabolism, not work against it.

> It should come from healthy soil, thoughtfully fed animals, and time-tested farming practices, not shortcuts, industrial confinement, and ultra-processed ingredients.

We’re passionate about restoring old-school food production that actually nourishes the body and pairing it with the convenience modern families need.

And when you support Nourish, you’re supporting a growing network of real people and small regenerative farmers working together to raise food with integrity: for your family and ours.

So while Nourish may technically be called a “food club”...

It honestly feels more like a movement that you are a part of.

Together, we’re helping restore small farms, improve soil health, create cleaner food, and build a healthier future for the next generation.

That matters more than you probably realize.

Thank you for being part of this journey with us. We’re just getting started. 💛