Sustainable food business grows from bread to community impact

From artisan bread to food justice: How one entrepreneur reshaped her mission

Using her background in studying food systems and sustainable agriculture from the University of Minnesota, she turned her passion for food science and baking into a cottage food business that reflected her commitment to reducing food waste.

Caitlin started with yeast-based artisan breads, but quickly discovered unsold loaves had a short shelf life and were difficult to store. To minimize waste and create more sustainable revenue streams, she started selling dried soup mixes and seasonings with longer shelf lives. She also began selling at Wagner's Garden Center's holiday market. Unlike many markets that are highly competitive and require registration months in advance, Wagner's market has a low-barrier entry point for vendors. The primary requirement was insurance, which is common for markets to require, and she was able to secure it through the Food Liability Insurance Program (FLIP). This opportunity was a great confidence builder for her cottage food business.

SNAP at farmers markets

Barnhart later joined the Midtown Farmers Market, where she felt a strong connection to the market's deeply community-centered mission. What stood out most was the market's commitment to food access. Through participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the market helps ensure that fresh, locally grown food is accessible to more families while vendors are still compensated fairly for their products.

SNAP is a federally funded program that supports low-income households in purchasing groceries. Many farmers markets across Minnesota accept Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), the card system used to distribute SNAP benefits.

Food Safety Basics

Caitlin emphasizes thorough and meticulous sanitation. She always carefully cleans and sanitizes jars before packaging her dried soup mixes and seasonings to prevent cross-contamination. She also mentioned the importance of washing your hands, especially after working in your garden. Foodborne illness-causing bacteria, such as Listeria, can be found naturally in your backyard's soil.

Supporting local food systems

In 2024, Barnhart earned her MBA from St. Cloud State University and launched Impact Now Consulting, a firm dedicated to strengthening nonprofits through program design, fractional leadership, project management, and operational excellence. The business quickly gained traction. This ultimately led her to close her cottage food operation and focus on consulting full-time, but selling her own food was the perfect segue into the next step in her career

Through Impact Now Consulting, she partnered with Healthy Roots Institute and the City of Minneapolis to support immigrant and refugee food entrepreneurs through the Street Vendor Entrepreneur Support and Compliance Program. The initiative helped vendors navigate local food safety regulations and often guided them toward cottage food registration as an accessible first step.

Around the same time, Caitlin founded Garden Gro, a venture rooted in sustainable agriculture and community impact. Garden Gro addresses a common challenge of school and community gardens that flourish in spring but fail to thrive without summer maintenance. By managing and maintaining these spaces, Garden Gro ensures these gardens remain healthy year-round and, importantly, the harvest doesn't go to waste. Garden Gro helps redirect unused produce to local hunger relief efforts.

Looking ahead, Caitlin hopes to collaborate with The Real Minneapolis, which prepares and distributes approximately 500 fresh meals per week to community members in need. She also plans to expand into accessible gardening kits designed for renters and those with limited growing space, making home food production approachable for everyone. Maybe even future cottage food producers.