We are proud of the organizations that have been part of our business accelerator and other initiatives.
Ballew Estates LLC. is a family-owned business that promotes holistic health in connection to pollinator education. Through our teas and community outreach we show how nature heals and provides for us. We want our customers to walk away with our teas with a sense of knowledge and appreciation for pollinator habitats, and their role in our production. We are a KyProud/Appalachia brand, promoting accessibility to herbal teas and natural products. Ballew Estates LLC.
HomeGrown HideAways is a farm, campground, and event facility in the Appalachian foothills of Berea, Ky. This hundred-acre forest retreat features unique lodging opportunities including treehouses, yurts, a tipi, a tiny home, and campsites. The idyllic setting is also the perfect venue for rustic weddings, retreats, reunions, and other small gatherings.
From Root to Remedy, Kentucky Green Grass has got you covered! We are KY Proud members growing our hemp in the heart of the bluegrass. We will consult with you on your growth, we will sell you seeds, seedlings, and clones of our KGG strain. We have our hemp converted to oil at Botanical Processing in Louisville, KY and we distribute it all over the USA! Give our CBD-rich, full-spectrum oil a chance – you’ll quickly be glad you did.
Madison County Community Learning Centers is a nonprofit organization that provides accessible alternative education on 30 acres in the rural Appalachian Mountains. Our schools are independent, Preschool and K– 8th grade, that apply proven methods of experiential, nature-based, interdisciplinary learning to an underserved rural area that directly combats food insecurity. We provide a robust curriculum with Agriculture as a central focus in our programs, alongside the traditional subjects. Our students learn where their food comes from, how to grow & prepare their own food, strengthen nutritional literacy & experience increased access to fresh, healthy foods.
Moonlight Meat Processing is a woman-owned facility that seeks to process all animals humanely, with utmost respect and care for the quality of the final product. Under the watchful eyes of USDA, we serve a broad area of southeast Kentucky and Tennessee. We strive to work with each customer to make sure that the final product echoes the care that they put into raising the animal. In addition, we offer a wide variety of locally sourced meats for sale, including our own grass-finished beef!
No Taste Like Home is a twenty-four-year-old ecotour company offering forage-to-table wild food excursions in the Asheville, NC area. They take folks “out to eat” in the forest and fields of the southern Appalachians, and partner with award-winning Asheville chefs to offer next-level find-dining. Their mission is to facilitate experiences of deepened connection and appreciation for the environment for the betterment of humankind and the natural world.
Rachel DesRochers is the founder of Grateful Grahams, an artisanal graham cracker company; the Incubator Kitchen Collective, a non-profit providing kitchen space, business support, and mentorship to food entrepreneurs; founder of The Good People Festival, an annual free music festival; and In Gratitude, a podcast of tools, tidbits and chats on living a life in gratitude. Rachel is a passionate believer in the power of gratitude and the role of food in creating of community.
Baqua Brands is a Kentucky family business that has developed a line of delicious ancient grain beverages. Our inspiration came from research on the original strength drink–barley water–which was consumed by the Ancient Greeks. All of Baqua’s flavors contain more body-replenishing electrolytes than leading sports drinks. The time is right for a nutritious drink that will delight your taste buds and restore your strength.
Blue Ridge Hemp Company is a cosmeceutical/neutraceutical company out of Asheville, NC concentrated on producing and distributing hemp-derived CBD (Cannabidiol) based natural care products. Our mission is to aid in filling the gap in the treatment of chronic pain affecting over 100 million Americans. Inspired by Nature. Guided by Science.
Cache Foods raises awareness of food streams disposing of nutrients that can be consumed, and is launching with avocado seed nutrition bites that are healthy, delicious, and convenient; showing the sustainability potential of food by-products. Much of the food in the United States is being thrown away, with trends of food waste being transformed into animal feeds, fertilizers, or other food products. Cache Foods furthers this trend and utilizes products that are considered unwanted or inedible.
Common Grounds is locally owned by the McCreary family. It started in 1992 as just a local coffee shop and has grown into the largest locally-owned coffee business in Lexington. Besides the 3 stores, Common Grounds has a warehouse facility where coffee is roasted fresh every week and the warehouse is where the majority of the food products are made in the company’s commercial kitchen. The warehouse is also where other local Kentucky coffee shop owners come to purchase coffee shop products like DaVinci syrups, Ghirardelli chocolate, and of course freshly roasted coffee.
Founded in 2012, Heartland Chia is a farmer-owned company that provides the opportunity for farmers in many states to grow chia. Our goal is to provide farmers a better opportunity to grow chia and provide a safe, reliable supply of U.S.-grown chia in both non-GMO and organic. We encourage our growers to use sustainable and environmentally sound agricultural practices. Heartland is currently selling food-grade U.S.-grown chia and is working to quickly scale up production in multiple locations.
Established in 2010, and located in Lexington, KY, Nourish Body + Botanicals offers individual mind-body health consultations and skillfully blended herbal medicines and aroma-therapeutic botanical perfumes. Products are made with organic and ethically wildcrafted plant materials and formulated by professional aromatherapist and clinical herbalist Nishaan Sandhu.
River Hill Ranch supports living simply, with quality over quantity, conscious of how our decisions affect the world. We support this purpose with our herd of 80 Suri alpacas which provide sustainable clothing, red meat, and other by-products. We open our ranch for public tours to introduce our curious creatures and educate others about growing sustainable clothes.
Sweetgrass Granola is an all-natural, hand-crafted granola lightly sweetened with Kentucky-grown Sorghum Cane Syrup and wildflower Honey. We use local, organic, and non-GMO ingredients. We avoid the use of preservatives, wheat, and refined sugars.
Village Trough, now Peg & Awl Public House, is a worker-owned cooperative farm-to-table mobile food business home based in Berea, Kentucky. A location has been secured and plans are underway to renovate and open a brick-and-mortar restaurant & live music venue in the Old Town Artisan Village shopping and cultural district. Their mission is to strengthen the economic, environmental, and social well-being of our community by reconnecting people with local food sources, community events, and a democratic business structure..
Farmer-Baker-Sausage Maker is a company that seeks to energize the local economy by returning to foods crafted by hand. Their restaurant, Harvest Moon Grille, nourishes its patrons and the local economy by sourcing its ingredients from small-scale farms within 100 miles..
GrowJourney is a seed of the month club specializing in certified organic heirloom seeds. We make organic gardening simple for members across the United States and Canada.
River Island Apothecary is a product line of all-botanical perfume and skin care designed and produced in thoughtful batches by Katie Vie.
Smiling Hara Tempeh is the only company offering soy-free tempeh on the market today. Their latest product, Hempeh, was developed with hemp seeds from our friends at Growing Warriors. Overconsumption of processed soy in the vegan/vegetarian populations is causing health issues, and consumers are looking to companies like Smiling Hara to offer nutrient-dense, high-quality plant-based protein.
Chris McCurry’s Bark House uses natural materials from sustainable forests, processes them minimally through handcrafting, and places them in high-design projects. Bark House is a B-corp and Cradle-to-Cradle certified.
The Appalachian Botanical Alliance is an herb grower’s cooperative that supplies high-quality Western and Chinese herbs to practitioners, distributors, and manufacturers.
Jennifer Lapidus’ Carolina Ground is the only mill in SE producing organic wheat, rye, and barley flours, Carolina grown and milled.
Kurt Mann’s Climate Alive is a climate forecasting and planning tool for business and industry, governments, farmers, broadcasters, planners, the energy industry, and many more.
Julie Jensen’s Echoview Fiber Mill is the first fiber mill built in NC in 40 years, the only GOLD LEED-certified mill in the US, and supports and provides living wage jobs for employees and manufacturers of natural fibers.
Native Touch is the number 1 indigenous skin care product line according to Indian Country. Laralyn Riverwind, owner of Native Touch, is a biologist, herbalist and holds a doctorate in naturopathy. Native Touch is an indigenous, woman-owned, veteran-owned proprietary natural healing products for the body and skin. Native Touch is based in Cherokee County, NC, creating jobs in Tier 1 county as part of their social enterprise.
BelloLea Pizza Kits are the only organic, gluten-free, low-sodium make-at-home pizza kit in the country! Great for those gluten-free folks who miss pizza!
Brent and Brian’s River Bend Malt House is unique on the east coast as a processor and purveyor of barley, wheat, and rye malts for brewing and distilling.
Joel and Tara Mowrey’s Smokin J’s Fiery Foods is the only grower of ghost peppers in US and maker of proprietary base pepper paste sold wholesale nationally to salsa and hot sauce makers.
Veterans to Farmers is working to provide American veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts with pride, education, and fulfillment through a permanent source of sustainable income, community, and contribution: The family farm.
