For Lisa Kinney, her journey into the microgreen business included challenges and rewards, boom and bust. Absent through it all would be any regrets. Once a novice, Kinney earned the support of dedicated customers, hit a pause with a life change, but plans to resume the success of Kinney Mini Farms.
True to the theme of endings and beginnings, Kinney's position as a Special Education paraprofessional was a casualty of Covid as schools sat empty. In its place, after reading an article about microgreens and their nutritional benefits, Kinney visited farmers' markets on weekends to learn how to grow the product. She started Kinney Mini Farms soon after.
"It was 100 percent into the new business, then expanding to more farmers markets, all the time shuffling the ability to grow at a bigger scale," said Kinney.
At full capacity, Kinney was operating an industrial kitchen to create prized green pesto and also hummus. Microgreens were sold at a variety of farmers' markets, customers could sign up for weekly or bi-weekly subscriptions for drop-offs, and Kinney Mini Farm green pesto was found on shelves at two dozen stores.
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