By Michelle M. Sharp, Founder and Content Creator of Meet the Minnesota Makers
“I would say business ownership is one of the hardest things I’ve done outside of having kids,” says Christine
“Montana” Rasmussen, owner of River Rock Kitchen & Baking Co in Saint Peter. “It’s both super hard and super rewarding. I see where I get to have an impact in the community with my bakery business by buying directly from local producers as well as the impact of those who purchase from me.”
Why Source Locally?
River Rock Kitchen & Baking Co’s local community impact starts with sourcing. Under Montana’s leadership, the bakery sources their ingredients from more than a dozen farms, mills, and cooperatives in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. These local partners include Northfield’s Little Hill Berry Farm, Henderson’s Little Big Sky Farm, and Minneapolis’ Baker’s Field Flour & Bread.
Buying directly from local farmers, even though it requires more coordination, is her first priority. Montana knows
how many carrots, onions and zucchini they’ll need to make their soups, quiches, and salads. Montana’s goal is to strengthen her community by running a bakery that feeds people good food made with whole, locally-sourced ingredients. “A lot of those farms and local food partners are my community members. Choosing to support them is just continuing to support where I live.” Sometimes this means pulling a chocolate beet cake or zucchini bread into rotation to take advantage of local abundance.
Local Business Dreams
Originally from Missoula, Montana first moved to Saint Peter to attend college at Gustavus Adolphus. After graduating with a double major in studio art and art history Montana connected with the owner of River Rock Coffee in Saint Peter. Montana began working as the coffee shop’s manager.
Several years later, when the food preparation and coffee shop components 
divided into two businesses, Montana took the helm of the food portion. This provided her the opportunity to further develop the relationships she had formed with local farmers. Says Montana, “The best part for me? I just loved the work I was doing. I’m somebody that really loves to dream and think and explore ideas. Owning a business allows me to do that.”
River Rock Kitchen & Baking Co continues to provide the coffee shop with their daily treats while expanding into a wholesale operation that supplies several area coffee shops, coops, and cafes with baked goods and prepared foods.
Kernza: A New Way to Source Locally
Fostering these local connections introduced Montana to Kernza® perennial grain. Ben Penner of Belle Plaine’s 
Ben Penner Farms provided Montana with some samples of the Kernza he had planted at his farm. “I got really excited about Kernza. It’s local. My friend is growing it. It’s sustainable. Why don’t more people know about this?” The Kernza plant provides numerous benefits in terms of soil and water quality protection. Once established, the perennial plant saves farmers time in the busy spring season.
A challenge that Montana faced in incorporating Kernza into the bakery’s menu is the cost. The grain itself is quite small, and the yield per acre is lower than annual grains so growers need a higher price per pound to make the economics work. Kernza is still a very small percentage of the grain grown in Minnesota.
“There’s a lot of choices that I could make with this business that would make more money. I always share this with new hires at the bakery,” said Montana. “I could choose to get all my flour from Sysco, just very basic, cheapest I can get, but it’s not how I live personally. I see this business as an extension of me and my values. I would never make those choices in my personal life so I will never do that in my business either.” Montana’s personal values, the opportunity to support her local community–economically and environmentally–, and outside financial support in the form of a grant made it clear to Montana that incorporating Kernza was the best next choice for her bakery.
Montana applied for the Developing Markets for Continuous Living 
Cover Crops grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to underwrite the research and development needed to incorporate Kernza across the bakery’s menu. Instead of a signature Kernza cake or muffin that uses as much flour as the recipe will allow, River Rock applied for the grant in order to incorporate two percent Kernza flour into three quarters of their recipes that use flour. “I felt like this lightbulb went off. Incorporating Kernza in the majority of our menu items will have the biggest impact. It will educate our customers about this perennial grain, bring in its subtle nutty taste, and allow our bakery to use as much of the flour from our local growers as possible.”
This makes Montana one of the earliest adopters of a concept bubbling-up around many makers and food companies called “Perennial Percent”. Perennial Percent incorporates a small amount of Kernza across many products as a way to boost demand for Kernza and to raise awareness with more consumers.
Teaching the Next Generation
Montana highlighted another way in which her bakery has a local impact on sustainability. As a high schooler, Montana always wanted to work in a bakery, to try out the work that she now loves. Unable to find a job in the crowded Missoula food scene, she vows to always include high school students among her part-time staff members.
Montana gives these students the opportunity to work in a positive environment, learn new skills, and see first-hand the value of local sourcing. “I want them to see how their work, even if it’s dishes or light preparation for the next day’s bake, has an impact on the greater community. I like having a hand in teaching the younger generation.”
Visit www.riverrockbakery.com for catering, menu offerings, and a full listing of local partners.
How to Find River Rock Kitchen & Baking Co
River Rock Kitchen & Baking Co products are currently available at River Rock Coffee, Coffee Bar Mankato, Coffee
Hag, Beans Coffee, Getaway Motor Cafe, Owls Nest Cafe, Saint Peter Food Coop, Morgan Creek Vineyards, and the New Ulm Community Coop.
Try River Rock’s recipe for an Organic Brown Bread with Kernza Flour.
Follow @riverrockkitchenandbakingco on Facebook and Instagram to see what local ingredients are on tap today.
This feature is sponsored by the Forever Green Initiative at the University of Minnesota. River Rock Kitchen and Bakery is one of several innovators in sustainability that Meet the Minnesota Makers and Forever Green celebrate in this maker series.
Forever Green develops and improves winter-hardy annual and perennial crops (including Kernza!) that protect soil and water health. These initiatives provide new economic opportunities for growers, industry and communities across Minnesota. Learn more about Forever Green and their community partners on their website.
Visit meettheminnesotamakers.com or follow @meettheminnesotamakers on Facebook and Instagram to discover the small business owners leading Minnesota on a tasty sustainable path forward. Meet the Minnesota Makers is a news site that connects you to the local food, farms, artists and artisans that make Minnesota thrive.
