By Michelle M. Sharp, Founder and Content Creator of Meet the Minnesota Makers
“Bringing an entirely new crop out into the world while making it something that people can easily become familiar with and start to use is fundamentally a very hopeful act,” observed Christopher Abbott of Perennial Pantry. “I think what kept me coming back to Kernza and going through the adversity of figuring out how to make Kernza work is that it’s fundamentally an optimistic kind of win-win-win story that pulls people from different walks of life together. It’s a story about agriculture that can work at small and big scales and it also includes foodies, environmentalists, and curious cooks.”
The Hope of Kernza Perennial Grain
Located in the south Twin Cities metro, Perennial Pantry sells Kernza® 
perennial grain flour, grains, pasta, and pancake mix on its website, with dozens of other products available through their monthly CSA. Launched through a crowdfunding campaign in 2020, this Minnesota small business has a big vision to change the way the world grows most of its food. It challenges us as consumers to think differently about what we keep in our cupboards and cook in our kitchens.
“A challenge with Kernza is to move it from being a novel environmental story that most appeals to people already interested in issues of soil, water, or climate, to something that shines in our diets and constantly needs restocking on our shelves,” said Christopher. “We want to play to its strength – it’s tasty, it’s interesting, and you can make some good food with it.”
Kernza is perennial wheatgrass, a cousin of wheat. It has a unique nutty flavor with undertones of cinnamon. It’s ideal for baking, cooking, and brewing. The Perennial Pantry website notes further that “…Kernza® is a healthy whole grain that’s high in protein, high in antioxidants, and has eight times the amount of insoluble fiber as wheat. Buying and eating Kernza® grain and flour is a tangible way to support scalable solutions to climate change and agricultural water pollution, while enjoying a new, flavorful food.”
Perennial Pantry develops recipes and ready-to-eat foods that include Kernza and other perennial crops to provide consumers direct access to regenerative agricultural products. Climate and soil positivity is a foundational motivation of their work. The end result is a celebration of taste – both of familiar products and items that may be new to the curious cook.
A CSA Built for a Sustainable Pantry
To accomplish that goal, Perennial Pantry established their monthly CSA to build community among people
Sample CSA Box Offerings
interested in exploring sustainable food products. The CSA program has allowed Perennial Pantry to test different products and gain the feedback from their subscribers to help determine which products make the most sense to develop at a larger scale.
Perennial Pantry has recently opened a new production bakery in Northfield, which among other benefits will increase the availability of their award-winning Kernza® crackers. These buttery, flaky marvels are the result of dozens of test batches to create something that the Perennial Pantry team felt excited about. Christopher’s favorite part is how Kernza’s distinctive flavor shines in the crackers, making this signature product known for its crave-worthy taste. The new Northfield facility will take the crackers from being a labor-intensive effort of love to a more efficient operation at a much bigger scale.
Midwestern Roots
Christopher grew up in Minnesota and returned here after college. Having worked in a variety of grain supply chain businesses including craft beer and heritage small grains, Christopher saw Kernza as an opportunity to build a novel supply chain focused on human and planetary health. “I’ve felt a responsibility to the landscape of Minnesota since growing up here, and have been interested in reimagining markets for grain growers since college, with the goal of building soil health, cleaning water, and building more resilient rural communities in the face of climate change,” explained Christopher. “How can we move beyond extractive corn and soy production and towards thriving farms, healing landscapes, and healthy people?”
Kernza Crackers
Talking with Christopher, it’s hard not to get excited about Kernza and other perennial crops taking root in US fields. Supplying Kernza grain and products direct to consumers allows Perennial Pantry to serve as a bridge to bring it and other climate-positive food products to a wider audience.
There are more than a dozen other perennials and winter annual 
crops in development with the Forever Green Initiative and The Land Institute in Kansas in addition to Kernza and its extraordinary deep root systems. Christopher sees Kernza as an answer to the millions of acres of corn and soy around us that really impact our soil, our water, and our climate. “We’re in a very exciting and unique moment in time, where a broad array of new crops is enabling us to reimagine how agriculture impacts environmental and human health in Minnesota. Impacts won’t be immediate and will require patience and iteration, but new perennial crops could deliver incredibly meaningful changes to our food system,” reflected Christopher. “These new crops are delicious and healthy, but they’re new! Changing culinary traditions and adding new foods takes time, but the vision of perennial agriculture can be beneficial to our lives in big and small ways.”
Kernza Crackers for All
Christopher’s greatest joy? “The hope and optimism of creating an agricultural system built on perenniality.
Northfield Production Facility
Figuring out and implementing the specifics of a supply chain – the tangible methods and infrastructure needed to build and scale new crops. It’s challenging and meaningful.”
With the new Northfield production facility, Perennial Pantry is excited to increase production of their established favorites and continue to develop new recipes to make Kernza more widely known for its taste and nutritional profiles. “It’s a dynamic moment with so many new crops moving through breeding and research and out into policy, fields, processing, distribution, advocacy, awareness, and impact.”
Find Perennial Pantry
CSA subscriptions currently available at perennial-pantry.com
Sign up for the Perennial Pantry newsletter to receive 15% off your first order at perennial-pantry.com
Follow @perennialpantry on Facebook and Instagram for product updates.
This feature is sponsored by the Forever Green Initiative at the University of Minnesota. Perennial Pantry 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.
