Ask most food brands where their produce comes from and you’ll get a vague answer about “trusted suppliers.” We can point you to an actual farm, an actual family, and real dirt you could go stand on.
That farm belongs to Dan and Julie Perkins, the family behind Perkins’ Good Earth Farm. Dan’s path to organic farming took shape in 2002, while apprenticing at Caretaker Farm in Massachusetts after studying environmental science. He and Julie, who grew up in DeMotte and taught high school English before farming full time, met in Iowa and started farming part time around 2009. Dan kept his job with the Jasper County Soil and Water Conservation District for years before the farm could support them full time, a milestone they hit in 2019. Today it’s a family-operated farm in DeMotte, Indiana, built on that same promise of safety and quality for friends, family, and the whole community. Read more about Dan and Julie on the Perkins’ Good Earth Farm website.
Perkins’ Good Earth Farm sits on 20 acres in DeMotte, about 8 of which are in active production, the rest is woods and the farm buildings, including a 1918 farmhouse. It’s a working farm, not a factory.
From Farm to Freezer
Here is the trip your ingredients actually take. Perkins’ harvests in the cool of the morning, then washes or cools everything right away to lock in freshness. From there it moves quickly to Frozen Garden’s kitchen, where we triple wash and blast freeze it before it goes into your smoothies. Farm to freezer, grown regionally in Indiana, not shipped across the country and left sitting in storage for weeks.
Being a Frozen Garden Farmer
When Frozen Garden got started, we sat down with Perkins’ to figure out what a real partnership could look like.
It began with spinach for our green smoothies, back when that was the only crop the timing and volume made sense for. As the relationship grew, so did the order. Today, Perkins’ also grows cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, kale, basil, parsley, rosemary, and mint for us, crops you’ll find running through our smoothie lineup.
That’s a meaningful share of an 8-acre operation. It means Dan and Julie are planning their planting seasons around what goes into your freezer, and it means every one of those crops gets picked, washed, and handed off by people who know exactly where it’s headed.
Some of that harvest reaches us by way of Region Roots, Northwest Indiana’s local farm and food hub, which helps small growers like Perkins’ get fresh produce to partners like us. It’s one more piece of the local food system behind every Frozen Garden smoothie.
Supporting Local Farmers
Buying local isn’t just a nice idea. It shortens the distance your food travels, which means less pollution along the way.
It also means fresher produce, because a farmer growing for flavor instead of long-distance storage gets to pick at the peak instead of the safe-to-ship stage. And it means farmers like Dan and Julie get to keep doing the work of taking care of their land and their community.
There’s a ripple effect, too. Every order that goes through a small farm like Perkins’ is a vote for keeping farmland in Indiana farming instead of something else, and for keeping the people who grow real food actually able to make a living doing it. We’re grateful Perkins’ brings that same care to everything they grow for us.
A huge thank you to Dan, Julie, and the whole team at Perkins’ Good Earth Farm for the work they put into every harvest. We’re proud to call them a partner, and even prouder to bring you what they grow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Frozen Garden use locally sourced ingredients?
Yes. Frozen Garden partners with regional farms like Perkins’ Good Earth Farm in DeMotte, Indiana for crops such as kale, spinach, cucumbers, and carrots, sourcing locally whenever it’s available.
How fresh are the ingredients in Frozen Garden smoothies?
Very. Produce from partner farms like Perkins’ is harvested fresh and reaches our kitchen quickly, where it’s triple washed and blast frozen rather than sitting in long-term storage.
What crops does Perkins’ Good Earth Farm grow for Frozen Garden?
Perkins’ grows cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, kale, basil, parsley, rosemary, and mint for Frozen Garden, all farmed by hand using Certified Organic practices.
Is Perkins’ Good Earth Farm organic?
Yes, Perkins’ is Certified Organic. Dan and Julie also farm around four soil health principles: maximizing diversity, keeping living roots in the ground year-round, protecting the soil surface, and minimizing disturbance through no-till growing and deep-mulch composting.
Meet the Rest of Our Farmers
Perkins’ Good Earth Farm is one part of the real, local food behind every Frozen Garden order. Want to see who else is growing your smoothie?
