History of Ackerman Foods
Ackerman Foods was started in 1992 with Rodney Ackerman working extra hours cooking at a restaurant to earn the money to start up the business without having a loan. He built the first greenhouse himself, with some help from friends. Cherry tomatoes, green zucchini, gold zucchini, radishes, strawberries, peppers, spinach, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, romaine, and butter head lettuce, and spring mix were started in this greenhouse, grown, and sold under the Ackerman Foods name. After 5 years (1997), there was a drought, limiting the water supply. In 1998, we bought out a small sprout grower and put the sprout operation in a warehouse in the valley (Kalispell) on county water. Ackerman Foods expanded the sprout operation, expanded their customer base, and shut down the greenhouse and grow beds due to lack of water. The sprout operation did so well that the greenhouse was never started up again. The sprout operation is still going strong, doing 1100 pounds per week.
Growing Stages
- Soak & Sanitize Seeds
- Sprout the Seeds
- Tray the Sprouts
- Grow the Sprouts
- Remove Hulls
- Remove Excess Water
- Package Sprouts
- Deliver
Ackerman Foods 