 Long before Jason married his wife in 2014, her family had a jam recipe that was passed down her family line. When she was little, her mother started making jam, alongside growing lots of herbs, flowers and fruits in her home garden. After marrying into the family, Jason’s mother-in-law would make her jam for his children (her grandchildren), and one day he finally tried some. “[My mother-in-law] has always been a great cook,” Jason said. “My kids now refuse to eat store bought [jams]. One day [I tried some of her jam] and I couldn’t believe how good it was!” Since then, Jason hasn’t found a jam that has come close to his mother-in-laws in terms of taste and quality.
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 Since 1816, the Pettit family has been farming in the Belmont area in Elgin County. Initially starting off as a mixed farm, through the years dairy farming became the staple for the family. Tom grew up on the Belmont farm with his parents Murray and Betty, and with his sister Suzanne. Eventually, Tom and Suzanne wanted to continue the family farm and traditions; attending Ridgetown College, returning home to continue the farm, and later meeting his now wife and farm/business partner Kris. “Tom wouldn’t want to do anything else,” Kris said with a smile. “This is what he’s wanted to do his whole life.” Tom and Kris then had two daughters, Maddie and Kadie, and together they all work hard to continue the dairy family farm and traditions through Mistyglen Holsteins and Mistyglen Creamery.
 Julie and Greg of Gully Ridge Farms moved onto their homestead family farm, just outside of Port Stanley, in 2016. Greg decided that he wanted to use some acreage to try and dabble with some farming, and he ended up settling on garlic, since there aren’t any garlic farms in the area that grow on a large scale. They officially named their farm Gully Ridge in 2017, after the tall hills and winding gully the farm oversees.
 Great Lakes Goat Dairy officially launched their branded cheeses in 2011, by founding farmers Anthony and Marj, and partnered farmers Dave and Michele. They each own goat dairy farms, and have been farming for over 20 years. Before Great Lakes Goat Dairy, their milk would be picked up and shipped to be made into cheeses and other goat dairy products elsewhere. Anthony and Marj knew they wanted to eventually be able to make their own cheese from their dairy, so they founded Great Lakes Goat Dairy in 2008. “That was always the goal,” Marj said. “We just took baby steps to get there.”
 Janis and Mark Harris of Harris Flower Farm purchased their farm in 2011, but Janis actually started growing flowers in 2008 on her parents farm. Janis, along with her sisters, grew up on McSmith’s Organic Farm with their parents Cathy and Gary McSmith. Janis’s paternal grandparents were also farmers, running a successful dairy cow operation, dating their family farming back to the 1950s. Janis was working as an optician when she met country boy Mark, and she wanted to show him that even though she was no longer working on the farm, she still had her farming roots. “I wanted to prove that I was still a country girl, I wanted to grow something to sell,” Janis said. “My parents were main season vendors at the Horton Farmers’ Market, so my mom suggested I grow gladiolus and sell them at the table beside them.” Not long after that, Janis and Mark bought their farm, and Harris Flower Farm and Pastured Pork has been a staple of the St. Thomas and Elgin County community ever since.
 Over 50 years ago, Mathew Rawson’s mother would make home-made meat pies in their kitchen, which he would then load into his little red wagon to sell door-to-door for 25 cents each. “They got so popular that people would be waiting on their porches for me and my wagon,” Mathew reminisced with a smile. “We would put them in wax paper sleeves, and they would still be steaming hot when I delivered them.” The meat pies popularity spread through word of mouth, and the Rawson’s clientele gradually expanded. Mathew continued to make the meat pies with his mother’s recipe; expanding their product line to include home-made pizzas, and officially opening Uncle Dad’s Meat Pies and Pizza Plus flagship store at The Market at Western Fair District over 20 years ago with his wife Sharon.
 In 2016, Roger and Romina were living in the UK, working as teachers, and had just welcomed a baby into their family. Roger needed an outlet from the stress of teaching, so he ended up signing up for an allotment garden in town. “That was his peace of mind, because teaching was driving him crazy,” Romina said with a laugh as we toured their three acre organic farm. “So that’s what he did, he always had a garden.”
 In 2017 Steph started to explore feeding their dogs and cats a raw food diet to meet their dietary needs. It allowed her to feed them real, natural foods, with daily variety while also giving her control over the contents. “When we adopted our second dog, he was very overweight and it was a lot easier for me to control what was going into his food,” explained Steph. “But I could bulk up his food with things like vegetables so he wasn’t just starving and getting into things all day long.” Steph spent lots of time researching raw food diets, their benefits, and what was needed to make sure the food would be nutritionally balanced. Two of her dogs have kidney disease and liver disease, and Steph likes how she can adjust their meals to help support their needs.
 Around eight years ago, Marisa Kohler began searching for soap and skincare products to help her family’s dry skin. “The [three] kids and I have super dry skin and eczema and I couldn’t find an appropriately priced organic line of soap and skincare products for our whole family,” Marisa explained. “I wanted to see what I could do, so I started researching how to make soap for our family.” After lots of research, trial, and error, Marisa finally created a soap recipe that worked for their skin, had lots of bubbles and organic ingredients. “It took months of learning and failing until we had a bar we all liked, but we were eventually successful!” Marisa said with a smile. “Not only did our skin look and feel better, but the kids loved to help measure the ingredients and pick out new scents.”
 Judy Gremaud started Kosuma Energy Bars in May of 2012 in London, ON, after being inspired to create her own energy bars which would fit her family’s dietary needs. The bars became popular among Judy’s family and friends, who encouraged her to create a business based on the energy bars. Family friend Ephie Smith then joined the company in August of 2012, after offering to help Judy with the business. Ephie was a stay-at-home mom who was running childcare out of her home, and she noticed how busy Judy was with her new business venture. “The childcare group that I had was every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so I just offered the time that I was available,” said Ephie. “It started out just as a day here and a day there, and then in September she asked if I could come on a little bit more often.”
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