Meet Ben and Molly Wiedenman | Farmers/Foragers/Educators

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ben and Molly Wiedenman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ben and Molly, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
We had a deep passion for plants, small scale growing and health through food which we wanted to share with people around us. Careers in education and aquaculture research primed us for being knowledgeable about our craft and able to teach others about various topics. As we grew into young adults we heard from countless friends, family members, and others whom had suffered through various health related problems, been over prescribed medications, and some even had surgeries. We believe their diet played a central role in their condition and overall health. As years went on many began asking us for advice while also showing enthusiasm for our soon to be small business. We had a desire to take the next step and provide nutritionally dense, locally grown produce to our community. Our main mission was and still is to take back our food system, and our health.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Molly has always been a great educator-even from a young age. Teaching professionally for several years helped define her style of communication and outreach. She works tirelessly to connect the right people and encourage others to think deeply about their dietary choices.

Ben has been an explorer of sorts since he was a child, always wanting more time outside and especially in the forest. Professionally he has held a few different posts including aquaculture research technician and food distribution center manager which provided unique perspective on food and farming.

Various jobs over the last 10 years helped further develop both into small business owners with a breadth of experience and perspective. Many lessons have been learned, that is what life is about! Humans learn best from making mistakes on their own, mitigating the scale of the mistakes is a skill we work at daily. Farming, foraging, food production and sales is wrought with variability and differences of opinion. Learning how to peacefully debate sensitive topics such as these has had a learning curve.

Pink Teepee Farms and Sourced in Nature are businesses exemplifying small and sustainable food production. Every plant we grow and product we bottle has a lot of hard work and love that made it possible. We believe the taste and quality sets our products apart from and above many others. Our goals are to prove health through food, bring plant medicines and dietary habits into the forefront of western medicine, and encourage peace and love starting with YOU!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Our area of Southeastern Wisconsin is truly unique. It is called Lake Country and the name is deserving. The amount of lakes/ponds/rivers/creeks/wetlands is staggering and stunningly beautiful. It also affords excellent foraging especially with the dozens of parks and wild lands nearby. Like most of the country the area has seen an explosion of farm to table restaurants over the last several years and with them the small growers who help supply their kitchens, A trip would include a tour of some neighbor farms like Stone Bank Farm and a pizza with live music at Grassways Organics. Meals at some fantastic restaurants such as Wine Maniacs, Belfre Kitchen, Brickhouse Mercantile, ID, Artisan 179, Sobies, Cocos and more would be on the list too. A day walking the gardens, feeding the chickens, and picking watermelons would be a must-if you’re here we can use the help! Most of the time would be spent in the woods and prairies looking for wild edibles, swimming or kayaking on one of the dozens of beautiful waterways nearby, and staying up late listening to the cacophony of frogs and crickets while staring up at the stars. A bit of sleep then a homemade breakfast with farm fresh eggs and foraged mushrooms/berries before some midday yoga on our little farm.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our families of course nurtured us and provided an environment conducive to learning about what we were interested in. Neither were in the farming/foraging space in the recent past, but they supported our dream. The hunger for knowledge is pervasive in both our families as well, so as we continue to learn, they are constantly sharing what they experience and read about the topics most important to us.

The farming piece specifically has a few shout outs: Fred Binkowski at the UWM School of Freshwater Sciences gave Ben the opportunity to learn about aquaponics and small scale farming through work. The book, “The Market Garden” by Jean Michael Fortier convinced Ben and Molly that attempting a small farm operation was a possibility. The Conservation and Environmental Science program at UW-MIlwaukee primed Ben for a career path in food. Our business partner Bryan Destefanis really got us into foraging which changed everything. Molly’s mom and grandmother taught her about gardening from a young age and enlisted her for pickling/canning each season. Ben’s parents encouraged him to spend time in the forest and his mom frequently asked him to pick some chives from the garden for countless summer dishes as a child. All our friends, family, and business partners deserve credit for helping nurture our businesses and push us to keep going.

Website: www.pinkteepeefarms.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pink_teepee_farms_llc/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Agricultural-Cooperative/Pink-Teepee-Farms-LLC-1678250579071048/

Other: www.sinfoods.com www.sincannabis.com https://www.facebook.com/SourcedinNature/ https://www.instagram.com/sourced.in.nature/?hl=en