Winthrop Farm Perseveres with Help From SBA

Bluebird Grain Farms was founded in 2004 when husband and wife team Sam and Brooke Lucy recognized a lack of locally grown grain in the Pacific Northwest. Sam, who had several years of experience as a farm hand, and Brook, a trained teacher and educator, joined forces with a shared passion for locally grown food and environmental stewardship through organic farming practices. Starting with 80 acres, the Lucys selected, grew, harvested, and processed ancient grains for custom orders directly to consumers. As demand grew, so did the farm. The Lucys have expanded to 250 acres of production in the Methow Valley, and offer their grains through their online retail store, directly to restaurants and independent food stores, and select wholesalers with a focus on distribution throughout the Pacific Northwest. With additional farmland becoming more and more difficult to secure, the Lucys have turned to fellow farmers to build a stronger food system. They have built relationships with four other partner farms across the state to add to the production while continuing in their role as processors and distributors of organic ancient grains. When the COVID pandemic arrived in 2020, it came with unforeseen challenges and unprecedented consumer demand for locally grown food.

Due to the COVID pandemic, Bluebird Grain Farms found that “everything that we had been doing got turned upside down,” Brook Lucy said. Finding enough staff, keeping them safe, and ensuring everyone had the right protection was a top priority, especially in a food processing facility. Brooke and Sam Lucy were able to utilize funding from the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the SBA COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) to keep their employees and create more jobs in their community. Securing funds to help cover expenses as they navigated ever-changing circumstances allowed them to stabilize their business and look toward the future. Of the relief funding received through SBA programs, Brook Lucy said, “It gave us protection to move into 2021.”

With many of the challenges incurred during the pandemic now in the rear-view mirror, Bluebird Grain Farms is gearing up for a bright future. In August 2021, the Lucys broke ground on a new 6,700-square-foot processing and manufacturing facility. The new expansion will allow them to increase production capacity and expand their supplier network of Washington grain farmers. The new facility will also incorporate a retail storefront and serve as a community space for local schools and tour groups to visit and learn about local organic food production.

In May 2022, Bluebird Grain Farms was awarded the SBA Seattle District Rural Small Business of the Year.