Andrea Strom of Ely and her husband, Brian, are the owners of Crapola! granola. “Of all of the funny ideas Brian has had,” Andrea says, “the ‘what if we make CRanberry APple granOLA and call it Crapola?’ somehow got a foothold in our lives.” Their granola (distributed across the state and beyond) is great, but their core values of environmental stewardship, making good food choices, and respect for the planet are inspiring. Read on about how they embody a healthful lifestyle for themselves, and their toddler daughter, Amelia. —Kathleen Stoehr
What’s your philosophy about food choices?
Some will argue that it doesn’t matter whether you buy organic food or not and some will argue that we need conventional farming to feed the masses. I disagree. From the health of the soil to the health of the people growing the food, organic food is better for us all. And when you grow food in healthy soil, it is indeed better for you because all the components and trace nutrients are there. Fertilizers can never give food what healthy soil can.
We have been so careful with Amelia’s diet for her first few years, not allowing any processed sugars, sweets, or sodas, as I feel that establishing healthy eating habits while she’s young will provide a foundation. There are some people who think we are too strict, but with the epidemic of obesity and diabetes in our country, I am okay with that.
Tell us about family life in the Ely area.
Both Brian and I feel at home in the outdoors and need time spent outside to rejuvenate and refill our souls. We have taken Amelia camping, and she loves it, and hiking, skiing, paddling a canoe are all passions of ours. We have a pond in our front yard, and she and daddy take daily excursions in the canoe looking for cattails and frogs. She also loves to “help” in the garden, and at 20 months, she was a heck of a carrot harvester and eater!
Do you still have a hand in making your granola?
We do still make all of our granola ourselves. Brian is the main baker, and I mix in the fruit and package it into bags for distribution to our customers. You might think that after being around Crapola every day we wouldn’t want to eat it, but one of the things we set out to do in the beginning was make a product we ourselves liked and would want to eat. We succeeded!
How do you manage to separate your personal lives from your business?
We might be lucky in that we truly enjoy working together. We met as co-workers, and worked together most of our time between then and marriage. It is in some ways more difficult not working together, especially since having Amelia, as life gets so busy. We are grateful we are able to do this together. The line between business and personal is blurred for sure, but it is not a source of contention.
As your business grows, do you also think about growing your family anymore?
Whoo-wee, what a question! This comes out in April, right? In that case, we are expecting our second and final child in September.
