Free Day Popcorn, Farm-Grown That Tops the Typical

Whether it reminds you of the premiere of your favorite classic film or the grandeur of your first time at the movies, there is nostalgia in every buttery bucket of movie theater popcorn. Often, those who facilitate this plunge back to the good old days are local farmers like Nate and Stacey Freitag of Free Day Popcorn. Their nine-year-old business is responsible for growing and offering this snack not just for theater-goers but also for their community as a whole.

As the son of a popcorn farmer, Nate always felt the nudge to work in the same Nebraska fields as his father. There was something special about the popcorn being farmed that could not compare to what was being stocked on the shelves at typical grocery stores.

“We had always enjoyed the freshness and the quality of the popcorn,” Stacey shared. “I grew up on microwave popcorn and didn’t know how fresh popcorn tastes.

This fact and Nate’s intrinsic desire to farm ultimately led the two to settle back in his Midwestern roots to begin farming. At the time, however, Nate’s father Lonny worked solely with large-scale processors when selling off his harvest. To expand the business further, they decided to take a step in a new direction: introducing direct business and consumer sales outlets to the operation.

Since then, there has been an influx of different customers creating demand for their farm-grown popcorn. Summer event kettle corn vendors and businesses crafting sweet and savory Christmas gift tins make up some of Free Day Popcorn customers. Outside of these seasonal buyers, the farm also offers its harvest to local movie theaters, traditional and specialty food outlets, and online customers.

Depending on the customers’ needs, Free Day Popcorn provides a small selection of popcorn types to choose from. Although they may look similar, the white and yellow butterfly popcorn varieties have different selling points. The white type is best for those seeking a kernel-free eating experience whereas the yellow type has a more prominent taste. The company also grows a denser mushroom variety, which is most commonly seen in flavored popcorn.

Due to the farm’s proximity to two states, Stacey has developed interesting insights about the popcorn flavors customers gravitate toward in relation to their location.

“For whatever reason, to the north really likes white and just to the south of us really likes yellow,” she mentioned. “It does seem like there’s just little pockets of what they prefer.”

Regardless of which variety someone may choose, each corn cob is guaranteed to be picked with care. Because of the stark difference between harvesting traditional corn and popcorn, this is a required part

of the farming process. It is the fragile touch that makes all the difference in ensuring the comparatively lightweight popcorn stands up to the machinery that moves it.

Once the popcorn is picked, it is brought to an outside facility to ensure the integrity of each kernel is up to the farm’s standard. This sorting process is imperative in preparing the kernels for final sale, which is why the Freitags embraced the financial assistance of the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) to sustain this aspect of the business.

It took one email exposure and a subsequent informational webinar to start their grant journey. The path that unfolded from there was not traveled alone as Stacey worked closely with her local Rural Development office. As she wrote the grant, she was provided with simplified explanations of how to approach the application as someone who had not completed it before. This collaborative process made a big difference both for Stacey and the company moving forward.

“It helped us get a better idea of our business and what direction we needed to go, even if we didn’t receive the grant,” she explained.

Upon being awarded the VAPG funds in 2021, the Freitags had well-established plans to put into practice. In addition to the lowered expenses of all that goes into their popcorn preparation and packaging, they also used the money to attract new attention to the business. Through the design and creation of a promotional calendar, they were able to communicate their seasonal tasks to their loyal and potential stakeholders.

“Through the grant, we were able to increase our customer base pretty significantly,” Stacey indicated. “Having that reimbursement, especially for the processing, allowed us to expand our operation quite a bit and invest more in inventory.”

This surplus of new business also meant they had to manage a product overflow in a way they had never experienced before. What they lacked in storage space, they made up for in large constructional plans as they seized this abundant opportunity. By building an off-site facility to house their offerings, they were able to keep up with the progress all while working with the second half of their VAPG.

Stacey noted that having this grant award was crucial to the beginnings of this project as it provided them with the financial freedom to reach new possibilities, even without being directly funded by the grant. The VAPG helped them build a foundation, not just to physically begin working on but also to set them up for a successful future.