Have you been Sun Blessed?

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Today's blog features Sun Blesses Farms! Read here what owner Dustin had to say!



I’m Dustin Hutchinson, a recovering tradesman, father, and sales associate for Sun Blessed Farms in Hayden, Idaho. My son, Nick Hutchinson, and I previously owned D.W. Hutchinson, Builders, Ltd., and Kiss of Kolor Painting in Renton, Washington (don’t hate, we’re refugees, not missionaries!).

My son, Nick Hutchinson, and I have since partnered with Mykal Taylor, the founder of Sun Blessed Farms, idahofreezedry.com, StoreCDA.com, and the non-profit Mana Wildfire Logistics.

We have been tasked with raising awareness of freeze drying at home as a way for everyone to protect themselves from food instability, save money, and make money!
We sell HarvestRight freeze dryers, and HarvestRight accessories, freeze dried snacks, pantry items like soups, and jams, and on StoreCDA.com we offer gear for “prepping” and self defense.

Our store and shop are located in Hayden, Idaho where we warehouse our products, and make our freeze dried snacks.
We are the definition of “small business”, it’s Mykal, Nick, and myself doing everything from making snacks to shipping online orders.
We are excited about the possibilities this technology offers, and even more importantly, the amazing community that is developing around these machines! The people that use these machines are overwhelmingly friendly, warm, and giving.
I am so grateful that this opportunity has come my way, the chance to serve this amazing group of people is an incredible blessing.

I am normally quite averse to sales, and salesmen, so this opportunity required me to research the products we offer, and decide if the products were of a quality that I would spend my own money on.
Once I did my research I knew that this technology held incredible value, and it became my duty to tell as many people as possible. Selling products I believe in makes the job easy, and did I mention the people I get the pleasure of meeting? We are blessed to be serving this community, and we’re just getting started, we’ve got some great stuff planned for you!

We offer products that are sold by big corporate retailers, our competition is tough, and well funded… but they cannot compare to the level of service, and expertise that we offer to every customer that chooses us. We make ourselves available to everyone so that they can maximize the value they get when they invest in a HarvestRight freeze dryer or if their order of freeze dried treats get crushed in transit.
It’s actually really simple, we care. We care that you’re happy, and comfortable making such an important investment.

Some challenges we face on a daily basis are normal for any new, small business… we need to reach customers so they know we’re here! We have found that networking with adjacent businesses such as Maker’s Long Acres! Thankfully the North Idaho community is welcoming, and receptive. I have never lived in a place where everyone seems to want me to win, and goes out of their way to help. Grateful again!

We are scheduled to be at several upcoming events where we can interact directly with our wonderful customers, we’ll have booths at North Idaho Fair 08/18-27, Bonner County Fair 08/16-19, Stateline Speedway Night Lights 05/12-13, Athol Community Center 07/21-22.

We see the freeze dryer as an indispensable tool for every home, and especially for farms and homesteads. Yes, I realize that sounds like biased sales speak, it’s true, and I feel kind of uncomfortable about it, but the reality is this, we face food uncertainty, there’s a growing risk of electrical grid issues, and appliances like freezers and refrigerators will fail to keep your valuable resources ready if problems arise. Doom and gloom, I know. Thankfully for me this is the feedback I get from our customers that use these every day. Farmers, gardeners, and even apartment dwelling grandmothers are taking their food security seriously and taking the necessary steps to protect themselves from disaster. So here’s the good news, foods that are freeze dried at home taste great, and there’s no reason to not eat them as you would a regular meal. You don't have to hide away your provisions and pray that no disaster comes, you can enjoy them, and cycle your inventory keeping fresh stuff on the shelf, just in case. For farms and homesteads this tool can add value to products you already make. Producers can use this technology to offer more products to more customers all across the country. We see gardeners, farmers, and even candy makers reaching more customers by being able to ship perishables without dry ice, gel packs, and other expensive packaging.
For us as a business we intend to source our ingredients from local farms in Idaho, and turn them into the highest quality freeze dried meals in the country made right here in Idaho. Sustainable agriculture is vital to the health of our family, and friends as well as our business.
We see tremendous value in these products, and we hope people, families, farms, churches, restaurants, and aid organizations will see it too!

Some advice I’d offer anyone reading this is to learn as much as you can about being self reliant, not necessarily fully independent, but able to care for yourself and others for at least a couple of weeks… just in case the goofballs in charge are unavailable to offer assistance. I remember the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the weeks of destruction and chaos that people suffered through. Healthy, home cooked food can go a long way towards keeping morale high, and energy levels up enough to face the difficulties in a crisis.

Mykal, Nick, and I are so grateful for the opportunity to share this with all of you. We hope that we get to meet all of you whether you choose us as your source for everything freeze dried or not. We love being a part of this beautiful North Idaho community, and we want to help make sure everyone is prepared for anything this crazy world can send our way.

Our store is located at:
1376 N Biztown Loop
Hayden, ID 83835

For freeze dried treats, and delicious pantry items please go to:
Idahofreezedry.com

For freeze dryers, radios, and self defense items go to:
StoreCDA.com

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