Locally made, locally sold
Rosemary and Dorcas Graber put their family's homemade products on store shelves at Dick's. It's not uncommon for them to put out 300 bags of egg noodles a week.
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For more information about Mamaw's Kitchen, call 361-772-2365.
DID YOU KNOW ... ?
The Graber family's growing business means nothing goes to waste.
When they first began, they used egg yolks for their noodles but hoped for a place ...
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For more information about Mamaw's Kitchen, call 361-772-2365.
DID YOU KNOW ... ?
The Graber family's growing business means nothing goes to waste.
When they first began, they used egg yolks for their noodles but hoped for a place to use the whites. They later started selling angel food cakes, which solved that problem.
Rebecca Graber said she eventually wished she could just find a place for her egg shells. That wish was fulfilled when a woman called inquiring about those shells.
The woman makes cascarones, colored, confetti-filled eggs popular around Easter time, and ordered 600 dozen shells.
"We still have some egg shells left over, but that has gotten rid of quite a few," Graber said.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Looking to get food products into area markets but not sure what to do? Deborah Marlow, manager of the food establishments group for the Department of State Health Services, advises people to ask questions. Those going into the processed or manufactured food industry can contact the health department at 512-834-6670. Those in the retail industry can call 512-834-6753. More information is also available online at www.dshs.state.tx.us/food establishments.
Angel food cake, bread, egg noodles and jam. The items topped the list on Rosemary Graber's tiny notepad.
Unlike others, however, the 17-year-old wasn't pulling the items from shelves at Dick's Crestwood Food Store. She was loading them on.
Rosemary's family runs Mamaw's Kitchen in Yoakum, where they make and sell jams, picante sauces and baked goods.
Their products only became available at Dick's in July.
Selling food items on the larger scale takes more than a double batch of cookies and shelf space. An entire process is involved.
There are two types of food operations: retail and manufactured, said Deborah Marlow, manager of the food establishments group for the Department of State Health Services.
Retail is where the company makes the foods and sells directly to the consumer, such as at a bakery, she said, while manufactured operations sell through other stores.
When Marlow first meets people looking to go into business, she starts with questions regarding their location, what they sell, the customer base and how they plan to sell their product. Those answers determine which agencies they should go through and the permitting processes they must meet.
"There's so many caveats to it," she said. "It's a lot more detailed than many people originally think."
For instance, people can't make the food products they sell inside their home's kitchen. The company kitchen can, however, be on the person's property.
Local health departments often come into play as well, requiring their own inspections or paperwork, Marlow said.
The Grabers are certified and inspected by the state health department, Rebecca Graber, Rosemary's mother, said, and the well water used to prepare the food is tested monthly.
"They'll help us know if we're doing everything right," she said. "We're onto two years now that we've had inspectors coming out."
Their food labels list ingredients, with possible allergens, such as wheat and milk, printed in bold so they stand out. Nutrition information for things like fat and calories aren't required unless they make health claims, such as items being cholesterol-free, she said.
Selling on the larger scale also requires vigilance inside the stores that carry the items.
The Grabers' foods are in stores throughout the region, such as Shiner, Moulton, Sweet Home and Flatonia, and the family makes weekly checks to change out items and see what needs to be restocked.
They put their baked goods on Victoria shelves on Fridays and return on Mondays to pick up whatever hasn't sold. While the jams, jellies and sauces can remain in stores for a while, the baked goods contain no preservatives and have no shelf life, Rebecca Graber said.
As far as how much food the family prepares a week, that can vary, Mom said.
It's not uncommon for them to put out 300 bags of egg noodles a week, she said, as well as 100 pies and 24 batches of cinnamon rolls and angel food cakes each, she said. In the cold months that number usually jumps, she said.
Their foods are used as supplemental income for the family, Rebecca Graber said, explaining her husband, Lester Graber, has a job putting shelves of inspirational books in area stores.
On Sept. 25, Rosemary and her 14-year-old sister, Dorcas, hefted boxes inside Dick's Crestwood Food Store, where they checked in with management, stocked shelves and received payment.
Dick's pays wholesale for the items, the mother said, and the family reimburses the store for whatever doesn't sell. They make about $100 a week from Dick's, Rosemary said, but that varies from week to week.
The Grabers are more an exception to the rule than a typical example for Dick's Crestwood Food Store, owner Ronnie Hyak said.
The store doesn't usually allow vendors to come in from off the street because, many times, they'll talk a big talk but not follow through. If business doesn't go as they'd like it to, Hyak said some vendors stop coming in, leaving the store to mark down their products or give them away.
The Grabers are probably the first vendors to go into the store in three or four years, Hyak said, adding their reputations preceded them. Management knew of them and their products.
"They're like clockwork," he said, explaining they visit the store regularly to check their items. "And there haven't been many things they bring in that don't sell."
The move was a good one for the family, the mother said.
They'd participated in the Victoria farmers market before, she said, but had hoped for a while to introduce their foods on a more full-time basis.
"It's been a great opportunity for us to put our products in Victoria," the older Graber said. "The people have been very good to us."
