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\\u201cI didn\\u2019t know as a child if I would make it out alive.\\u201d

Sarah Frey (12:48-12:51)

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Sarah Frey is one of the most inspirational women in the agricultural industry.\\xa0

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Her phenomenal story starts on her family\\u2019s farm in southern, rural Illinois where they hunted, processed and grew their own food, and only had a wood burning fire stove for heat. Sarah can even recall the first time she saw a thermostat, or went to the grocery store with her mom and felt feelings of joy and overwhelm seeing packaged goods for the first time at the age of seven.

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Her upbringing wasn\\u2019t the typical image of the happy little farm family and Sarah grew up with what a lot of children of farms deal with \\u2013\\u2013 being called the \\u2018ugly duckling\\u2019, being bullied for having the school\\u2019s free lunches, hand me down clothes \\u2013\\u2013 and she longed to escape every minute of it. Ironically enough, it\\u2019s these same experiences Sarah credits her courage to. In many moments of her career she didn\\u2019t think twice when most would have fainted, nodded and said \\u2018yes\\u2019, and figured out the \\u2018how\\u2019 later.

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\\u201cMy whole life I have let people see what they wanted to see, see what was easy to see and that was, \\u2018Oh this is Sarah! Isn\\u2019t she nice. She\\u2019s from the midwest. She grew up on a farm. Isn\\u2019t that great?\\u2019...I never told anyone the full story.\\u201d Sarah Frey (16:46-17:10)

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How\\u2019d this farm girl turn into the CEO of Frey Farms, Founder of Sarah\\u2019s Home Grown, and United Fresh Women In Produce\\u2019s 2020 Honoree? She was thrust into it! Her mom had the same desire to create a better life for her family and kids than the farm could provide and started selling melons to local grocers. Young Sarah, still a child, was the one who waltzed into stores to do the selling, knowing she couldn\\u2019t return to the hot truck outside with defeat.

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A true go-getter, Sarah started attending college while still in high school at the age of 15 while hauling melons because she was driven to get away and better her life.\\xa0

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It was that same drive and determination that led Sarah to march right through to the top floor of the St. Lewis Terminal Market into the bullpen, where F-bombs, fast deals and sales men live. Grateful she didn\\u2019t walk into a broom closet, Sarah, in blue jeans, a ball cap and work boots, walked straight into Stanley Greenspan\\u2019s office, an infamous buyer in the produce industry.

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When it came time to sell the family farm, the same place she so badly wanted to escape growing up, at the age of 17 Sarah bought it instead. Those memories of swimming in the pond with her brothers, huddling over the stove as a family, and the heartbreak of knowing her family wouldn\\u2019t have anything to bond them together had her buy the land and set up her companies\\u2019 headquarters down the road.

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Sarah\\u2019s journey is truly remarkable which is what led her to write and publish The Growing Season: How I built a new life and saved an American farm.

\\u201cI wanted to be able to share these stories to impact other people\\u2019s lives,\\u201d Sarah says.

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\\u201cIt moves your soul. This is a story of a champion, a story of an underdog, it\\u2019s a story of entrepreneurship, but really most importantly it\\u2019s a story of all of life\\u2019s greatest lessons \\u2014 forgiveness, grace, valuing education, valuing family, valuing hard work. It\\u2019s already made a positive impact on my life.\\u201d Lori Taylor (5:02-5:24)

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Frey Farms now operates in seven different states \\u2013\\u2013 Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri and West Virginia \\u2013\\u2013 so they can grow different fruits and vegetables year round rather than just being a seasonal operation, although pumpkins are still what they\\u2019re best known for. She was the first to market with any kind of watermelon juice with Tsamma\\u2122 Watermelon Juice which is an extremely healthy performance rehydration beverage.

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Her most recent brand, Sarah\\u2019s Homegrown, launched in 2019 and helps small to mid-sized farms use more of what they grow, find market for the fruit that is normally wasted, turn those things into fresh, delicious ingredients that wind up in consumer packaged goods under the Sarah\\u2019s Homegrown brand and ultimately helps put those funds back into the hands of farmers who deserve it.\\xa0

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You\\u2019ll surely want to grab your copy of Sarah\\u2019s memoir, The Growing Season: How I built a new life and saved an American farm as soon as possible and see the ripple effect of transformation it has on your life!

How to get involved

• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!\\xa0
• Reach out to us - we\\u2019d love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.\\xa0

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