Fairhaven Organic Flour Mill
The Only Organic Flour Mill in Washington State

tags: bread, flour, grains, local foods, organic, wheat

by nw farms and food - Permalink
July 14, 2010

Kevin Christenson moves a ton of grain into the Fairhaven Organic Flour Mill.

At a time when industrial farms grow most of the grains in the Northwest, and centralized processors convert the harvest into flour, the Fairhaven Organic Flour Mill is a reminder of what used to be and what could come again. Traditionally, before the rise of industrial agriculture, small farms grew the food for nearby towns and local processors transformed it into finished products. Today, the Fairhaven Organic Flour Mill is the only organic flour mill in the entire state of Washington—an area twice the size of the country of Portugal.

Tucked inconspicuously behind the Boundary Bay Brewery on Railroad Avenue in Bellingham, Washington, the Fairhaven Mill produces an extensive range of fresh-ground flours for regional bakers, restaurants and grocery stores. Begun in 1974, when early members of the Bellingham Community Food Co-op were looking for sources of organic flours, the Mill moved to its Railroad Avenue location in 1976 and became independent. Operated over the years by a number of people from the early co-op group, in 2007, Kevin and Matsuko Christenson, bought it and continued the tradition.

Milling Organic Flour

Fairhaven Flour Mill machinery

The Fairhaven Organic Mill processes 35 to 40 tons of organic flour every month. Three types of wheat flours—whole wheat, unbleached white, and whole wheat pasta flour make up about 40 percent. Nine other grains comprise the rest: cornmeal, rye flour, rice flour, oat flour, buckwheat flour, soy flour, spelt flour, millet flour, and barley flour.

The Mill is moving towards sourcing local grains. When the Christensons took over, most of the grains came from Montana and the Southwest. Today 20 percent comes from local farms. “We would like to purchase as much local grain as we can, as long as it meets our premium specifications,” said Christenson. “Not everything grows here. But we’re using locally grown white wheat. We could get corn from closer, if it was available . . . also rye and barley.”

Fairhaven Organic Flour Mill sells its organic flours in bulk and in 2, 5 and 8 lb. packages for retail throughout the Northwest, from Eugene, Oregon to Vancouver, British Columbia.