Fermentation Creation was founded by Jon Lusby and Greg Griffith, two friends that share a love of food, family culture, and a zest for life. Through the influence of our parents, grand-parents, and agrarian family traditions, we have a mutual desire to create products that bring the farm-to-table experience into your home in an easy, fun, and creative way. Developing the Food Fermentation Kit acc
omplishes that goal, and gives us the ability share our passion with you. Our unique stories blend bonds of friendship, local community consciousness, and the tradition of the American agricultural spirit. Jon’s grandfather – a prisoner of war and World War II survivor, was a farmer on the eastern shores of Maryland. His personal story is a harrowing tale of a young man fighting in the European theater, and being captured by enemy forces. During the Allied invasion of Italy, his squad was cut off from the main element and found themselves fighting for survival. As supplies dwindled, and rations ran out, they were over-taken by Axis forces and captured. Forced to march long distances, Jon’s grand-father arrived in the prisoner of war camp Stalag-2B. West of Hammerstein, Germany; now, Czarne, Poland. Going against the advice of his fellow brother’s-in-arms, he volunteered to work the farming fields; knowing that as long as he could eat, he had the chance of survival. He smuggled onions and any other form of sustenance, and slept in piles of hay to stay warm during the colder months. Upon liberation of camp Stalag-2B, Jon’s grand-father was one of the few American survivors. He was found on the brink of death, malnourished, and clinging to life. Greg can recall the story of his grand-father. Although not a prisoner of war, his story is one of farming and survival as well. He was a farmer in Nebraska and was forced to leave his family’s farm and search for a new life during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. Seeking a new life, he moved to California to raise his family. Both Jon and Greg’s family traditions are rooted in the idea that farming is critical to survival. Looking back through history, we believe the American farming tradition is slowly being lost, and as a reaction to our grand-father’s lessons we formed Fermentation Creation to re-ignite the American agriculture spirit. For the past four years we have been involved with local sustainable farms, and through these experiences we have learned how to sustain ourselves and our food. Now it is our life’s mission to share this knowledge with others. Though our company is focused on connecting people with the art of fermentation, we find that food consciousness connects people with something bigger – the revitalization of family farms and sustainable agriculture. We hope our family’s stories inspire you to connect with our values, the spirit of American farming traditions, and self-sustainability. We feel the food-to-table mindset is not only nourishing knowledge, but quite literally life saving knowledge. Our company is here because of the traditions that are ingrained in us by our parents, grand-parents, and the American farming culture, and we pay a debt of gratitude to those that have taught us these skills. Thanks, and we look forward to hearing your own personal stories,
Jon & Greg