MARSHALL TWP. — Walking around their farm on a warm weekday morning, Trent Thompson and Bridgett Blough are the first to admit they've become outnumbered.

The married couple have three young children, not to mention an equal number of small business ventures born out of their shared love of fresh food, community and the outdoors.

Taking full advantage of their 20 acres on H Drive North, the couple have consolidated their respective farming, catering and events businesses in one location under one brand: Of The Land.

"It’s all about being in nature," Blough said Friday while offering a tour of the property. "A big part for us, having this farm, is feeding the community members and opening it up for people to experience it, too, sharing the nature with people."

Partnering with roughly 40 local growers throughout West Michigan, the couple offer more than 200 fresh products ranging from produce, meat and dairy to meal kits and prepared foods through their online marketplace The Green Box.

The online market features a variety of locally grown produce, meats, eggs, dairy, kitchen staples and complete meals, with patrons having the ability to customize the items they receive.

Customers can shop "as little or as much as they want," with the ability to purchase a single Green Box or sign-up for a weekly "Farmer's Pick" subscription service. 

"We grow a lot of this food, we buy some of it from other area farmers and then we aggregate it and package it up on an assembly line (located on site at the farm) and then we distribute it," Thompson explained.

The couple doesn't pick produce until it's been ordered online, ensuring a fresher product while also limiting food waste. 

Customers also have the ability to purchase specialized meal kits that include a recipe and all of the ingredients to make a seasonal dinner at home, as well as a variety of prepared meals crafted by Blough that are ready to eat upon arrival. 

"One of the things that I love about it is that we are teaching people how to cook with local food," Blough said. "There’s an educational component and we’re kind of bundling items together that make sense, and it’s easy!"

Blough's passion for fresh food developed early on.

As a child, she remembers driving to a local farm with her father to purchase sweet corn, picking the ears themselves before heading back home to eat it with dinner. 

She later worked at that farm as a teenager.

"I fell in love with this idea that people made a living growing food," Blough said of the experience. "I’ve just kind of valued it ever since."

Thompson's love of farming came later in life.

Shortly after graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in forestry, he agreed to work on a coffee farm in Hawaii. Subsequent stints on farms in Oregon and Arizona solidified his passion for the profession, prompting him to move back home to Battle Creek to try it on his own.

Renting some land and a farmhouse near Pennfield, Thompson began growing a variety of vegetables in 2008, selling the produce at the Battle Creek Farmers Market under the business name Green Gardens. 

He purchased a 20-acre property of his own along H Drive North in 2012, meeting Blough later the same year as she began buying his produce for her catering business The Organic Gypsy.

The two have worked together in varying capacities ever since — eventually tying the knot in 2021 — with Thompson's Green Gardens venture ultimately evolving into the online marketplace The Green Box with support from Blough. 

Thompson began delving into events in 2017, converting a greenhouse at the farm into a 5,000 square-foot wedding venue capable of seating 150 people. The couple have 35 weddings booked at the venue this year.

The venue also hosts weekly yoga sessions and sound bathing — a meditative experience where attendees are "bathed" in sound waves.

A 4,800-square-foot patio garden with flowers and edible plants — including cherry tomatoes, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries — was added to the property in 2021. The space includes a mobile coffee/espresso bar and has played host to concerts, picnics and a family game night, among other events so far.

A large kitchen space on the farm dedicated to catering is also nearly complete.

The couple typically host a public event once a month at the farm, opening up the entire property to visitors. 

Thompson said what he enjoys most is the connections forged with local growers and patrons in the community.

"I love being outside," he said. "I like the community of getting to know people that we sell the food to, I like the sustainability aspect of selling food to people right here in the community and just the quality that we can provide for people."

For more information, visit oftheland.co.

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com or 269-501-5661. Follow him on Twitter: G_SteeleBC