Our Mission
Powerkraut is a small family business located in Southwestern Wisconsin committed to hand producing delicious, nourishing cultured food and fermented drinks for children, teen, and adults. Our aim is to care for the earth through certified organic and bio-dynamic agricultural practices and encourage gratitude, care, and healing in people’s lives. Consider joining our CSA for great benefits and to support our grass-roots farm. Join us in our journey to explore nature, create sanctuary, and assist communities where children hunger, both here and abroad.
Our Kitchen
Kim Chi vegetables in an Amish basket
Our homestead kitchen is Wisconsin state-licensed and Organic Certified by both the USDA and MOSA. We’ve used eco-friendly paint and floor sealant products to create a beautiful space to work, with no off gassing hazard to your food (and us!) We choose to frequently sterilize kitchen vessels, utensils, and surface areas using boiling water and heat, methods which technically and legally replace the chemical sanitizers that can leave surface residue. We do not heat our food product. All products are carefully crafted to be raw and fresh.
Our Farm
The Driftless Area
Our farm homestead is nestled in a small valley in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, which literally means “drift-less.” Glaciers during the Ice Age bypassed our once high plateau, leaving drift on either side as they melted and retreated. Since the end of the ice age, wind and water have eroded the plateau, creating valleys, riverbeds, and landscape conducive to small family farming. Our Vernon County in the Driftless Area has the densest population of Organic Family Farms in the United States.
There are wonderful folks with homesteads up and down our country road. We personally share our wood-fired greenhouse, barn, cooler, and storage shed with our Amish neighbors who plow and till our gardens with their horses. They also raise 15 acres of certified organic produce while creating beautiful crafts and furniture. We live in a very peaceful place, with heart-warming stories to share.
Like our kitchen, both our farm and food are organic certified by the USDA and MOSA.
Our Food
Red cabbage ready for grating.
We process our organic produce through traditional culturing and fermenting methods. In earlier times, people preserved vegetables for long periods without the use of freezers, canning machines, or pasteurization. They used a culturing process called Lacto-fermentation. Lacto-bacilli (healthy bacteria) are naturally present on the surfaces of organic vegetables as they grow, and they remain viable throughout harvesting and washing.
read moreWe process our organic produce through traditional culturing and fermenting methods. In earlier times, people preserved vegetables for long periods without the use of freezers, canning machines, or pasteurization. They used a culturing process called Lacto-fermentation. Lacto-bacilli (healthy bacteria) are naturally present on the surfaces of organic vegetables as they grow, and they remain viable throughout harvesting and washing.
read moreOur Attitude
Adrienne in Powerkraut's commerical kitchen.
At Powerkraut, “We believe good attitude makes good food.” Adrienne, owner and primary producer of Powerkraut, carries this motto as a source of inspiration in the kitchen. Before creating Powerkraut, Adrienne worked for a company by the name of WALA, an organic/biodynamic pharmacy based in Europe, where mother tinctures are made with specific fermentation and rhythmic processes. Later she began a hot lunch program, preparing warm organic meals for around 100 school children a day. Today she is growing produce and preparing Powerkraut full-time.
Kitchens are a Hearth of Our Home and Our Society.
In 2001 I pioneered Wisconsin’s first 100% Organic hot lunch program at a local school here in Viroqua. There was a lot to organize, a lot of children, and a lot of dishes. After the first few weeks, I quickly recognized that the most important ingredient for the meals was not just organic produce. The children needed love in their food, too!
The kitchen is a hearth. In the not so distant past, a hearth fire was our primary heat source for cooking. The reality of the hearth was a daily tangible experience of warmth, nurturing, and sustenance for human beings across the world, regardless of race, religion or culture.
read moreIn 2001 I pioneered Wisconsin’s first 100% Organic hot lunch program at a local school here in Viroqua. There was a lot to organize, a lot of children, and a lot of dishes. After the first few weeks, I quickly recognized that the most important ingredient for the meals was not just organic produce. The children needed love in their food, too!
The kitchen is a hearth. In the not so distant past, a hearth fire was our primary heat source for cooking. The reality of the hearth was a daily tangible experience of warmth, nurturing, and sustenance for human beings across the world, regardless of race, religion or culture.
read moreWe believe good attitude makes good food.
I’d like to share one kitchen story with you, although there are many wonderful ones to choose from. In our hot lunch program, 5th through 8th graders served our daily cooked- from-scratch meals on tables in the hall. Because I believe that our energy, whether it be positive or negative, goes into the food we prepare, I consciously make an effort to inspire a good open attitude in the kitchen.
One day an 8th grade student came into the school kitchen feeling angry and upset. As I checked in with her, it became clear that although it was her turn in the class to serve, she had no desire to do so. We talked about whether there was anything she could connect with. Perhaps she could notice the sparkle in the children’s eyes or how the younger children looked up to her as an older student. We talked about what it’s like when your waiter at a restaurant is in a bad mood, or you hear the cook yelling behind the kitchen door. She agreed that doesn’t make for a very good eating experience, as it often triggers feelings that can make it difficult to digest a meal. As this student was still feeling pretty frustrated, she decided on her own to head back to her classroom and find someone else to serve.
read moreI’d like to share one kitchen story with you, although there are many wonderful ones to choose from. In our hot lunch program, 5th through 8th graders served our daily cooked- from-scratch meals on tables in the hall. Because I believe that our energy, whether it be positive or negative, goes into the food we prepare, I consciously make an effort to inspire a good open attitude in the kitchen.
One day an 8th grade student came into the school kitchen feeling angry and upset. As I checked in with her, it became clear that although it was her turn in the class to serve, she had no desire to do so. We talked about whether there was anything she could connect with. Perhaps she could notice the sparkle in the children’s eyes or how the younger children looked up to her as an older student. We talked about what it’s like when your waiter at a restaurant is in a bad mood, or you hear the cook yelling behind the kitchen door. She agreed that doesn’t make for a very good eating experience, as it often triggers feelings that can make it difficult to digest a meal. As this student was still feeling pretty frustrated, she decided on her own to head back to her classroom and find someone else to serve.
read more