Meet the Team
The Hungry Locavore is a family owned and operated project. Spearheaded by Ryan Poe and supported by his leading ladies, The Hungry Locavore team are dedicated to promoting and supporting our local food systems and supplying our customers with the very best quality food products and service.
Contact us to learn more about what we do.
Ryan Poe
Polyculture Farmer, Project Leader, Collaborator Extraordinaire, Menu Curator, Newsletter Writer & Major Foodie
Raised on a farm in Northern California, Ryan has been a student of nature and a lover of wholesome food his entire life. Ryan's career and hobbies have always been based in nature, including work in marine biology and sustainable farming. When he doesn't have his hands in the dirt, Ryan likes to travel, explore the outdoors and research books and documentaries related to nature and sustainable living. He also loves to cook delicious meals with recipes he picked up on his travels and using ingredients he grows and sources locally.
The Poe Ladies
Project Helpers, Brain Stormers, Taste Testers, Proofreaders, Cheer Leaders & Occasional Customer Greeters
The Poe Ladies share Ryan's passion for The Hungry Locavore local food project and are dedicated to supporting Ryan in what he does best. While school and day jobs take up most of their time, they are always thinking of menu ideas and ways to help, with the reward of tasting yummy samples and Ryan's home cooking.
Our Story
The PAST: Ryan started his Michigan farming career in Dixboro Village with Ferris Farm, where he farmed an acre plot, a green house, and a heated hoop house for several years. He collaborated with local food co-ops and restaurants to sell the crops, along with Dixboro Farmer’s Market and a small following of locavore neighbors. All this networking and collaboration sparked the idea to curate a weekly CSA box featuring restaurant dishes that incorporated the produce Ryan sold, along with the produce itself. When Covid hit in early 2020, Ferris Farm unexpectedly shut down and Ryan joined forces with Tantre Farm (Chelsea, MI) to work on a similar incubator project under the name of The Immune Booster. Its purpose was to support struggling local businesses through the Covid pandemic by providing a low-risk and socially distant way to sell their goods to consumers.
The PRESENT: To date, the project has supported over 80 local farms and businesses, repeatedly featured in our weekly shares. For some, this has provided a lifeline to their business through the uncertainty of the pandemic, which fills us with pride and motivates us to do even better. There's always room for improvement, and we have taken the opportunity to make our project more visible and accessible to the wider community by re-branding, re-launching and streamlining our processes as THE HUNGRY LOCAVORE. We hope you will join us for the ride!
The FUTURE: We are excited to push this project to new heights and create an even bigger, more positive impact in our community! Our aim is to spread the word and connect with the undiscovered locavores out there who will join our local food mission. With more support, we can grow and strengthen our network of local vendors and curate more and more exciting and diverse menus that are too tempting to pass up. The future, my friends, is LOCAL!
