In 2022, Noblesville resident Suzanne Flanders sampled milk from an Amish family in Shipshewana. Impressed by the product, she and her family decided to bring the milk, and other products, to central Indiana by creating the farm-to-table business Simply from Scratch.
Simply from Scratch is family-owned and operated. Its slogan is, “The grocery just got local.” It began as a catering business in 2010 and became a farm-to-table business in 2022.
During the winter months, the business has pop-up shops and farm pickups, where customers can purchase items from the family’s farm on Strawtown Avenue in Noblesville. During the summer, Simply from Scratch sells products at farmers markets throughout central Indiana.
The business specializes in ingredients for “made-from-scratch” meals by selling produce, milk, cheese, eggs, home-baked goods and more. Whatever the family doesn’t produce on its farm, it sources from local producers, such as milk from Amish Country Dairy, butter and cheese from Heritage Creamery and seasonings from Weaver.
“It’s nice to be able to tell people where their milk is coming from, where things that they’re consuming daily come from,” said Lauren Flanders, Suzanne’s daughter-in-law. “So, that was kind of a big pride of ours to be able to say, ‘We know exactly where this is coming from, the process that it’s going through,’ and just kind of bring healthier options that are even also cheaper for the local families, local communities.”
Joel Flanders, Suzanne’s son and Lauren’s husband, said Simply from Scratch is “an affordable mobile option” as opposed to shopping at traditional grocery stores.
“When you come and purchase from us, we can tell you exactly where all of our products came from, and that’s something we’re really excited about,” Lauren said.
Suzanne said the family focuses on providing quality products without preservatives.
“I had a gentleman come back (recently) that sampled our (product) for the first time last week and came back and bought eight 3-liters of milk,” said Jim Flanders, Suzanne’s husband. “He bought, I think, one last week, and his kids loved it and (he) said, ‘We will be a weekly order’ because it reminds him of the milk he had growing up because he grew up on a small dairy farm.”
Farming has always been a family tradition for the Flanders. Some of the family members also have full- or part-time jobs in addition to working for Simply from Scratch.
“We get asked a lot, ‘When do we sleep?’” Suzanne said.
But the family enjoys operating the business together.
“Family’s huge to us,” Joel said. “Family is everything. I’m a seventh generation (family worker) on the farm, (my son’s) eighth (generation and) we want to work with our family full time.”
WHAT IT SELLS
Products available at Simply from Scratch include:
- Milk, cheese, butter, eggs (duck, chicken and quail)
- Produce (sweet corn, Indian corn or popcorn, black raspberries, lettuce, kale, swiss chard, onions, garlic, green onions, radishes, watermelon, cucumber, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, squash
- Sourdough, wheat, white, multi-grain yeast breads
- Quick breads: zucchini, banana, chocolate, strawberry, cinnamon swirl, cinnamon rolls
Location: 14847 Strawtown Ave.
Hours: The business has pop-up shops at various locations and sells items at farmers markets throughout central Indiana
For information on pop-up locations or to schedule a farm pickup, visit facebook.com/simplyfromscratch.in/.
