On the farm.
Our farming partners are a key component to our business because we know it’s just as important for our customers to know where their food comes from as it is to us. We’re thrilled to support the organic farming community and the farming practices they use on their farms; no synthetic chemicals, crop rotation and a mindset we connect with.
When grain arrives at the mill.
Grains are shipped via Super B trucks (44,000kgs) from Organic farms across Canada and received cleaned to 99.9% purity. When the truck arrives at our facility in Chilliwack, the process is quick, taking around 90 minutes to unload. The grain drops from the bottom of the truck into an auger system that moves it into one of our grain silos until it's ready to process. In total our grain silos hold 1 million pounds of grain. For grains we bring in from smaller farms, or in smaller volume, the grain comes in a tote and is held inside our facility until it’s ready to mill.
Milling.
We are working with up to 23 different whole grains on any given day. Once our miller selects the grain silo and type of flour he’s going to mill, the grain travels through an auger from the silos outside, into the mill room, and to one of our low temperature stone mills, a hammer mill, or a steel cutter. Once transformed into flour it travels through a sieve, to ensure consistency, and into a hopper where it circulates until full. From there, it’s transferred into a tote and moved to our warehouse to prep for packaging and shipping. Our millers watch this process closely and perform sieve tests on each ton of flour produced to ensure that our flour stays consistent.
Sprouting.
Just like milling, the grain enters our sprouting system from the grain silos or direct from totes. The whole process is slow, taking up to 48 hours to complete, depending on the grain. First, we allow the grain to stay moist long enough to wake it from its dormancy, thus beginning the process of germination. As the grain begins to grow, we stop it at the perfect time to retain its optimal baking qualities. The sprouted grain is then transitioned to our dryer and slowly dried to a 13% - 14% moisture level, making it ready to move to the mill.
Blending.
Like a baker, our mixers follow a recipe too. The ingredients are carefully selected, weighed out, and added to our larger ribbon blender. At a low speed, our mixer watches as it transforms the ingredients into a consistent blend that’s then transferred to a tote for shipping or packaging.
Certified Gluten Free.
We take allergens seriously which is why we have a separate space for our certified gluten free products. Our gluten free team performs regular testing at the arrival, processing, and packaging stages to ensure these products leave our doors ready for our celiac customers to enjoy.
Ready to ship.
With our small batch process our products move quickly through our facility to our warehousing section where they’re ready to ship to our distributor, retailer, bakery and manufacturing partners.
From here the creativity and magic really begins, as our flours transform into food to be shared and loved by all.
Flagship store.
The Local Harvest Market, located just down the road from the mill, is where you’ll find the largest variety of our flours and baking ingredients available in all sizes. A perfect stop for a small bag to try something new or a large bag for the serious baker.
In your kitchen or bakery.
We hope you can feel the love and care that’s gone into the process of making our products.
We can honestly say that our grains, flours, and cereals not only taste better for it, they’re also more nutritious and perform better in your kitchen.
At the end of the day, we believe being healthy means focusing on the things that matter, from organic, whole grain nutrition, to those quiet moments watching the buns rise in the oven.
In house
test-kitchen.
Our bakery, Anita’s Bread & Coffee, sits 70m from our mill, making it the perfect testing ground for our flours, grains and cereals. As a fully operating bakery we continuously gain first hand working experience and knowledge of our flour and baking process so we can better support our customers, while at the same time serving the Chilliwack community with incredible organic sourdough breads and pastries.
Our staff.
Our production staff are incredible. They don’t have an easy job, sometimes it’s monotonous and sometimes dusty, but at the end of the day our staff enjoy working here and especially enjoy our incredible baked goods at our on-site bakery.
Safety.
In 2019, after moving to our new facility, we became SQF Certified, meeting the highest of safety standards. The protocols involved are intense and expansive helping us ensure our staff stay safe and maintain the highest quality food standards ensuring you have no question when it comes to Anita’s baking products.