Fresh Nature Foods

Fresh Nature Foods specializes in growing and distributing green garbanzo beans, also known as chickpeas. Since forming two and a half years ago, it has been working to expand the market for the colorful legume. And it's seeing some success. Washington students taste-tested the company's green garbanzos through a pilot program last spring in distri... cts from Highline, south of Seattle, to Thorp and Cle Elum in Central Washington and locally at Mead and Spokane. The bright green beans are already served at Seattle University, Washington State University and Whitman College. They also have graced menus at Masselow's at Northern Quest Resort and Casino, a couple of eateries at the Coeur d'Alene Resort, Spokane's Steam Plant Grill and some of Tom Douglas' restaurants in Seattle. A retail pack isn't expected to hit select stores until autumn or early winter. Meantime, they'll be featured in a charred Monterey Bay squid salad with chorizo on July 19 at The Alley at the Bite of Seattle. "The demand is starting," said Ryan Davenport, 35, president of Fresh Nature Foods. Still, the marketing push might take some work, particularly with home cooks. While green garbanzo beans are a common ingredient in many countries, most Americans are used to seeing the bean's blond counterpart, which typically comes dried or canned and makes up the main ingredient in hummus. The vibrant green beans hail from the same plant, only they're harvested earlier when the legume is in its live state and full of moisture. They're also more nutritious, with double the fiber and nearly double the protein. "Most people don't realize every chickpea starts green," said Davenport, who owns Fresh Nature Foods with his wife, Katie, and a silent partner. The company formed in 2012, but dates to a fourth-generation Palouse farmer who had been working to create a market for green garbanzo beans for more than 20 years. Doug Moser, Davenport's father-in-law, began growing garbanzo beans in the early 1980s. "This has been his passion," Davenport said. "It ...Read More