08/25/2026
🌿 Welcome to Ritchey Homestead! 🐓🍞🥚
We thought it was time to officially introduce ourselves and share a little more about the family and the heart behind Ritchey Homestead!
First, a little about us! 👋
We’re the Ritchey family — Paul, Katie, Melinda, and Griffin.
Paul works full-time for NIPSCO and also serves our community as a volunteer firefighter. When he has some free time, he enjoys ham radio and is always willing to lend a hand with whatever project Katie has dreamed up for the homestead next. 😂
Katie is an RN working full-time in St. Joseph, Michigan. When she isn’t working, you can usually find her homeschooling, baking, gardening, taking care of chickens, or coming up with the next idea for the farmstand.
And then there are Melinda and Griffin, our two little homestead helpers! We homeschool both of our kids, which gives us the opportunity to make the homestead part of their education. Whether they’re helping in the garden, caring for the chickens, baking in the kitchen, or simply spending their days outside getting dirty, there is always something to learn around here. 🌱🐓
Life is definitely busy between two full-time jobs, homeschooling two kids, volunteering, and running a homestead — but we wouldn’t have it any other way!
So why did we start Ritchey Homestead? 🌾
One of our biggest goals is simple: to make healthier, wholesome food taste GOOD and feel more accessible to families in our community. We’re incredibly excited to share the things we grow, raise, bake, and make with all of you.
One thing you’ll see often in our baked goods is fresh-milled flour. Instead of buying flour that was milled months ago, we grind whole wheat berries ourselves right before baking. This means we’re using the whole grain — including the bran and germ — while giving our breads and baked goods an amazing fresh flavor. 🌾🍞
We’re also intentional about the ingredients we use. Most of our ingredients are organic, and many of them are ordered through Azure Standard. We try to keep our recipes simple and use ingredients we feel good about feeding our own family.
From farm-fresh eggs and garden produce to fresh-milled breads, cinnamon rolls, cookies, homemade goodies, and whatever else we dream up along the way, Ritchey Homestead is truly a family project. 🏡
We’re still learning. We’re still growing. And we’re sure there will be plenty of trial and error along the way! But we’re so excited about what we’re building and even more excited that we get to share it with our community.
Every person who stops at our stand, makes a purchase, shares one of our posts, tells a friend about us, or simply follows along with our little homestead adventure is supporting our family — and we appreciate it more than you know. ❤️
Welcome to Ritchey Homestead. From our family to yours, we’re so glad you’re here! 🌾🏡🐓
