Brenneman Aims High with Cultivate
Published: Friday, October 2, 2026
Attention farmers and produce growers: Grace Brenneman wants the extra protein from your farm. She also needs fruit, vegetables and a lot of eggs.
As the food sourcing development representative for Cultivate Food Rescue, Brenneman is tasked with developing relationships with livestock producers and area 4-H programs. Through those relationships, Brenneman—a former Elkhart County 4-H'er and 2026 graduate of the University of Notre Dame —hopes to collect protein donations that will supply the South Bend-based nonprofit with vital nutrition for needy families and school children.
Working to address food insecurity in her community is more than a job for Brenneman—it's a passi-
on. Growing up on a dairy farm south of Elkhart, she has been laser-focused on that topic since attending a World Food Prize conference in Des Moines, Iowa during her sophomore year in high school. She said the speakers opened her eyes to the reality that agriculture should be about more than just making money by producing food.
"It can be used as a force for good," she said, "to fight one of the biggest injustices in the world, which is hunger."
Brenneman said that conference was a lightbulb moment for her. She went on to enjoy a stellar run as a swimmer at Concord High School before committing to Notre Dame, where she was a member of the Fighting Irish swim team.
While Notre Dame isn't considered an agriculture school, she was convinced that she could address food system challenges through a business approach. She learned to think "outside the box" and look at agriculture from a strategic perspective.
For her capstone project at Notre Dame, Brenneman designed and tested a farm-to-pantry model that aimed to provide local food pantries with a more consistent supply of fresh protein from producers in Elkhart County. She collaborated with Jim Conklin, founder and executive director of Cultivate; Melissa Wessel, Cultivate's director of operations; her parents, Dan and Angie Brenneman of Maple Crest Farms; and others in the local food system.
In the tri-county area of St. Joseph, Marshall and Elkhart counties, there are 63,000 people who are food insecure. That number weighs heavily on the 2021 fair queen and champion swimmer. She knows that local farms are good at producing food, yet there are far too many people, especially children, lacking proper nutrition.
"One thing that I've learned in my job is that hunger isn't just happening overseas, which is so easy to think," Brenneman said. "It's actually happening in our communities. We can rally together to help those hungry neighbors."
Most of those food-insecure families turn to pantries for help, but protein is often in short supply.
"I learned that this protein gap is not an issue of supply, but rather an issue of systemic disconnect between local producers, funders, processors, distributors and pantries," she wrote in her final report, "A Sustainable Approach to Local Food Security."
As part of her project, Brenneman worked with Cultivate, Maple Crest Farms, the Irions Foundation and three local food pantries to test the model. At the Middlebury Food Pantry, she found the strongest evidence that her farm-to-pantry model actually works. The results validated her theory that this system could deliver 1 pound of protein per household per week if it were scaled across the region. That compares to the current average of 1 pound of protein per month at the Middlebury pantry.
"It is realistic that we could do this," she said. "A locally sourced, collaborative protein system could truly bridge the gap."
Brenneman submitted the report in April and graduated a month later with a degree in business management and a minor in sustainability.
Armed with that degree and a proof-of-concept for her farm-to-pantry model, she was hired this summer by Cultivate. She is working to build relationships with farmers and food businesses to bring more food into the "hunger-relief network," where Cultivate is positioned.
Since 2021, Cultivate has either purchased or received donations of livestock at local 4-H auctions. Through its "Meat Hunger" program, Cultivate has brought in 212,000 pounds of protein from 1,200 animals. That has resulted in more than 400,000 meals that Cultivate has distributed to food insecure families.
During the 2026 fair season alone, Cultivate accepted 174 hogs and one dairy steer that, combined, produced 20,405 pounds of protein.
Cultivate also has a farm-direct program—something akin to Brenneman's farm-to-pantry model—that generated 165 animals and 17,902 pounds of protein this year.
In her new position, Brenneman wants to expand the Meat Hunger program and create more opportunities for local farmers to donate produce, eggs, dairy and other agricultural products.
"We are in a special area where there is so much agriculture, and many different types, from large corporations like Culver Duck and Miller Poultry to family farms," she said. "There is surplus in every area, and there are opportunities to engage with them, to connect them to this situation in our area, which is hunger."
Coming from a farm background, Brenneman understands that farmers need to make a profit before they will entertain the idea of donating market-ready hogs or steers. While donations are always accepted, the nonprofit organization is focusing on purchasing certain animals, like a downed cow or small hog, directly from farmers at a discounted price.
Brenneman explained that many farmers have odd-balls—pigs or steers that don't fit the weight specifications set by the processor. She said Cultivate can buy those animals at a discount, giving farmers some return on their investments. Thanks to generous partners, the processing is free.
With respect to fruits and vegetables, Cultivate recently accepted a large donation of watermelons from a Berrien County grower. Most of the melons were either too large or too small to be sold in supermarkets, but they were just fine for Cultivate's program.
Brenneman said Cultivate specializes in turning underutilized or difficult-to-market agricultural products into food for local families. This not only reduces waste but also feeds hungry people.
In her outreach to farmers and others in the food system, Brenneman is casting a vision for what the local food system should look like. It's a circular model where farmers, funders, processors, Cultivate and food pantries are all connected. She said this would result in a stronger community food system.
"Funders provide the money to purchase and process the animal," she said. "Cultivate is that middleman, where we store the protein and distribute it to pantries, and pantries give it out to the people."
Brenneman said the status quo, in which an estimated 40% of food is wasted, is unacceptable.
"If we get farmers aware of that value and of the importance of building a stronger, local community food system, that's the goal here," she said.
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