Welcome to Mt. Hope Farms
We are the Ellis Family – Mike, Laura, Samuel, and Mason. Farming is our passion - where our roots travel deep and wide. As a full time farm family, all our fruits and berries are grown to the highest standards with a finely honed commitment to quality. At Mt. Hope Farms, our goal is to provide customers with a quality product that can be traced from farm to table. For the artisan food grower this means, we know exactly how each product used in the production of our food spreads is grown and harvested. We value good crops as an endowment from the land and good foods as gifts from the heart.
Mike and I met at Eastern Oregon University. We shared many common beliefs, especially a love for the land and its bounty. With Mike's degree in Range Ecology and Management and my childhood background on a rural Alaska family farm, we began farming with Mike’s grandpa and parents. They began farming the Molalla grounds over half a century ago. During that time, our nutrient rich soils have developed through diligent land stewardship and soil management. Long days and hard work took hold of our lives, and it paid off. Sustainable farming begins deep in the soul where the traditions of good food and family values meet and thrive.
Living on a farm has enriched our lives, but is our children (both our own and our extended family’s) who truly make this a family farm. Through them we see our future. It gives us so much joy to watch them eat the fruit right off the vine, ride through the fields on the tractor, and get lots of dirt on their hands and faces.
It wasn't that long ago, 2014 to be exact, when opportunity called to us. Taking a giant leap, we started our own farm business and fruit spread line, continuing the family traditions on the same land in Molalla. As you can see, we never looked back!
We believe our fruits and berries from the Willamette Valley are some of the finest and most flavorful in the world. As a family, we knew we wanted our products to highlight the bounty of Oregon and honor our land. We wanted to create farm to jar products from the fruits we grew and sourced, while also using local ingredients such as Oregon rum, sea salt from our beautiful coastline, and freshly ground spices from a Portland shop. We use certified Organic ingredients (such as sugar and lemon juice) whenever possible. We don't add any high fructose corn syrup, artificial preservatives, flavors, or coloring. Everything we make is natural and non-GMO. Because we use low amounts of Organic sugar, our products can be added to many dishes to enhance flavor.
We invite you to get to know us more and would love to know what you think of our products. Go take a look at our blog for recipes and farm news, too!