844-337-7325 [email protected]
SARAH FREY
CEO and Founding Farmer of Frey Farms & Bestselling Author
KEYNOTE VIDEOS
KEYNOTE FEE:

$15,001 - $20,000

Keynote fee falls within this range. For exact fee, please contact us.
TRAVELS FROM:

Illinois

Request Availability for Sarah Frey

"Sarah Frey is fantastic and has an incredible story to tell."

ABOUT SARAH FREY

Sarah Frey is the founder and CEO of Frey Farms, a Certified Woman- Owned Agribusiness headquartered in southern Illinois. Frey Farms is a leading US grower, shipper and marketer of fresh fruits and vegetables. Sarah also oversees the diverse operations of the Frey family of companies to include land acquisition, regenerative agriculture initiatives, raw ingredient manufacturing and a full-scale beverage business.

The Sarah’s Homegrown brand of produce and beverages are distributed across the US from over 200 cold-chain distribution centers, in both retail grocery and Foodservice.

Sarah has been described by the New York Times as America’s Pumpkin Queen. “Ms. Frey, crushes any image you may have of a pumpkin farmer. She has a taste for fedoras and an impressive collection of boots in her closet. She also has farmland in seven states and millions of dollars in produce contracts in her desk drawer” says Kim Severson, food editor for the NYT.

Frey Farms is best known as being America’s largest producer of fresh pumpkins; but watermelons are, in fact, their top commodity. Sarah founded Tsamma (sah-mah) watermelon juice, which was the first watermelon juice distributed nationally; and is the author of the best-selling book, The Growing Season: How I Built a New Life – and Saved an American Farm, published by Random House in August of 2020. The Growing Season has been optioned for film with Sarah serving as the Co-Executive Producer.

Sarah’s entrepreneurial spirit was nurtured at the young age of eight, while accompanying her mother on a summer produce route selling direct to grocery retailers in southern Illinois. The summer she turned 16, Sarah took over the produce route and expanded it from 12 independent grocery stores to over 150 – then purchased her family’s small 100-acre farm. Bootstrapping her way out of rural poverty, she ran her full-time business while attending high school and college simultaneously. At age 19, Sarah negotiated with Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer, and successfully secured fresh produce contracts, turning her vision into reality with an expansive growth into retail grocery that enabled her to bring her four older brothers back to the family farm and into a now-flourishing business.

Sarah has served on many industry-leading association boards and has been appointed by both democratic and republican administrations. She has been highlighted as one of the most influential women in agriculture, serving in bipartisan Ag Advisory roles for multiple members of the US Congress and has provided expert testimony on key issues affecting US food supply. Frey was appointed to serve as Advisor of the U.S. Representative and House Committee on Agriculture Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson’s National Agriculture Campaign Advisory Council (NCAC). Sarah will provide the Committee with fruit and vegetable commodity specific expertise to inform agriculture police and strategy. Sarah actively advocates for better health initiatives, nutrition policies and economic opportunities on behalf of underserved rural communities. Her companies provide dedicated support and resources to various nonprofits and proudly partners with Feeding America.

Sarah still lives on “The Hill” where she and her brothers grew up and is raising her two sons William and Luke. Her efforts continue to better the lives of those living in rural poverty providing professional college advisory assistance and internships to students interested in pursuing higher education with a focus on business and agriculture. Sarah attributes her American success story to humble beginnings, hard work and a close family with plenty of Midwestern moxie. 

SARAH FREY PROGRAMS & TOPICS

The Story of The Growing Season: HOW SARAH FREY SAVED AN AMERICAN FARM

The youngest of 21 children, Sarah Frey grew up on a struggling farm in Southern Illinois. At 15, she started her own fresh produce delivery business out of an old pickup truck. Two years later she took over the family farm and started doing business with the largest grocery retailers in the country. Frey’s story is one of never giving up, negotiating with some of the biggest businesses in the nation and building a company which serves consumers with fresh, healthy products. Frey Farms is the nation’s leading producer of pumpkins, earning Frey the nickname “America’s Pumpkin Queen.”

Request Availability for Sarah Frey

SARAH FREY BOOKS
SARAH FREY
CEO and Founding Farmer of Frey Farms & Bestselling Author
TRAVELS FROM:

Illinois
KEYNOTE FEE:

$15,001 - $20,000

Keynote fee falls within this range. For exact fee, please contact us.
KEYNOTE VIDEOS
"Sarah Frey is fantastic and has an incredible story to tell."

MidWest Ag Client

ABOUT SARAH FREY

Sarah Frey is the founder and CEO of Frey Farms, a Certified Woman- Owned Agribusiness headquartered in southern Illinois. Frey Farms is a leading US grower, shipper and marketer of fresh fruits and vegetables. Sarah also oversees the diverse operations of the Frey family of companies to include land acquisition, regenerative agriculture initiatives, raw ingredient manufacturing and a full-scale beverage business.

The Sarah’s Homegrown brand of produce and beverages are distributed across the US from over 200 cold-chain distribution centers, in both retail grocery and Foodservice.

Sarah has been described by the New York Times as America’s Pumpkin Queen. “Ms. Frey, crushes any image you may have of a pumpkin farmer. She has a taste for fedoras and an impressive collection of boots in her closet. She also has farmland in seven states and millions of dollars in produce contracts in her desk drawer” says Kim Severson, food editor for the NYT.

Frey Farms is best known as being America’s largest producer of fresh pumpkins; but watermelons are, in fact, their top commodity. Sarah founded Tsamma (sah-mah) watermelon juice, which was the first watermelon juice distributed nationally; and is the author of the best-selling book, The Growing Season: How I Built a New Life – and Saved an American Farm, published by Random House in August of 2020. The Growing Season has been optioned for film with Sarah serving as the Co-Executive Producer.

Read More

Sarah’s entrepreneurial spirit was nurtured at the young age of eight, while accompanying her mother on a summer produce route selling direct to grocery retailers in southern Illinois. The summer she turned 16, Sarah took over the produce route and expanded it from 12 independent grocery stores to over 150 – then purchased her family’s small 100-acre farm. Bootstrapping her way out of rural poverty, she ran her full-time business while attending high school and college simultaneously. At age 19, Sarah negotiated with Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer, and successfully secured fresh produce contracts, turning her vision into reality with an expansive growth into retail grocery that enabled her to bring her four older brothers back to the family farm and into a now-flourishing business.

Sarah has served on many industry-leading association boards and has been appointed by both democratic and republican administrations. She has been highlighted as one of the most influential women in agriculture, serving in bipartisan Ag Advisory roles for multiple members of the US Congress and has provided expert testimony on key issues affecting US food supply. Frey was appointed to serve as Advisor of the U.S. Representative and House Committee on Agriculture Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson’s National Agriculture Campaign Advisory Council (NCAC). Sarah will provide the Committee with fruit and vegetable commodity specific expertise to inform agriculture police and strategy. Sarah actively advocates for better health initiatives, nutrition policies and economic opportunities on behalf of underserved rural communities. Her companies provide dedicated support and resources to various nonprofits and proudly partners with Feeding America.

Sarah still lives on “The Hill” where she and her brothers grew up and is raising her two sons William and Luke. Her efforts continue to better the lives of those living in rural poverty providing professional college advisory assistance and internships to students interested in pursuing higher education with a focus on business and agriculture. Sarah attributes her American success story to humble beginnings, hard work and a close family with plenty of Midwestern moxie.

SARAH FREY PROGRAMS & TOPICS
The Story of The Growing Season: HOW SARAH FREY SAVED AN AMERICAN FARM
The youngest of 21 children, Sarah Frey grew up on a struggling farm in Southern Illinois. At 15, she started her own fresh produce delivery business out of an old pickup truck. Two years later she took over the family farm and started doing business with the largest grocery retailers in the country. Frey’s story is one of never giving up, negotiating with some of the biggest businesses in the nation and building a company which serves consumers with fresh, healthy products. Frey Farms is the nation’s leading producer of pumpkins, earning Frey the nickname “America’s Pumpkin Queen.”

Request Availability for Sarah Frey

SARAH FREY BOOKS