We recently had the chance to connect with Jared & Kendra Lerwick and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jared & Kendra, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
We are chasing a dream that is bigger than us: building a beef processing facility in Western Nebraska. This is something we have been working toward for more than four years, and it represents much more than just growth for our ranch. It is about helping other ranchers who want to sell directly to families and build something lasting in their communities.
We have built a strong team to bring this project to life and are now focused on finding the right partners to help fund it. These facilities require a significant investment up front, but the impact reaches far beyond the financial side.
There is more than enough high-quality beef raised across Western Nebraska, Eastern Wyoming, and Colorado to feed the growing population of Colorado. However, processing remains a major pinch point. Without more local options, ranchers are forced to send their cattle hundreds of miles away, which means losing both time and control over quality.
If we stopped pursuing this goal, we would lose more than a dream. We would lose the opportunity to secure our local food system and protect a way of life that connects families to the land. Our vision is not just to process beef, but to build a system that keeps quality, transparency, and value close to home.
We want to have control from start to finish, beginning with our cow-calf operation on the ranch and continuing through processing, packaging, and fulfillment. That level of control ensures that families know exactly where their food comes from and how it was raised.
For too long, packing plants, brokers, and retailers have held the power. By reclaiming that control, we are not only helping local ranchers but also helping to create a more secure and resilient food system for everyone. The closer we can all get to the source of our food, the stronger and more self-sufficient our communities become.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
We’re Jared and Kendra, the husband-and-wife team behind Pumpkin Creek Ranch in Windsor, Colorado. Together with our three children, we live an active Colorado lifestyle centered around faith, family, and healthy living. Kendra is a former nurse, and Jared works in sales management, so our shared passion for health and connection to where our food comes from naturally led us to build a ranching business rooted in transparency and trust.
From our home in Windsor, we market, sell, and ship beef from our third-generation family ranch just across the border in Western Nebraska. All of our cattle are raised on open pastures and finished on a clean, natural diet composed entirely of crops grown on our family farm. Our cattle grow and finish slowly, without the use of additives, hormones, or antibiotics, producing beef that’s nutrient-rich, incredibly flavorful, and award-winning, including first-place finishes in BBQ competitions.
Many of our customers tell us that once they’ve tasted beef from our herd — raised on our land and finished on our unique blend of flax, oats, peas, and barley — they can never go back to store-bought meat. For us, there’s nothing better than knowing that each box we ship helps bring families and friends together around a delicious meal.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
This question is at the heart of what we care about most. We have experienced deep divides within our own families and have seen that same pain in others. The idea of gathering around a meal, sharing good food, and rebuilding connection between friends and family is one of the strongest motivations behind what we do at Pumpkin Creek Ranch.
We believe that what breaks the bonds between people is often a loss of identity. When we forget who we truly are, we begin to live from false identities that are handed to us by others instead of the One who created us. That false identity leaves us feeling powerless, unseen, and alone. From that place of disconnection, it becomes easy to hurt one another because we are living as separated parts that were meant to belong to one unified body.
When we define ourselves by temporary things, such as our job, marital status, or role as a caretaker, we mistake a position for our personhood. When we remember who we are in God, our true identity gives us peace. We no longer have to protect or promote ourselves. We can simply be present, grounded, and connected with the people around us.
That is where healing and restoration begin, one meal, one moment, and one relationship at a time. For us, that is the beauty of what we do. Creating food that brings people together reminds us that connection, like good beef, starts close to home.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Almost monthly. We genuinely feel that we were given this assignment to help address food issues, and we didn’t choose it. I (Jared) have worked in tech sales and marketing for over a decade and have seen how quickly a business can scale. With significant equity in the startup world, early team members can be well-positioned for a lifetime of success. Kendra was a NICU nurse and literally saved lives. Between purpose, fulfillment, and finances, stepping into the food business in a world where corporate giants dominate with pricing power and where the total addressable market is primarily driven by price has been incredibly difficult to build and survive in.
So, we often find ourselves asking each other, “What are we doing?” Then, we get another 5-star review. Another customer thanks us for giving them an option outside of the grocery store. Another mom tells us she finally feels confident feeding her kids because she knows where the food comes from.
Those moments remind us why we started. We keep going, we keep packing boxes, and we keep believing that business is not just about scalability or a profitable exit strategy. It is about purpose, integrity, and serving the community.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Every time we speak publicly about this topic, we receive pushback from industry insiders and leaders. We are often encouraged to pledge our allegiance to the industry before serving our customers. The truth is that the consumer and the producer have been separated and pitted against each other for decades, all to benefit the industrial middle.
Ranchers have been portrayed as simple country people, while urban dwellers are often dismissed as city slickers who know nothing about life beyond the city limits. None of this is true. Both groups are deeply valuable and passionate about their communities.
One of the biggest lies the industry tells itself is that modern agricultural practices, even those that harm the land, are necessary because “we feed the world.” In chasing that narrative, we have lost sight of something far more meaningful: feeding our neighbors. At one time, we believed that grand story too. It filled us with pride and a sense of importance, but it also made us forget who we were and why we started.
Saying these things publicly is risky because it draws attention we do not seek. Our passion has never been for the system itself but for the people it affects, the producers and the customers who have been caught in the middle. The producer is often the lowest-paid link in a very long chain. That is why our team has invested more time, energy, and resources than we can ever fully recover to build a processing facility that gives producers direct access to retail markets, improving their profitability and way of life.
Currently, with record cattle prices, many producers are finally experiencing some of the rewards that the retail sector has long enjoyed. But that will not last forever. If prices stay high, demand destruction will eventually occur as people turn to other protein options. When that happens, producers who do not have their own personal brands will once again be at the mercy of the commodity market, forced to take the price they are given instead of setting it themselves.
Producers deserve far more for what they do. But we are not solely responsible for feeding the world. Other countries are fully capable of producing food and doing it well. What we should focus on is rebuilding local systems that feed our neighbors, strengthen our communities, and restore dignity to the people who grow and raise our food.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Since I was a young girl, I have always dreamed of becoming a flight nurse. I have always had a passion for helping people, which led me into nursing. Over the years, I have worked in several areas of care, including high-level neonatal intensive care, postpartum care, and home health for children with special needs. Each of those experiences shaped how I see the world and deepened my desire to serve others.
After becoming a mom, my perspective changed. Our children had their own medical challenges, and I often found that modern medicine did not have all the answers. That began a season of late nights, endless research, and a growing curiosity about the body’s ability to heal when it is truly nourished. Through that process, I discovered a more holistic, functional approach to health and learned the incredible power of food and clean eating.
That discovery changed everything. What began as a search to help my own family eventually became the heartbeat of Pumpkin Creek Ranch. My nursing background instilled in me a deep respect for science and care, but my personal journey also gave me an equal respect for nature and nourishment. Our brand brings those two worlds together in a way that feels both purposeful and deeply personal.
I have come to believe that I was not born for a particular vocation, but for a calling. My identity and purpose come from the Lord, and that calling has always been to help people heal. It has taken many different forms over the years, through nursing, through motherhood, and now through food. Today, I see this work as another way to bring healing, connection, and confidence to families who want to eat well and live well. In that sense, I am doing exactly what I was born to do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pumpkincreekranchco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pumpkincreekranch/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pumpkincreekranch/
Image Credits
John Robson Photography and Nicholas Ciorogan
