Fresh, Local and Delicious: Denver’s Rebel Farm

When Lauren Brettschneider and Jake Olson founded Rebel Farm in 2014, they had one goal in mind—to provide customers with fresh, GMO-free, local produce.

Located in south Denver, Rebel Farm is a sustainable greenhouse farm concept utilizing hydroponic (NFT) technology. With over 38,000 plant sites in a 15,000 sq. foot greenhouse, Brettschneider and Olson grow premium leafy greens and herbs naturally, free of harmful pesticides and fertilizers and utilizing up to 90 percent less water than your typical dirt farm.

“We started this business for a couple different reason,” Brettschneider said. “I was working in corporate for a million years and just finally got burnt out, and Jake was really burnt out of construction. He was a fine finish carpenter. He can build anything; it’s awesome. The two of us, we really wanted to do something bigger than ourselves.

“Like, we love restaurants, we love chefs; we love food, but we like good healthy food. So, we were kind of struggling with the fact that it’s a pain to get healthy food, and there are plenty of farms in Denver, but not a ton of hydroponic farms. It’s just something kind of new and different. We felt this could be our way of giving back and doing something good.”The farm offers a product list that ranges anywhere between 20-30 different types of green endeavors, including arugula, heads of lettuce, and a variety of kale.

Brettschneider believes that urban farming is becoming more common.

“Whether it’s hydroponic, aeroponic, or aquaponic, there are so many different ways to farm and produce fresh, natural, local food,” she said. “We are not an organic farm, but we use all organic practices. I will never say we are organic because we are not USDA-certified. It’s the next best thing.

“I guess doing this farm was kind of like a big finger to industries like Monsanto. Industries like that are the reason why we have so many health issues. We all grew up in the 80s; it’s the reason why everybody is sick and has autoimmune disorders. It’s because of how our food has been treated. There is no reason for it. The people that are like, ‘It’s so expensive,’ it’s not any more expensive than a farm that’s going to spray its crops with a bunch of freaking gross stuff. It really isn’t. It is so ridiculous to me. Everybody should know how to grow their own food.”

Rebel Farm serves restaurants big and small, casual and upscale. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the farm was serving close to 75 restaurants. That number has now decreased to 25.

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“COVID has impacted everything, but business has been getting a little bit better because more restaurants are starting to fully open,” Brettschneider said.

Drastic changes to the restaurant industry resulted in overflowing amounts of produce going to waste.

Although the pandemic has impacted business, that is not the reason why Brettschneider and Olson have decided to sell Rebel Farm and look for new ownership.

“We knew this, like, a year ago, and we just came to a point in the business where we couldn’t grow it,” Brettschneider said. “There is too much doubt that I have with it, and we just can’t really move forward, and that sucks. The idea about staying in business or keeping a business is to be able to continue to see it grow, and we got to a point where we don’t have that ability. It would be good to say involved, and that’s kind of the dream. It is our baby, and we want to see it taken to the next level by someone who can do it. If there’s not an option to work for the people that takeover, I guess we will be looking for jobs.”According to Brettschneider, working and forming relationships with area restaurants is the best part of Rebel Farm.

“And growing good food,” she said. “It’s delicious. People love our greens, and we get awesome feedback. We really sought out and built not just a farm, but a brand. We love having tight relationships with the restaurant community. That is what we are most proud of.

“With COVID, like many people, we had to kind of switch gears, but the public really stepped up to help us. I hope everybody supports Denver local businesses at this time, especially the restaurant and hospitality industry. It is important that we are all in this together, and we want to survive it. As a consumer living in the Denver area, if all restaurants disappeared, life would be sad.”

For more information, visit rebelfarmdenver.com, or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.