Julie Johnson

In 2010, Julie Johnson opened NourishMe in Ketchum to bring her passion for nutrition and local food to the Wood River Valley community. A decade of living in a remote village in the French Alps taught her the value of good fresh food produced on local farms. She filled her Main Street store and café with locally grown, non-GMO, pesticide- and hormone-free food products, with the goal of helping others restore their health. From the moment Julie pulled her first carrot out of the rich, moist, dark Pacific Northwest soil as a child, “I knew good, clean food would be my life,” she says.

Here’s what else Julie said when asked about her personal relationship to food:

How did you become interested in food?
Growing food and eating it straight out of the garden has been an idolized pastime since childhood.

What’s your definition of “good food”?
Nutrient dense rich foods that have not been adulterated through high pressure, heat or chemical separation, or with the addition of chemical fertilizers, herbicides or added hormones. “Good food” is grown in microorganism dense nutrient rich soil, minimally processed and packaged for storage orsale.

Who is your food hero?
Joel Salatin.

What is your biggest wish for food system change?
To have food processors in Idaho which includes a UDSA meat processor on wheels.

What’s your favorite food to cook?
Eggs and bacon

What’s your end goal or what impact do you hope to have in terms of food?
I would like to see local affordable meats in every grocery store, greenhouses in every school for eating and educational purposes and artisan cheese makers from local raw dairies.