Meet Brent & Megen

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Brent and Megen Hurst from OhMi Organics have been a lifeline in the St. Johns community. Hi, my name is Sean, I am a part of the SJ Call-In Coalition. I had the opportunity to talk to Brent and Megen Hurst from OhMi Organics and this is what I learned.

I like to start my interviews with a basic question, I asked them for their favorite ice cream or movie. They both agree that their favorite ice cream is Dave Pops! Megen’s favorite movie is Napoleon Dynamite and you can definitely tell by looking at the nostalgia in their store.

I asked them about what they were like as kids, that can be a scary thought for anyone. Brent was more like Evil Knievel. Brent grew up in East Lansing, a university town not far from St. Johns. He described himself as being “1,000 miles per hour”, he was fearless, jumping on or off from anything. He liked racing motorcycles, and rock music. He loved football and hockey as well, he didn’t like these sports because of the physical contact but because they kept him really busy. Megen grew up in the country and described herself as a ‘dirt road girl”. She played tennis, rode her bike, played at the farm across the street, outdoor stuff, and artsy stuff.

We all have many roles in our lives, for instance, I am a husband, a volunteer, a son, just to name a few, and I am also a part of the St. Johns’ community trying to make a positive influence. I asked them what they saw their role in the community being, as a business and as individuals. As a business, Megen says they are here in the community to help people eat a little healthier and to connect their customers to other local businesses in St. Johns. A lot of their inventory is even produced by St. Johns businesses. They gave shout outs to Sport Stops who make their tee-shirts and screen printing, Adorn-Mint makes all of their coffee mugs, they use Livingston Farms syrup in their products, and they sell Dave Pops. If you haven’t tried Dave Pops, I highly recommend it, especially the rhubarb ones! They see themselves as very promotional of their neighbors.

Since coming to the St. Johns community they have been so hands-on and have grown so much. They sell their products in more than 100 stores. They not only talk the talk but walk the walk. They see their role as “loving on people”, and from what I can see and tell from them, that is 100% true! I speak for myself when I say I truly appreciate them as humans and community members. They attribute the way they are now to their upbringing.

Diversity is an important aspect of my life, and when talking to Brent and Megen that seems true for them and their lives as well. I asked them if they ever met anyone different from them that in a positive way affected their lives. They have come across a lot of people that have done that. They shared a story about a certain customer. They have a friend they made through their store. This young person would come in for a coffee and muffin and they stayed for the conversation. One day he told Brent that he really enjoyed the conversations they had. For him growing up in St.Johns as a trans boy he didn’t feel that he was accepted in the community. He shared about a time when at lunch he and some other kids that identified as part of the LGBTQ community were eating lunch while others were throwing food at them. He shared his life story with Brent and also shared his life goal was to move away from St. Johns right after completing high school. That is exactly what he did, he moved. He said since the chocolate shop moved into town he actually looks forward to coming home. Think about how hard that must be growing up and not being able to just be you. That story opened up a soft spot for me, as I heard that. People shouldn’t feel like that. Brent and Megen bring a true sense of welcoming energy to our community and sense of support.

They are also a federally registered non-profit organization, called the Eat Healthy Eat Local foundation. They have a vision of someone opening a health food store right in St. Johns that would feature local food. They would not own this store, someone else would own the store. They would love to see the money stay in the community, instead of people driving to other communities to buy organic foods, they could shop locally. Having this store could possibly bring the opportunity for the SJ Public school system to become part of the .50 cents a meal program. Which would be giving money back to the school system from the federal government. They expressed the idea that we could be eating food from our neighbors. That sounds like a fantastic idea, building community wealth, eating healthy, healthier minds and bodies which then leads to thriving communities.

I asked them what three words they would use to describe the St. John's community. The three words that came to mind for them were, helpful, love, and welcoming. They see this town as taking care of itself and taking care of each other. Megen remembers looking back on some of their festivals and seeing people feeding each other for free, hugging each other and enjoying themselves. That just sounds like a nice place to be, it reminds me of the word family.

Next I asked, “If you could change one thing in the community, what would it be?” Brent and Megen both thought that it would be great to see more culturally diverse food options in the community. They are always trying to talk their friends that make different foods into opening something up in St. Johns. So far nobody has taken their bait, but it doesn’t sound like they are giving up on that dream anytime soon. Brent believes you can learn someone else’s story by breaking bread. They would like to see healthier foods and more culturally diverse foods available to the St. Johns Community. I definitely agree with that, I love trying new foods, I spend a lot of money eating at culturally diverse restaurants in the Lansing area - which could all be money that is kept right here in the St. Johns community.

If you haven’t yet, I would suggest stopping into OhMi and not only grabbing some yummy and healthy treats but stay for the conversation, you won’t be sorry. This interview solidified the feeling I have for them, and when I think of the word community I think of Brent and Megen.