Popping Off the New Year with Free Day Popcorn

January 21, 2022

January 19 might have been the official date of National Popcorn Day, but we’ve decided to continue the celebration of one of our favorite treats by highlighting Free Day Popcorn— just one of many local popcorn producers across the state.

 

 Located in America’s heartland at the Kansas-Nebraska border, Free Day Popcorn began in 2015 with just one and a half acres of popcorn. After Nate and Stacey Freitag made the move back to Nate’s hometown in 2013, they were inspired by Nate’s father, who has grown commercial popcorn since the 1980s. Nate and Stacey realized there was plenty of potential with the quality of popcorn they were growing, and that was something they wanted to share with consumers.

 

Free Day Popcorn offers multiple varieties of popcorn:

 

  • Mushroom: If you have ever purchased a flavored gourmet popcorn, it is more than likely mushroom popcorn! Once this variety has popped, its large, round shape holds candy-coated flavor well.
  • Yellow Butterfly: A variety of popcorn that is typically described as “movie-theatre style.”
  • White Butterfly: This variety popcorn has a thinner outer kernel that shatters when it is popped. Because of this, it is often called “the hull-less” variety of popcorn.

 

For those who aren’t familiar with how popcorn is raised, the crop is planted in late April and early May and grows throughout the summer months. Prime harvest time is usually around mid-September. Popcorn producers, such as the Freitags, make sure that the popcorn is at the correct moisture level around 13.5 percent. The Freitags also make sure that they are careful with the harvesting process to ensure the highest quality of their popcorn kernels. They harvest ears for popping that are picked directly from the stalk by hand.

 

While Stacey Freitag did not grow up with a farm background, she has mentioned that since working "behind the scenes" of a small agricultural company that it is exciting to be able to follow along and be able to watch the popcorn grow. “There is a value of knowing where your food comes from and to be able to know the farmers that grew it,” she says. With a degree in marketing, Stacey has been able to use her skills to design product packaging, run their website and social media outlets, and engage in customer relations.

 

 

“If you have a dream, don’t be afraid to start small.” Freitag says. Her biggest advice is to not be afraid to ask questions or seek help. She added that when Free Day was in its early stages, she and her husband asked as many questions as they could, even reaching out to those that could have been seen as future competitors, and yet they still gave them the vital advice they needed in order to start their operation.

 

For those that who to stay notified on all things popping, be sure to visit Free Day Popcorn’s website. You can watch a video about their farm story, sign up for their newsletter for exclusive coupon codes, and of course, purchase their popcorn to try for yourself. We think it is pretty tasty! You can even use the special discount code LANDOFKS for 15% off your purchase until Jan. 31, 2022.