A Hot Meal a Day Helps Their Employees Stay
Feeding a family during a busy season, or any season for that matter, can sometimes feel like a full-time job. For Kiley Heim, the calf manager at Heim’s Hillcrest Dairy in Algoma, Wis., caring for calves and feeding roughly 20 employees every day is just part of another day’s work.
For more than a decade, the Heim family has been committed to serving up a hot meal for their farm’s employees each day. It all began when Kiley’s grandmother, Joyce, would put together meals for the family members on the farm. As everyone gathered to eat, she knew she couldn’t leave the employees behind. Afterall, the Heims considered their employees to be family as well.
“My dad saw the benefit of feeding the guys right away,” Kiley says. “Everyone seemed to really appreciate it, and the meals just continued to get bigger and bigger.”
In the beginning, the meals were crafted in various kitchens before being brought to the farm and distributed amongst employees. However, keeping the food warm was a challenge that often presented itself, especially during busier times of the year.
When the decision was made to put up a new addition to the farm’s main office, the Heims knew a full-sized kitchen was needed as well. After a few months of construction, the first meals served out of the new kitchen hit employees’ plates in Sept. 2023.
“It’s a lot more convenient to have everything right there on the farm,” Kiley says. “With the bigger ovens and stove, I’ve been able to expand our variety some and experiment with some new meals.”
A Meal Manager
In order to feed a small army of hungry farm employees, a considerable amount of time and planning must be involved. For Kiley, this means sitting down each week to put together a menu.
“During the weekends I sit down with a friend and start coming up with some meal ideas. It can be hard to not get repetitive, so Pinterest comes in handy,” she jokes.
Some meals, however, tend to be crowd favorites.
“Everyone seems to like the smashed cheeseburger meal that I make, but I haven’t quite got down my grandma’s tuna casserole recipe,” Kiley says. “That’s definitely my dad and uncle’s favorite.”
Despite whatever may be on the lunch menu, a hefty list of groceries must be picked up weekly. Thankfully, a family friend offers a lending hand when it comes to making a grocery run.
“I’ll make a list of what all needs to be picked up, then a friend of ours will go to the store and then deliver the groceries to the farm,” Kiley says. “He also grabs all the chocolate milk for the guys,” adding that the fridge in the office is always well stocked with milk and other beverages.
No Shortage of Groceries
When it comes to dishing out a multitude of meals, Kiley has her system down pat. Once the food is prepared, lunch is served in one of the farm’s meeting rooms starting at 11:30 a.m. Employees can stop in, grab a plate and catch up on each other’s lives before heading back to work. During more chaotic times of the year, Kiley can be found delivering hot meals out in the fields.
“With the custom manure hauling and chopping business, the guys can sometimes be almost half an hour away,” Kiley says. “My dad will often send me a schedule on where the crew will be that day, but we also have technology in the trucks that allows me to see exactly where they are.”
From there, Kiley loads up the meals in to-go containers and tracks down the guys to make sure they’re fed for the day.
“The hardest part is remembering to pack the drinks and forks,” she laughs. “It’s time-consuming, but they’re putting in a lot of hours and have to be fed. Lunch time is a bright spot in their day.”
A Labor of Love
While feeding a large group of hungry farmhands on a daily basis isn’t for the faint of heart, the work pays off in dividends for the Heims.
“Providing a hot meal to our employees has really helped with our retention,” Kiley says. “We don’t have a labor problem, and I think the meals a part of the reason. It’s one less thing they have to worry about, and it gives them something to look forward to and makes them feel appreciated.”
For a busy farm that milks over 800 cows and has a custom manure hauling and silage chopping business on the side, there’s no shortage of work to be done. Fortunately, the family environment and team-driven culture at Heim’s Hillcrest Dairy has proven that if you put people first, success will follow.
