Founding Farmers and J.Q. Dickinson’s Earth-Friendly Partnership

At Founding Farmers, our commitment to sustainability is ingrained in every aspect of our company, including our sourcing decisions… all the way down to the hand-harvested salt on our tables. 

Our partnership with J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works provides our guests with clean, artisanal salt to enhance the taste of our scratch-made food; it also extends our commitment to farmers, community, the land, and a sustainable future. 

J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works, a seventh-generation salt-making family, has perfected the art of harvesting all-natural salt from an ancient ocean trapped below the Appalachian Mountains of the Kanawha Valley in West Virginia. The Dickinson family began drilling for brine in 1817, employing a makeshift piping system carved out of a tree trunk and establishing their family farm along the Kanawha River. In the 1850s they had hundreds of wells dotting the riverbanks, producing three million bushels of salt annually. The Kanawha Valley emerged as the largest salt-producing region in the United States during this era. Sister and brother Nancy Bruns and Lewis Payne are currently running their family’s 200-year-old salt farm.   

This unique salt is free of contaminants and heavy metals found in other sea salt but is also a product of a meticulous process that respects the environment. Extracted from an underground brine aquifer, the salt undergoes natural processing using the sun’s power and gentle mountain breezes, and is then harvested by hand, resulting in beautiful salt crystals.  

J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works has an unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship that aligns with our mission. As a family-owned business, they share our vision of preserving the land for generations to come. They also believe where “food is sourced is deeply connected to a healthy community” and are passionate about encouraging West Virginians to eat healthier. They donate profits from their farm-to-table event series “Celebrating the Season” to organizations that help this cause.  

At Founding Farmers, our love for sustainable partnerships echoes across our company… in every dish we serve and in how we source our ingredients from people we know and trust. We work to ensure that the journey from farm to table is not only delicious but environmentally responsible. Our collaboration with J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works is a testament to this philosophy, as we strive to create an experience that satisfies your taste buds while simultaneously considering the future of the planet. Together, we’re crafting a flavorful and sustainable tomorrow.