Serving Ozarkansas: Pure Joy
In 2011, Matt and Meghan Feyerabend wanted to help friends who were adopting a baby from China, so they made and sold more than $5,000 of homemade ice cream out of their Siloam Springs kitchen. By borrowing ice cream makers from everyone they could, and barely sleeping, the Feyerabends churned out more than 200 pints of their original flavors in less than two weeks. With the immense success of that fundraiser, and the popularity of the ice cream, the couple were encouraged by friends to continue producing and selling.
"Everything just kind of fell together for us to keep making ice cream," Matt says. In order to make the venture an ongoing fundraiser, the Feyerabends knew they would need a commercial-grade ice cream maker and commercial kitchen. They already had a photography and framing business to maintain, and commercial production of their ice cream was too expensive and too time-consuming to consider on their own. Then, in summer 2011, family friends happened to be converting the old Emelia's Kitchen restaurant in downtown Siloam Springs to 28 Springs.
"Our friends were in the planning stages of remodeling the restaurant and offered to let us use their kitchen for the ice cream," Matt says. Then, the Feyerabends found a commercial machine at a good price, and they decided to see if the people in the community would support Pure Joy as a nonprofit.
Matt, who loves the creative outlet photography provides, had started making ice cream at home in 2009 after receiving an ice cream maker at Christmas. The Feyerabends enjoy making simple ice cream from a base of just milk, cream, eggs, and sugar, and, when they heard their friends were struggling, they knew they had the means to help.
Meghan came up with the name, Pure Joy, to honor the girl being adopted (Esther Joy) and the fact that the Feyerabends craft the ice cream from pure, mostly local ingredients.
"We get our goat cheese from a creamery in northwest Arkansas, we get our honey from Lincoln, and we get our chocolate from Askinosie Chocolate in Springfield, Missouri," Meghan says. "It's important to us to know where our ingredients come from and that they're ethically sourced. And, we feel like people can taste that quality in our ice cream."
Almost three years later, the Feyerabends are still bringing their original flavors, like Garden Mint Chip and Happy Goat (goat cheese and honey), to large Arkansas festivals like the Fayetteville Roots Festival and events in Siloam Springs. They've been able to give 100 percent of their profits to supporting orphan care through the Titus Task, an organization started by the same family friends they helped to support in 2011.
Though proud to be supporting the work of a charity they believe in, the focus for the Feyerabends is making a good, quality product. "We're not just making ice cream to support orphan care; we're making ice cream to make amazing ice cream, to make the best ice cream you've ever had," Matt says. "I've never had more fun doing what seems like such a simple job."
Eventually, the Feyerabends hope to buy a food truck, so they can travel to even more events and festivals in the region. Over the last three years, the communities in Siloam Springs and Fayetteville have truly rallied behind them to support their work and their product.
"I think it brings a lot to a community when they feel like this is their product," Meghan says. "As cheesy as it sounds, I feel like small businesses like ours really bring people together in the connections that we make and share with others. It's been really strengthening for our community."
