AFBC Members Promoting Wellness
This section highlights members of the Adventist Food Buying Club who are engaged in the business of providing healthy foods, wellness technologies, or wellness services in the local community.
Mike Echemendia
Rising with the roosters and firing up the bread ovens early in a small bakery near Dear Lodge, Mike Echemendia prides himself in homemade artisan bread, with all natural ingredients. While Mike started his baking business, Our Daily Bread, just a few years ago, he's not new to the baking industry, with 28 years experience in making healthy breads.
A native of Cuba, Mike came to the United States as a teenager, unable to speak the English language. He started baking bread in Miami, and later moved to Alabama. He soon started his own bakery, selling to health food stores and major chain grocery stores in the Banks, Alabama area. Later, mike moved to Tennessee, where he baked for a major bread company.
Today, Mike owns his own bakery once again. He still does most of his bread work by hand -including the cutting, weighing, and shaping of the dough. His buns are rolled individually by hand -a very labor-intensive process. He does all of his bread work by himself, and has the capacity to produce 30 loaves at a time and run four to five batches per day. His busy 100+ loaf days can keep him going from dawn until nearly midnight. When he's not baking bread, he is busy tending to his fruit orchard and garden.
Mike's bread products include multi-grain, sprouted wheat multi grain, 100% whole wheat, German rye, Italian tomato herb, French bread, 100% whole wheat burger buns, 100% millet buns, 100% rice buns, dinner rolls, and raisin bread. The ingredients are wholesome and pure, with no cholesterol, no animal products, no hydrogenated oils, no trans fats, no MSG, and no artificial colors, flavors, additives, or sweeteners.
Mike's inspected and fully-approved bakery is tucked away in the hills of the Cumberland Plateau in Morgan County. All of Mike's business sales are direct to the consumer, and with no middle man, his prices are very affordable. AFBC members can purchase bread from Mike at the monthly pickups. He requests that members call him well before the pickups with their bread orders to give him adequate time for planning and preparation. A good rule of thumb is to have your order in to him by the cutoff date for the buying club orders, which is about 6 days before pickup.
You can reach Mike at 931-863-5622. The best times to call him is Mon -Thurs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. His address is 141 Wentland Dr., Deer Lodge, TN 37726 if you want to drop in sometime and say "hello."
Donna Blankenship
One of AFBC's newer members, Donna has been teaching people that cooking can be fun and exciting. Springing from a passion for health and cooking, Donna started Healthy Choices Cooking Classes about three years ago. Her classes are small, each consisting of three to 14 students, depending on the subject and time of year, and are taught from her home on East First Street in Crossville.
While Donna is a Certified Blood Type Diet Practitioner, she lets each individual choose their own way of eating and lifestyle. She is a KISS cook, which stand for "Keep it Simple, Stupid," and quick and easy recipes are her favorites. Each class consists of about three fun demonstrations, which are then incorporated into a light lunch or supper for the students. Eating time often includes discussions about food and the sharing of ideas.
Since some of Donna's students eat meat and some are vegetarians, Donna generally demonstrates side dishes that everyone can eat. She is currently studying raw food preparation, juicing, sprouting, and cultured foods. She has a collection of food-related movies, and plans to begin offering free open-house showings of these films in the near future.
A small fee is collected at the cooking classes to cover the costs of food and related expenses. Donna provides a weekly electronic mailing of recipes and tips for those who would like to be included. She can be reached by phone at 456-7675 or by emailing her HERE.