When Vanessa Bakken and Vanessa Walsten teamed up in 2016 for a class project at Montana State University, they had no idea it would turn into a business that helps prevent food waste with products available statewide.

Bakken, who graduated in 2017 with a degree in business marketing, and Walsten, who studied sustainable food and bioenergy systems and graduated in 2018, were enrolled in an interdisciplinary farm-to-market class. As partners for the class’s final project, Bakken and Walsten were paired with a local organic farmer and tasked with creating a value-added product for his farm.