GALION – A farm girl at heart who grew up in Crawford County has embraced her roots and pursued her passion for creating pure “farm-to-table” foods.

Deborah Mahon is “The Gourmet Farm Girl.”

Mahon owns the specialty foods company called “The Gourmet Farm Girl,” which she launched back in 2010.  Her all-natural chilis, soups, and sauces are sold on Amazon, at Kroger, and at hundreds of stores and markets from Michigan to West Virginia.

“The thing is, I’ve always had a passion for food,” said Mahon, who was raised on her family’s dairy and grain farm – Stump’s Heritage Farm Inc. – southeast of Bucyrus.  “Growing up on a dairy farm, it’s in my blood, along with cooking and gardening.”

Her food items – all prepared from original recipes – include five varieties of vegan chili, with Buckeye Chili the top seller, Mahon said.  “It’s just a clever name I came up with.  It’s the milder of the chilis, very kid-friendly.  It’s a gift item, a novelty.”

Other specialty items include her bean and vegetable soup, heritage tomato soup, and a tortilla soup starter, along with infused balsamic and extra-virgin olive oils.  She also developed an all-natural hotdog/coney sauce for the meat department of Kroger’s Columbus Division, which is available in spicy or original flavors.

Mahon, a Colonel Crawford High School graduate, said she launched her business during the boom of the “farm-to-table” social movement.  She was living in Delaware, Ohio, at the time and started small by peddling seasoning blends and dry soup mixes at area farmer’s markets.

In the “foodie world,” Mahon said, she had the opportunity to connect with a food scientist who also owned a co-packing facility.  In 2014, she teamed up with the U.S.D.A.-approved plant to make, package, and label hundreds of gallons of her products for distribution.

The Kroger Co. latched on to her product line during a food show and networking event, Mahon said, since her fresh, gluten-free foods seemed to be the perfect fit for the supermarket chain’s launch of its new “Nature’s Market” section.

In 2015, Mahon said, her chili – uniquely packaged in 32-ounce glass jars – hit the shelves at more than 150 Kroger stores throughout the Columbus Division, with the coney sauce making its debut a year later.  “That was a pretty big deal. I was pretty excited about it.”

Mahon said she’s perfected many of her recipes over the years, including the one for Farmhouse Chili, which was her mother’s recipe.  Other favorites – from appetizers to entrees and desserts – appear on her website and in a cookbook published in 2012.

Locally, The Gourmet Farm Girl foods are sold at Pickwick Place and Center Street Meat Company in Bucyrus, Buehler’s Fresh Foods and Phil’s Deli in Galion, Troyer’s Market in Johnstown, and at the Lehman’s Hardware, the Ashery Country Store, and other small shops in Amish country.

Mahon, who recently bought an old brick Tudor in town, also does cooking classes and demonstrations.  But more than anything, she’s glad to be back.  Close to children, grandchildren, and the seven-generation family farm that inspired her culinary creations.

Because “Farm to Table, Table to Soul” has always been her motto.  It’s what she was born to do.  “I love it.  I wouldn’t want to do anything else.