Who doesn’t like a bowl of freshly baked granola, whether enjoyed with fruit, milk, applesauce, or yogurt? The students at Upper Columbia Academy (UCA) are enjoying that fresh-baked goodness every day in the cafeteria, thanks to Kelly and Stacy Santee and their business, Santee’s Granola.
For more than 10 years, the Santees have been making and selling their tasty granola, but it’s only in the past two years that their business has also been benefiting UCA. The Santees brought their business to UCA as an industry to employ students and also to return to their alma mater and Stacy’s growing-up roots.
Kelly and Stacy both graduated in 1988 from UCA, and as a 16-year-old, Kelly watched as a new industrial-space building was constructed on campus, not realizing he would have a business in that very building almost 20 years later.
As an entrepreneur who “just couldn’t stay out of the kitchen,” Santee experimented with several different, flavorsome items before his granola recipe finally came together. “I feel our venture is a ministry, getting a more healthful, whole-grain alternative out to the public,” said Santee. “And if we can help students attain their education at UCA in the process, it’s a win-win situation for all.”
Their granolas can also be used as a fundraiser. Santee suggests that “every bag of granola sold not only helps the individual schools or groups who are fundraising, but it also provides work for those students who make it.”
Santee’s Granola can be found at Andy’s Market in Walla Walla, the Oregon Conference ABC, and the Spokane ABC. You can also find the granola in the regional Huckleberry’s stores, affiliated with Rosauer’s, and several colleges, including Washington State University and Central Washington University.
The Santees can be reached at P.O. Box 30772, Spokane, WA 99223, (877)-SANTEES, www.santeesgranola.com.
Kelly Santee is the founder of Santee's Granola. (Carmen Slavens)
Eduardo Bautista, sophomore from Brewster, Wash., and Nick Tyler, senior from Uniontown, Wash., spread granola onto trays to be baked in one of nine ovens at Santee's Granola. Each year Santee's produces over 75,000 pounds of granola. (Carmen Slavens)
Tyler pours Vanilla Pecan granola, the most popular of the company's eight flavors, into the mixer. (Carmen Slavens)
