Seed Award Spotlight: Hongo x Hongo Farms

In our “Seed Award Spotlight” series, we asked the Fall 2024 Seed Award winners about their experience as a food or farm entrepreneur, including the passion behind their business, and their vision for positive change in their community. This January, 18 Seed Award winners were chosen to receive seed funding totaling almost $250,000. These grants represent not just financial investment, but an acknowledgment of the vital role farms and food distributors play in advancing Michigan’s food value chain.

Among these inspiring recipients is Hongo x Hongo, a dynamic mushroom farm founded by Ame, a Mexican-American single mother and citizen scientist. Based in Southeastern Michigan, Hongo x Hongo is dedicated to enriching the local food landscape by providing fresh mushrooms and innovative mushroom products, including mushroom growing kits, teas, and spawn for cultivation. Ame’s commitment extends beyond agriculture; she aims to impact communities facing environmental and economic challenges, emphasizing education through cooking workshops and selling to local businesses like coffee shops and chefs across the region.

Keep reading to learn more about Hongo x Hongo and how their unique approach to mushroom cultivation and community engagement is fostering significant changes in Southeastern Michigan’s food system.

Name: Ame Del Real

Business Name: Hongo X Hongo Farms

What does being selected as a Seed Award winner mean to you personally, and how does it reflect on the journey of your business so far?               

Fungi research is heavily underfunded in comparison to other fields in science. Like fungi, Latinx Women are some of the most underfunded entrepreneurs in the US, making less than 10 percent of all loan proceeds. To be granted start-up capital, as one of the few Latina mushroom growers in the Midwest, it is a rare opportunity. I’m thankful for a community that always roots me forward and I’m excited to upscale production to a scale that provides access to a food abundant in health benefits for SE Michigan. 

In what ways will the Seed Award funding support your immediate and long-term business goals?

Start-up capital supports our 8-month plan for the expansion and relocation of our laboratory. As we develop projects that bring short-term benefits, I look forward to evolving into citizen science projects that not only study the relationship between humans and fungi but also their applications for a more sustainable urban lifestyle. Some long-term projects include: plastic-eating fungi compost, and recycling spent mushroom blocks into biodegradable objects/packaging.    

Can you share your vision for the positive changes this award will enable you to make in your business and the broader community?               

Hongo x Hongo isn’t just providing mushrooms, we’re encouraging people to ask themselves: What is a mushroom, anyway? Fungi is a missing link in our connection with nature, between the plant world and the human world, fungi connects. Big box retailers aren’t taking the time to cultivate relationships directly with the community, to break down the fear of mushrooms, or that deep disconnect with nature. By providing fresh mushrooms, spawn, grow kits, and workshops, we hope to inspire questions and provide food for health and thought.               

What led you to start your business? What motivates you to do what you do?

At an ideological level, to change the world, we must change culture. In practice, culture change is most accessible through common experiences. One major point of interest of all human experience is food. Mushrooms happen to have an abundance of health benefits and taste profiles, making them the perfect entry point to the world of fungi. As a mushroom farmer, I grow mushrooms to grow local connections.

Want to try fresh mushrooms and mushroom products from Hongo X Hongo? Visit their Instagram to learn more about ordering options.