ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Ill. — Independence Day is especially significant for one St. Clair County family. Not only are they both committed to agricultural advancements, but they both served our country.
Joel Funk is an army veteran, and his wife Gabby Funk is a Missouri National Guardswoman. The Funk family has been living and farming in Illinois since the early 1800s.
Of all the life experiences Joel Funk has gone through, his story starts on his family farm.
"Growing up in a rural setting and community, I could just go outside and play in nature," he said. "I mean, it's everywhere around me."
Alongside his love for agriculture was his early appreciation of history and military service. He enlisted in the army, which took him specifically into aviation, for 13 years.
"After 13 years of coming and going to different parts of the world, and our own country, I decided it was time to come back home,” he said.
His decision to return home was accompanied with his at-the-time new wife, Gabby Funk. She's still giving her time to the Missouri National Guard.
"Originally, I joined to run away from my lifestyle at the time," Gabby Funk said. "Honestly, it got me to graduate high school."
The Funks have continued to explore new ways to keep their farming up to date, along with any obstacles along the way. Joel Funk said their supply started to quickly outweigh their demand. When combining this with the difficulties of the pandemic, they turned to all new heights.
They experimented with an online farmer's market, Market Wagon, which Joel Funk said handles nearly one-third of their production.
"Everything is kind of tied together," he said. "Giving back to my community and my country is the same thing within agriculture and now trying to build a business and a model that is both successful and gives back to the community."
The Funks are still working through the bumps and grooves of owning and operating a business together.
"I do believe that Joel and I have grown way closer and are getting better at being business partners so to say, still a little challenging to me because I'm not the farmer gal at all so I'm learning a lot," Gabby Funk said.
But when all else fails, they fall back on the roots they learned from serving our country.
"You definitely don't forget things you've done, where you've been, those who are no longer here…but it helps bring back that meaning," Joel Funk said.
The Funk Family Farm is a certified Homegrown By Heroes farm, which is the official farmer veteran branding program of America.