Benedictine Service Award

By all accounts, Kate Ritger ’03 is a solo entrepreneur of the highest order. All accounts, that is, except perhaps her own. Kate isn’t falsely modest. Instead, she’s quick to acknowledge that her business ventures don’t exist in a vacuum. “The only reason the work I do succeeds is because there are people in the community who respond to it, receive it, accept it and choose to be part of it,” she says.

Given what Kate offers – and the spirit in which she offers it – it’s not hard to convince her audience.

Kate manages an abundant garden (located right in St. Joseph!) and uses it across multiple ventures. She cans her own fresh goods for sale, and she’s also at the helm of a burgeoning pizza business using her homegrown fresh ingredients.

Her mission goes far beyond growing and selling food. She’s driven by a strong commitment to social justice and is committed to building community and facilitating access to thoughtfully grown, nourishing foods. Her pizza crust comes from a local artisan baker who specializes in organic sourdough breads, her cheese comes from a local co-op, and even her pizza oven was purchased from the Sisters of Saint Benedict’s Monastery. (Prior to her current ventures, Kate spent seven years as production manager of the monastery’s garden. Kate is an oblate of the order of Saint Benedict, and the sisters remain near and dear to Kate’s heart.)

Food isn’t the only way she nourishes her community. Kate also works part-time as a chaplain at the St. Cloud hospital. In fact, when we spoke with her for this article, she was all smiles in spite of a sleepless night spent serving those in need of spiritual comfort.

Kate’s passion for food comes naturally. She was raised on a hobby farm in Wisconsin. When it came time to choose a college, she was drawn to Saint Ben’s for its bucolic setting and strong theological underpinnings. While she grew up around other religious communities, she wasn’t familiar with Benedictine traditions prior to her arrival at Saint Ben’s. And yet, the more she learned of the Benedictine values, the more at home she felt.

“The emphasis on building community, stewardship, hospitality, humility and listening – these really resonated with me,” says Kate. And they ultimately became a fulcrum point for her life. After graduation, Kate left to pursue a career, and decided to return for graduate school at Saint John’s School of Theology. After completing her graduate studies, Kate left again – and yet again returned, this time to work with the sisters.

While she’s no longer professionally involved with the monastery on a day-to-day basis, she takes the lessons she learned there with her in everything she does. For her, food – fresh, accessible food – is ministry. And she is spreading the word. Look for her pizza at various farmer’s markets and events this summer, including the Millstream Arts Festival and Milk and Honey Ciders (the new cidery located just outside St. Joseph.)

So Kate is a solo entrepreneur on paper, but in practice she’s a humble servant of a community that has given so much to her. It just so happens that her method of service is compassionate and delicious.