During the 2023–2024 school year, Thomas, an assistant football coach at Box Elder High School, approached the school board with a proposal to teach business development the following year. His vision was hands-on and practical—students would learn the principles of entrepreneurship, business growth, and operations while also seeing those principles applied in a real-world setting.

Partnering with Big Sandy Organics, students were given the opportunity to visit the production facility where ancient grain snacks are made. This experience allowed them to see firsthand what it takes to own and operate a small business, from product development to production and branding.

The school board embraced the idea, and Thomas was hired as the Box Elder High School business teacher for the 2024–2025 school year. The students responded enthusiastically, contributing creativity and insight that quickly shaped what would become the Brain Grain project. One student in particular, Ki-iu Windyboy (pronounced kee-u), suggested the name “Brain Grain”—a name that immediately resonated and perfectly captured the purpose of the product.

Students also played a key role in designing the packaging and exploring flavor ideas. Design concepts included meaningful symbols such as a feather, peace pipe, teepee, and buffalo. Flavor profiles like Dill, Buffalo, Salsa, and Ranch emerged as student favorites. Though still in its early stages, the project has already gained strong support and excitement because it was truly created by students.

All proceeds from the Brain Grain project are being directed back to the school through scholarships, fundraisers, and other educational needs. Our hope is that this initiative becomes one of many, inspiring other high schools across the country to adopt similar hands-on business models in their classrooms.

Our vision is for Brain Grain to benefit schools, communities, and students while promoting healthier snack choices for young people. If we want to change the future of nutrition in America, we believe it must begin with our children.

KAMUT® khorasan wheat is an ancient wheat, guaranteed under the KAMUT® brand to always be grown on certified organic farms and never be hybridized or genetically modified. Grown primarily in North America, mainly in Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, as these regions produce the best quality and consistently, Khorasan wheat is prized for its nutrition, ease of digestibility, sweet nutty-buttery taste and firm texture. Most likely originating in Mesopotamia, legends exist of this grain being found in Egyptian tombs. However, there is no archeological evidence to substantiate this. Farmers in Turkey call the grain “Camel’s Tooth” because of its shape or the “Prophet’s Wheat”, referring to another legend that Noah brought the grain with him on the ark.