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Heather Walbright and Nathan Burnell purchased the 1982 International Harvester bus already renovated for food service, but they've had to make a few adjustments to the Magic Food Bus.
WAPAKONETA - In the name of the farm-to-table mindset, a local couple is determined to help people reconnect with their food sources while preserving resources and being kind to Mother Nature.
Heather Walbright and Nathan Burnell moved from South Carolina to Ohio in 2024 to relocate their farm market, Earth Wizardz. In the span of a little more than a year, they packed up their farm in Charleston, moved across states to northwest Ohio, bought an old schoolhouse in Wapakoneta, reestablished their business and then bought a school bus that has been renovated to operate as a food truck.
Walbright and Burnell both grew up in Ohio and moved to Charleston in 2010, but they didn't know each other.
"We met each other in 2020," Burnell said, "Classic story, I was the volunteer coordinator (and) she was the volunteer. We built a half-acre urban farm/garden together in Charleston."
Now, they are a vendor at the Celina Farmers' Market where they sell vegetable and herb seeds by the scoop at their "filling" station. As it gets warmer, the business will also sell transplants and fresh herbs and produce.
Walbright said her and Burnell's goal is to "make the connection with where your food comes from."
"Even though ... obviously we see the plant or we see the seed or we see the produce, but (the goal is) make it that much more obvious (that) you taste something delicious and then you see it right there. You're like, 'Oh, that's what I can do with this.'"
While the farm market aspect of the business is not new to Ohio, the food bus is.
Heather Walbright and Nathan Burnell purchased the 1982 International Harvester bus already renovated for food service, but they've had to make a few adjustments to the Magic Food Bus.
Named the Magic Food Bus, the 1982 International Harvester from New Mexico was already renovated to function as a food truck when the couple bought it. Although the bus will need upgrades, for now, Burnell, a culinary chef, spends his Saturday mornings in the bus, whipping up mouthwatering dishes primarily made from products that other local vendors supply.
For example, Wehrman Farms out of Fort Loramie supplies the chicken and quail eggs and Grains of Love from Rockford provides sourdough bread. Other suppliers include Grumpy Goat Experiment in New Bremen (produce such as kale, arugula spinach, cilantro and winter squash); Sudhoff Tree Farm in Fort Recovery (eggs and produce like potatoes); Steadfast Coffee Roasters in Celina (coffee); Cassie's Country Cupboard in Celina (maple syrup); Moorman Bee Farm in St. Henry (honey); Freshstart Farm in Jackson Center (milk); and Walter and Sons in Wapakoneta (bacon and sausage). As a nod to their Southern roots, the couple also uses grits from Marsh Hen Mill in Edisto Island, South Carolina.
The result is a menu consisting of handheld sandwiches, salads, grits, snacks and drinks, almost all made from food produced by local vendors.
"The plan all along was to find something like this," Burnell said. "That was the dream - to take the farm full circle."
Nathan Burnell halves a chicken and brie sandwich inside the Magic Food Bus.
Because the enterprise is a seasonal mobile market and cafe, meaning the produce varies, Burnell and Walbright said they were intentional about the produce they feature.
Burnell said he and Walbright partner with vendors to promote "the seasonality of eating."
"For instance, chicken eggs are seasonal," he said, "In the winter, we wouldn't use as many chicken eggs, but we would eat more beans, potatoes, carrots, root vegetables that are stored and winter squash. We need those kinds of things, for instance, garlic and onions, to help in the winter to keep us warm, to keep our bodies warm and to fight off sickness. Our menu is going to adapt to the seasonality of the food."
For example, the breakfast sandwich in the fall included tomatoes because that was what was in season. In the winter and spring, it includes caramelized onions and spinach.
"Our menu will evolve come here in the summer when things start to become in season, which is really exciting for us to adapt the menu," Walbright said. "It's so fun to be creative with it."
She categorized the business as a mobile market and cafe.
"We have the market farm and then we have the made-to-order, freshly prepared food," she said. "The vision is at some point we will be able to actually sell more food, whether it's our own or from other vendors. It's easy to do at a farmers market and set up with a table out there, but eventually, we have the space out in the back (on their property) and maybe we could get the proper licensing to sell stuff out of a freezer and literally be almost like a mobile grocery store."
Heather Walbright sets up a variety of seeds outside the Magic Food Bus in front of her residence in Wapakoneta on Friday afternoon.
Although the food bus launched in November in Celina, the couple said they will also operate a farm stand on their property in Wapakoneta on Fridays, although a date hasn't been set, so people can literally drive shop at a farm while eating made-to-order dishes.
"I like that you have that (flexibility) with this food bus, but with that comes all the challenges of (set up)," Walbright said. "You spend 12 hours preparing for a three-hour event, so it would be really nice to be able to be here for a day and offer that (availability)."
The couple said they are always looking for ways to reduce their waste and live more sustainably. Walbright said they are mindful and purposeful with their single-use products. For example, the couple provides a straw upon request and encourages people to bring their own mugs.
The food packaging is also sustainable.
The business's container lids for the bowls are made of PLA, or polyactic acid, which is a biodegradable bioplastic.
"(It's a) corn-based resin that looks and feels like plastic, but without all the harmful, toxic petroleum-based chemicals in it," Walbright said.
The bowls are made from bagasse a sugar cane byproduct.
"(It) looks like paper, but it's actually called bagasse and it is a byproduct from manufacturing sugar cane," she said. "They take the fibrous part of the sugar cane plant and they break it down into this material. It holds it better than paper and it's just cool because instead of cutting down a tree for paper, it's actually just a byproduct in the manufacturing process."
The business's mission statement of cultivating a community that practices the art, science and magic of partnering with nature echoes values of Earth Day, which is Tuesday.
Walbright and Burnell encouraged people to reduce their own waste by using reusable jars and straws while also being mindful of where trash is going.
Local shoppers and chefs can find Earth Wizards at the farmers market in Celina. The outdoor market opens May 3 at the fairgrounds.
A variety of seeds of seeds for the garden and flower border are on offer from Earth Wizard farm market.
