POCATELLO — A Pocatello couple who run their own homemade jelly and jam business aim to eventually make enough money so their two sons can continue the business into the future.

Kimberly and Brian Zenger have run Grandma’s Pantry for two years in Pocatello after leaving California because of the high costs of living there.

“We started out as KDR Ranch in California and then we moved here to Pocatello two years ago,” Brian said.

KDR stands for Kim and Damian’s Rabbits, which they previously raised for consumption in California.

But the Zengers, who first met in Wyoming, are happy they settled in Pocatello, rather than California.

“It’s family oriented,” Kimberly said. “And I love that it’s a city with a small town feel.”

Eventually the family got into making homemade jams and jellies under a license for end-users in the Pocatello area. They sell them at the Portneuf Valley Farmers Market in Pocatello and at other sites.

In fact, they can sell as many as 250 jars of jelly on a busy day, Kimberly said.

Luckily, they partner with Nel’s Bi-Lo Market grocery store in Pocatello to get jars, which are in big demand now, and they’ve already sold over 672 cases of jams and jellies so far this year.

They offer free delivery within 10 miles of Pocatello, and they travel to Idaho Falls once a week. They can go further on occasion if they’re able to combine deliveries.

“We’ve done really well,” Brian said. “And we were just able to purchase our concessions trailer.”

He says their whole commercial kitchen is in a trailer now.

So they can attend gatherings of trailers to sell all kinds of items at the downtown pavilion in Pocatello and elsewhere, Brian said.

Previously, they just used a canopy to set up under for a couple years and they’d go to the farmers market in Pocatello.

There they can serve their unique and popular grilled cheese sandwiches that feature meat, cheese and spicy jelly that attract a lot of diners.

In the future, they hope to replicate in Pocatello their small ranch back in California where they raised dairy goats, meat rabbits, pheasants and chickens.

Their goal is to earn enough money to eventually leave a ranch to their two boys, Brian said.

Damian is 18, and their youngest is 9.

“That would provide them both with a living that they know and are familiar with and to have some stability,” Kimberly said.

She said overall they hope to get back to a more self-sustaining lifestyle.

“It’s going to take a little while,” Brian said. “We grow enough produce but for sugar, which we can’t grow for ourselves.”

And now that they’ve bought a trailer they can grow their business and hire more workers this year if they can find people able to work, Brian said.

They hope to hire at least one full-time person or or two part-time employees for next spring.

“That’s the hard thing right now,” he said. “Getting anybody who’s willing to come out and work.”

They hope in the next year to put down a payment on property to start growing their property into a farm of 20 to 30 acres.

“Then we can grow our own crops to support everything,” he said. “We can feed pigs and also make jellies.”

Currently Kimberly works for the U.S. Census Bureau and runs the trailer full time in addition to making jellies and jams.

For the moment, they have one part-time employee who works three to four days a week while taking a break from school.

They need help because things get hectic during peak season.

That’s because they generally go through about 100 pounds a week of raspberries during peak season and sell 20 to 40 cases of jelly a week..

“We’re busy,” Brian said.

But even so they will provide classes in canning jellies if there’s enough interest, since it’s getting to be something of a lost art, Kimberly said.

“That’s something we’d love to be able to do is find a place to do that and put on classes once a week or so,” she said.

And while they’ve been holding the line on prices as much as possible, the economy may call for them to raise their prices a bit eventually, Brian said.

But they’re still able to keep good quality control through the whole process.

“We’ve enjoyed it,” Kimberly said. “It’s been a lot of fun and you’ve got to love what you do.”

The Grandma’s Pantry trailer will be at Swore Farms north of Pocatello every day through Halloween from 10 a.m. to 9 or 10 p.m. when it’s not raining.

Kimberly says that the venture has been a lot of fun.

“We enjoy it and you’ve got to love what you do,” she said.

To place an order with Grandma’s Pantry, call 208-530-1512 or visit grandmaspantrypocatello.com. Items can be delivered or you can pick them up from 210 W. Connor St. in Pocatello, where they operate out of their home and also sell homemade crafts.