INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The N.K. Hurst Co. was established in 1938 by Needham King Hurst as a distributor of coffee, tea and sugar. But World War II put a pinch on the business with rationing of coffee and sugar.

Hurst was in Florida at a Publix market when something caught his eye: Small bags of beans on a shelf rather than the usual large bulk bags. He decided to bring the idea back to Indiana and soon was packaging beans in five-pound packages for the grocery trade.

Hurst began packaging dry beans for many retail customers, including the A&P Tea Co., Winn-Dixie and Kroger. The Hurst brand became widely known as a top quality product. In the 1960s Hurst asked an acquaintance who was a chemist to experiment with a dry ham flavoring.

Soon, Hurst’s HamBeens hit store shelves, followed in 1986 by HamBeens 15 Bean Soup with the ham seasoning packet. Today, the seasoned dry beans, peas and lentils are shipped to every region of the United States, with 92 percent of the nation’s groceries carrying at least one item on their shelves. Varieties now include the Hurst Family Harvest all-natural soup blends.

Hurst’s three grandsons – Rick Hurst, Jim Hurst and Tony Snider – now lead the company along with great-grandson Matt Huntley. Other family members pitch in as needed.

More than 18 varieties of beans are selected from the choicest growers in states including Washington, Michigan, North and South Dakotas, Colorado and Nebraska.

“There aren’t a lot of bean producers in Indiana because the state is too productive in corn and soybeans, ” said Jim Hurst. “But we’re always looking for any producers out there who want to call us.”

Growers use only U.S. quality seed. The company rejects any old crop, split or broken beans and refuses mixing or blending of grades. To learn more, visit www.nkhurst.com