Producer Profiles
This year 38 local producers bring you a wide variety of foods grown, made, or preserved locally for consumption during the winter and early spring months. Most of the meat, poultry, and dairy products are from pastured - or grass-fed - animals, some of which are raised on organic farms (see sidebar on Why Grass Fed Is Best). Produce is from a certified organic farms and farms practicing Integrated Pest Management (fruit). Other products on our list are made by local businesses that use locally grown ingredients whenever they can. By supporting local farms and businesses we increase our food security and economically strengthen our region.
Bob Pierson -
Farm to City -
October 29, 2008
Click on one of the links below to learn more about our producers:
01. A Loaf of Bread
Located near the train station in Lancaster city, A Loaf of Bread is a traditional neighborhood bakery producing organic, slow-rise breads. The bakery was opened in 1993 by Mark Miller. Mark had lived in Manhattan for 29 years, and had learned to love good bread. He was frustrated upon his return to Lancaster by the lack of true artisanal breads, so he opend the bakery to make his own bread. Mark is also a vegetarian and believes in using only the best, most natural, ingredients and methods available. Mark has retired from the bakery, passing on its traditions and recipes to the new owner, Sadie Smith. Sadie started as a part-time employee in 2000. She shared Mark's vision of providing Lancaster with wholesome bread and with a special place, where customers and staff are a family. The bakery still makes the best bread around, and has added light lunch, hademade chocolate, and fine pastries, all made from scratch on site. The bread is vegan, and bakery is a vegetarian establishment. The bakery seeks to meet their customers' need for food to nourish both body and soul.
A Loaf of Bread is a great community of customers, suppliers, and staff. The bakery hopes that Winter Harvest members will join its community by sharing its bread, knowing that it comes with love and care baked right in.
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02. Amaranth GF Bakery
Amaranth Gluten Free Bakery (formerly Spice of Life) was created in August of 2008 to provide great tasting and nutritious bread for the ever-growing gluten-free community. What began as a small venture baking for a few clients has blossomed into an ever-expanding business providing gluten-free bread for stores and restaurants from Lancaster to Philadelphia and now beyond! For more information on the business, as well as helpful information for gluten-free diets, please visit her website.
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03. Metropolitan Bakery
Wendy Born and James Barrett started Metropolitan Bakery in 1993. They now have six stores and deliver their breads to over 90 restaurants and gourmet markets. Metropolitan Bakery breads are known for their intense, earthy flavors, crackling crusts, and complex textures. Loaves are hand shaped and baked using ages old European techniques. In 1999 Wendy and James were named Small Business Persons of the Year by the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. Charles Pizzi, then President of the Chamber, summed up their approach to business: "Metropolitan bakery is a good example of how small businesses add to the economic vitality of our city. We were very impressed with all aspects of their business and community work - hiring people coming off welfare and providing training, marketable skills, and jobs is just as important to them as excellence in their craft."
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04. Sweet Water Baking Co
Sweet Water Baking Co is a small family bakery in Kimberton, baking organic European-style hearth loaves. They use a wood-fired brick oven and their breads are naturally leavened. Villagers from Camphill Village @ Kimberton assist with the cookie-making.
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05. This Little Piggy
This Little Piggy provides convenient, healthy choices for today's busy parents. We choose local, organic ingredients whenever possible to reduce chemical and fossil fuel usage as well as to support our local agricultural economy. Our products are packaged in biodegradable non-petroleum based containers to further reduce environmental impact in a commitment to sustainability.
Leah Margerum started This Little Piggy in October of 2007. The mother of two hungry young boys, Leah understands the trials of feeding children quickly and nutritiously in today's hurried world. This Little Piggy offers a guilt-free, easy alternative to commercially processed baby food. A chemistry degree from Millersville University, completion of the Food Safety Certification from the State of Pennsylvania, and over 15 years working in the food service industry have provided Leah with the necessary background and vision to exceed the demands of safe, nutritious food production.
see website www.thislittlepiggy.info
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11. Betty's Buttons
Betty's Tasty Buttons Fudge is hand-crafted chocolate made in small batches in Philadelphia using the finest local, organic, and fair-trade ingredients. Varieties include Original, Salted Peanut, Honeysuckle, and Spicy Lave. The fudge comes in several size boxes as well as a sauce.
Betty's Tasty Buttons proudly sources all ingredients and packaging from local, organic and fair trade businesses. We will happily answer questions regarding origin or history of our products.
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12. John & Kira's Chocolates
John and Kira's Jubilee Chocolates is a company based in Northeast Philadelphia that combines organic cream from local family farms with other sustainably grown ingredients to make high quality chocolates. Articles on these fine chocolates have appeared in the New York Times and as the cover story in the February 2003 Gourmet Magazine. John and Kira are excited to continue to grow and promote their ideals at the same time: making good food, good fun, and a great community. Visit their website for more information on the company.
The cream used is from Amish farms in Lancaster County, the raspberries and lemon grass from Green Meadows Farm, and the mint is grown by students at the University City High School in Philadelphia. Assortments include Glen's Raspberry (with dark chocolate), Glen's Strawberry (with milk chocolate), Drew Elementary Garden Mint, Pistachio (with white chocolate and hints of cinnamon), Lavender Honey (with local honey and milk chocolate), Coffee Whiskey, Bergamot (Earl Gray tea, fresh orange oil, and dark chocolate), and Starry Night (with spice star anise).The chocolates contain no artificial flavors or preservatives. These chocolates are offered in December and February.
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13. Lo's Products
In West Philadelphia, Lorelle Becton makes all-natural products to care for the outside of the body. She was inspired to develop "Lo's Products" after years of creating healthy skincare alternatives for her family of 7. The quality ingredients, selected from nature's bounty, are free from petroleum derivatives and chemical preservatives. Close to half are organically grown. Some of the items are best if used within 6 months or kept refrigerated for prolonged freshness.
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14. Neptune's Kiss
Devin Taylor is the artisan who makes Neptune's Kiss body care products at her home workshop in Philadelphia. She got started making soaps and bath products in 2000 after becoming interested in the healing power of herbs and their use in cosmetics. Devin's passion for cooking provides the inspiration for her unique soap combinations which feature natural ingredients to benefit the skin and aromas to please the senses.
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15. Old City Coffee
Old City Coffee, Inc. was founded in 1984 as a one-person operation, by Ruth Isaac Treatman at 221 Church Street in Philadelphia. Old City Coffee's mission has not changed since the store's opening: to supply the public with the freshest, highest-grade coffees at competitive pricing. It switched its roasting operation to the Reading Terminal Market in 1988 when it opened its stand there.
Old City Coffee roasts only the best grade Arabica high grown coffee. Its coffee is guaranteed to be the freshest available because it roasts tiny batches only, every day. Old City Coffee is one of a select group of coffee retailers that do their own roasting to reduce travel time between roaster and your cup and to provide you with the freshest coffee around.
Each batch of coffee takes about 15 minutes to roast in the roaster. The temperature and length of roast is adjusted for each coffee variety and degree of roast. After the desired level of roasting is complete, the coffee is allowed to spill out onto the cooling tray, where the roasting process is stopped by quenching the coffee with air that is sucked through the cooling tray.
Old City Coffee has won local distinction from Philadelphia Magazine and the Philadelphia City Paper for offering the "Best Coffee Beans" in the city. In addition, this Philadelphia firm placed first in the 1998 Zagat survey's "The Best Bang for the Buck." It has also been noted in several national publications, including New York Magazine and Conde Nast Traveler, as well as the book Espresso from Bean to Cup.
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21. Birchrun Hills Farm
Ken and Sue Miller have been dairy farmers near Chester Springs for over 25 years. Over the past few years, Sue Miller began studying artisanal cheesemaking and producing several cheeses aged from her cows’ raw milk. The creamy Birchrun Blue has been especially well-received. For more information on the Millers’ dairy farm, see a 2007 article in The Bulletin.
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22. LFF - Friendly Farm
Aaron and Anna Stoltzfus, and their children, operate 81 certified-organic acres near Gap, Lancaster County, PA. They raise chickens, ducks and dairy cows, producing broilers, eggs, cheese and meat. The Stoltzfus family farm has been certified organic since 1991 and was one of the first farms to do so in Lancaster County. They chose to use organic farming practices instead of conventional for the health of the people and the animals.
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23. Hendricks Farms & Dairy
Working in harmony with nature, Hendricks Farms and Dairy offers folks the opportunity to nourish themselves and their families with delicious and wholesome products. From grass-fed Ayrshire cattle, Hendricks Farms and Dairy produces raw milk, farmstead raw milk cheeses and artisanal yogurts. Hendricks farm uses horses for farmwork. They have received over 10 national awards for their cheese.
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24. Lindendale Farm
The goats are raised on pasture and home grown feed. We only use our own goat milk for our cheese. We have been a small family farm for seven generations. IPM is employed and we use minimal chemicals and commercial fertilizers on our farm. This link could be posted for more info on the farm and the cheesemaking process. http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/18/226708
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25. Pequea Valley Dairy
Pequea Valley is a small family owned farm in Lanacaster. The grandfather of the current farmer purchased the farm in 1905, and they began processing yogurt in 1999. There is a herd of 40 Jersey cows that are fed grass in the spring, summer, and fall; in the winter, they eat dry hay, dry alfalfa, and grain. Pequea Valley products use active cultures and contain no BST hormones.
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31. Bauman's
Bauman's started in 1892 when John W. Bauman purchased a cider press and operated it with the steam engine in his carriage manufacturing shop. Soon he began cooking apple butter for farmers of the community. They called it "lattwaerrick" in their Pennsylvania German dialect. He used the apple butter recipe his wife had received from her Schwenkfelder ancestors, who had settled in southeastern Pennsylvania alongside John's Mennonite forefathers.
Before long John Bauman's apple butter business had replaced his carriage shop. As satisfied customers spread the word the business has continued to grow since the turn of the century.
Now in the third generation Bauman's Apple Butter Factory is still a family operation in the Nineteenth Century village of Sassamansville in upper Montgomery County. The founder's grandson, Harvey, along with his wife, Kathy, and his mother, Ruth, keep the tradition going. With old-fashioned goodness and the best of flavor, their products are free of additives or preservatives.
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32. Patterson Farms
For three generations the Patterson family has been producing maple syrup; it was over 100 years ago that Grandpa Patterson first tapped his trees. The tradition was carried on by Father Patterson in much the same fashion as his father. They produced enough syrup for their own use and for trading for necessities. [For a description of Grandpa Patterson's methods, visit http://www.pattersonmaple.com/aboutus.htm ]
Much has changed in the third generation. The demand for syrup and its products has forced production to increase. Although they still tap the same trees, they also lease several other sugar bushes totaling over 30,000 taps. The sugarhouse is a busy place from November to April. After the sap stops and everything is cleaned up they continue the daily process of making various products from the syrup.
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41. Kingfisher Dairy Farm
This Lancaster County dairy farm offers raw milk from grass-fed Jersey cows. The Amish owner has been a dairy farmer for ten years and is assisted by his brother. The PA Department of Agriculture has inspected the farm and issued it a raw milk producer/handler license (No. 0181). This license allows Kingfisher Dairy to sell raw milk at the farm or through other retail outlets. Check out www.realmilk.org for the case in favor of raw milk.
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42. Maplehofe Dairy
Maplehofe Dairy is now in its second generation. Calvin Glick’s father started the farm in 1950 and opened the retail store in 1974. The farm now has about a hundred milking Holsteins. They focus primarily on milk, although they do produce several cultured products as well, buttermilk and butter. The cows graze as much as possible, on about 300 acres in Lancaster County.
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43. Kauffman's Fruit Farm
Founder A. L. Kauffman planted the first trees in 1915. Now owned and operated by the 3rd, 4th, & 5th generations, the warehouse and retail store are located in the heart of "Pennsylvania Dutch Country", near the villages of Bird-In-Hand and Intercourse. Their orchards produce over 135 varieties of tree fruits on 100 acres. The orchards are constantly being replanted to keep up with changing consumer needs and the most efficient growing systems; Kauffman's is also growing test plots of apple trees using organic methods.
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44. LFF - Misty Creek Dairy
The Misty Creek Dairy is owned and operated by Amos Miller, his wife, and children near Leola in Lancaster County. The dairy is permitted by the state Department of Agriculture to sell raw goat milk. Misty Creek Dairy's goal is to "feed and care for our goats so they can be happy, healthly and productive and in turn provide us all with a great tasting, nutritious, food-fresh, and raw whole goat milk."
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53. Landisdale Farm
Located in Lebanon County, Landisdale Farm is a family-owned and -operated certified organic farm. They grow a full line of vegetables, including swiss chard, kale, lettuce, spinach, onions, garlic, zucchini and more, and raise grass-fed beef cattle. They sell to restaurants, buying clubs, stores, and individuals; they offer CSA shares each summer as well.
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55. Rineer Family Farms
Rineer Family Farms is nestled in the rolling hills of southern Lancaster County along the banks of the Pequea Creek. The farm covers 110 acres of this fertile ground and includes tilled fields and grazing pastures. The Rineer family is particularly proud that their family farm is a Preserved Farm in Lancaster County, ensuring the farm will remain in agriculture forever. The Rineers raise a wide variety of products on their farm including fruits and vegetables, grass-fed beef, and chickens for egg production. They provide farm fresh products to the consumers of Philadelphia year round including five summertime farmers markets, two wintertime farmers markets and the Winter Harvest program.
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56. Sam Consylman
Sam Consylman proudly farms his small plot of land with a constant emphasis on sustainability. He grows from seed some crops that are unusual for Pennsylvania such as Jerusalem artichokes or a South American root named yacón, cultivates some plants that have already started growing in the wild such as poke, and forages for other things such as paw paws in the summer. He is primarily interested in cultivating and maintaining healthy soil through organic methods.
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57. LFF - Mother Earth Organic Mushrooms
In 1919 this farm was purchased by Arthur P. Yeatman as a dairy farm. In 1921 the first two mushroom houses were built, followed by three more in 1922 and 1923. The size of the farm and the number of mushroom houses continued to grow, and since the early 1970s all family members have been limited partners in a land holding partnership. The farm is in its fourth generation of operation. The mushrooms are grown to strict organic standards; weeds and pests are controlled using environmentally sound practices.
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71. Margerum's
Margerum is a well known name in Philadelphia because the family had a stand in the Reading Terminal Market for several generations. The Margerums raise a wide variety of herbs and fruit, which they preserve by drying or canning. Noelle Margerum and her sister Carole combine the products from their two farms - in Gloucester County NJ and York County PA - for Winter Harvest members. All the ingredients from their farms are grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Margerums delivers to Winter Harvest for the third week of the month. They also sell their products at the South & 2nd, and Clark Park Farmers' Markets.
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82. Forrest Acres Farm
Forrest Acres Farm is located in Gap PA (Lancaster County). Tom Forrest and his young family raise animals on pasture for market. Tom also comes to several markets in Philadelphia and Swarthmore in his long recreation vehicle outfitted as a butcher shop. Tom is also very resourceful in finding interesting products from his neighbors to sell at the markets. For Winter Harvest Tom brings his own pork cuts and meat products from other farms including CL Bison, Zooks Farm, and Spring Water Farm.
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83. Lindenhof Farm
Lindenhof Farm, a 3rd-generation family farm located in southern Lancaster County, has been owned by the Linde family since 1956. The Lindes use all-natural farming methods and raise grass-fed poultry, sheep, and a few pigs. For more info, please visit their website at www.lindenhoffarm.net
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86. Landisdale Meats
see Landisdale Produce
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LFF - Countryside Organics
Sam and Elizabeth Esh own Countryside Organics, a 70-acre farm outside of Strasburg, PA. The farm includes 45 acres of pasture for 40 dairy cows. The Eshes grow strawberries, sweet corn, slicing tomatoes, beans and squash, among other crops. They are a member farm of Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative.
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Little Isobel
Little Isobel is a small company owned and operated by Janina A. Larenas, committed to the philosophy of Buy Fresh Buy Local. The main ingredient in all products comes from small nearby farms, assuring a fresh product with as little environmental impact as possible. She uses a special type of pectin that allows her to use very little sugar, while still preserving the freshness of fruits and herbs. Even her jars come from a distributing company in Lancaster. For more information, please visit her website.
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Livengood Beef
. . . And Produce at the Livengood Family Farm. Dwain & Audrey Livengood and Dwain’s parents, Earl and Joyce, bring a life-long love of growing wholesome foods to their friends in Philadelphia. Certified organic in 1995, the Livengood homestead has been harvesting vegetables since Earl was a youngster. The Livengood’s have shared the bounty of their Lancaster County farm with customers at several Philadelphia farmer’s markets, including the Reading Terminal Market, South & Passyunk Streets farmers market and the Faimount Ave. and 22nd Street farmers market. Dwain brought his love of beef cattle to the dinner table with 100% grass finished Black Angus beef. With the momma cows all owned by the Livengoods, total control of genetics, wellness and diet can be managed within their micro-climate. The Livengoods are pleased to offer the best of the winter’s harvest for your dining pleasure.
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Ross' Espresso Bar
Ross' Espresso Bar is an artisan candy bar combining both high quality semi-sweet chocolate and organic coffee beans (both fair-trade certified). The bars are handmade in the Kensington area of Philadelphia; individually wrapped, each bar is "one-of-a-kind". For more information about Ross' experiment in forming a justice-centered company, please visit his website.
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Scarecrow Hill Farm/LFF
David Harnish operates a seven-acre family farm in Ephrata, PA. He and his wife, Margaret, began farming in 1999 when they returned to David's family homeland from the American west. They are interested in improving the health of people and the environment and raising their young children in a healthy way. David excels at growing greens of all kinds: lettuces, escarole, radicchio and boc choi. Scarecrow Hill is a certified organic member of Lancaster Farm Fresh and contributes vegetables to its CSA.
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