Oh summertime! Today Karen is here telling us about one of our most favorite parts of summers in PA. Thanks to Anna for getting these fun shots of me and Sailor visiting a farm stand!

Winter in Central PA can seem bleak, a bit despondent, and most certainly looooong! We wonder why our studio isn’t located in a place just a tad more interesting and a tad more temperate. But then, spring arrives and so do the gardens. Farms go from dismal to stunning, and our landscape becomes lush. Roadside stands open their doors, and we breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, the studio becomes full of just picked fruits for team meetings, garden vegetables for snacking, and fresh flowers for extra atmosphere. We are so grateful for those who labor to give us all this locally grown goodness!

 If you live in the Central PA vicinity, here are some of our favorite farm stands and if you don’t live in the area, make sure to support and thank the farmers near you!

Anna: Harvest Lane Farm Market was our go to spot for goat milk for baby Max.

Karen: I have two favorites…Breezy Meadows is a weekly stop for me for their goat milk and cheese. I also like to get salad greens, seasonal vegetables, and flowers at a little stand along Shirksville Road in Myerstown, PA. I love their canned items as well…just bought the dill pickles, and they are delicious!

Kathleen: Harrisburg doesn’t offer many local produce stands, so my husband and I decided to join a local Community Supported Agriculture. Spiral Path Farms is an organic farm that offers fresh seasonal produce from April through December. By purchasing a share, we receive a weekly delivery at a house just down the street. It’s a little like having Christmas every week. We always receive plenty of fresh greens in addition to whatever is currently growing at the farm which ranges anywhere from beets, turnips, strawberries, radishes, potatoes, herbs, squash and much, much more. The farm has several open farm days throughout the summer where we can go to the farm, see where our food is grown, meet the farmers, and pick additional produce, fruit, herbs, and flowers. They typically feature other local farms on that day, and it’s a great time to try local honey, milk, ice-cream, meat and much more. We love that we can support a local farmer and receive well-priced organic seasonal produce delivered almost to our doorstep.

Kendyl: The other day we went to a sweet little stand a couple miles down the road from the studio to purchase flowers. It is called Swatty Creek Farm. No one works here, instead all of the produce and flowers are sitting out with their prices and there is a sign that says we run on honesty with a Bible verse attached. So sweet!

Char: One of my favorite places to stop is this pretty little produce stand I always drive by on my way to Lititz, PA. The family that owns it is so friendly and the supply and variety of fruits and vegetables are wonderful. They even have fresh flowers, which make fun summery hostess gifts!  One of my favorite summer dinners is a mixture of fresh vegetables thrown together, topped with a little olive oil and kosher salt, and then roasted in the oven. So simple and I think, pretty delicious.