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Tessa DeMaster

Growing up on my family's farm in Pennsylvania, I never would have pictured the life I live at Willow Haven farm. As a kid I spent summers in our large family garden we called, “The Truck Patch”. I helped mom every summer, picking beans, weeding, and cutting fruit and vegetables for the hundreds of jars of canned and frozen produce we put up. Now I spends less time out in the field and more time in the kitchen doing the same preserving for my own farm family. Farmer Reuben values my many hours doing much of the behind the scenes marketing, writing emails to cultivate customers and capturing the farm story each week. I'm always learning along the way in my quest to improve the farm experience for each of her current and future farm members in our 500+ member, year-round customized farm box delivery program. Reading our stories will connect you with your food in a way you never experienced before. Someday soon you will want to fit local food into your life and we'll be here to help you.

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Featured Post

Farmer Reuben in the News Again - Will You Donate Today?

Hi Reader! The young, aspiring reporter met Reuben and Bill at a boring township meeting. Now Olivia Marble is following this lead wherever it takes her. After the zoning meeting in Upper Macungie Township, a young lady with a microphone attached to her iphone stopped Farmer Reuben and Bill Kuklinski, the owner of the building at 8150 Hamilton Boulevard. After that interview she looked up our farm and found out about our Foster A Chick program. She came out to the farm to see the families...

3 days ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader, Can You Grow One Thing? The only thing better than a Market Box is growing your own food. Which you should do! "We encourage every one to grow at least one vegetable at home" Farmer Reuben explained at Earth Day. Why? So you can experience the freshness and satisfaction of picking food from the ground and putting it in your mouth immediately. Cherry tomatoes and cucumbers are perfect for this but even a planter of lettuce, herbs or kale is great too. Reuben's first farm job,...

6 days ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader! Enthusiastic excitement and gratitude! Farmer Reuben wants you to know that he is encouraged by the excitement for Willow Haven General Store. Overcoming obstacles will require overwhelming community support. We know that you have a strong desire to support a resilient local food economy and are seeking alternatives to conventional grocery options like Wal Mart, Aldi, and Whole Foods. But you might ask: Is it reasonable to expect that Willow Haven Farm will receive enough support...

7 days ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader! You’ve been waiting for the details about bringing Willow Haven Farm General Store to the local food and organic agriculture scene in the Lehigh Valley. Now it’s your turn to hear directly from Farmer Reuben. Reuben’s excellent presentation on his recent live Zoom call with farm members received overwhelming support and immediate donations to the crowdfunding campaign. Watch now: Get the Replay As Always... We support your desire to have a good, healthy way of life and food on your...

11 days ago • 1 min read
heating milk for making yogurt

Hi Reader! I needed a bigger, better stainless steel pot for our growing family. This was years ago. Early in our farming years, with young kids and not much extra money for upgrades in the house. For making yogurt, especially, my cheap, thin metal pots weren't cutting it. What could I do? We Are Open! *** Market Hours:Saturday: 9 AM - 3:00 PM Fresh Baked Bread, Scones, Baguettes... Grass Fed Raw MilkAdd a gallon to your Market Box Farmer Reuben gave me the idea. "Why don't you teach a yogurt...

13 days ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader! It's your turn to donate to Farmer Reuben's crowd funding campaign to open: Willow Haven Farm General Store in Trexlertown/Breinigsvilleacross from the Velodromeat 8150 Hamilton Boulevard Donate for the Values Donate for the Vision Donate for the Perks Donate for Your Future Donate for Your Community To donate and learn more about the Willow Haven Farm General Store project, please visit our crowdfunding page on GiveSendGo https://www.givesendgo.com/WillowHavenFarm We are looking...

20 days ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader! Are you passionate about supporting local agriculture and promoting healthy, sustainable food options for our community? We're excited to share an opportunity that aligns with these values—our project to establish: Willow Haven Farm General Store in Trexlertown/Breinigsvilleacross from the Velodromeat 8150 Hamilton Boulevard The Willow Haven Farm General Store isn't just a store; it's a vision for a vibrant community hub where you can shop for fresh, clean, and nutrient-dense foods...

20 days ago • 1 min read
planting lettuce in hoop house without plastic cover

Hi Reader! You might be missing emails from us. A bad link from YouTube has knocked emails from Willow Haven Farm into hundreds of spam and junk email folders. If you are reading this, it might not have happened to you. But please check. Do a search for Reuben and Tessa in your email folders. If you find one, mark it not junk or pull it to your inbox. THANKS. That's one simple thing you can do to stay conneted to your farm and your food. What Have You Missed? Big Announcement! - We want our...

27 days ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader, Picture this waiting on your front porch when you get home: a sturdy farm box overflowing with goodness. Tender lettuce picked by the farmer today Juicy, crisp beans so good you'll want to snack on them raw Green onions with leaves so long they dangle out of the box Creamy raw milk, bottled this morning at the farm Golden-yolked eggs collected from chickens who are happily pecking bugs and grass in the field That’s your Market Box from Willow Haven Farm! Knowing your food is coming...

27 days ago • 2 min read

Hi Reader! "When Dad started running to the van, I just had to follow." The 10 year old farm boy was helping Dad with chores at the packbarn when Dad got an emergency phone call from Blaise who was milking the cows. Our newly "freshened" cow slipped at the milking platform and couldn't get up from where she was laying on the concrete ramp. That's a heart-pounding emergency for a farmer. [continued below]. We Are Open! *** Market Hours:Saturday: 10 AM - 1:00 PM One day only EGGS 4 doz for...

about 1 month ago • 2 min read
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