Sweet Acres Creamery opened its new flagship store about three weeks ago, but co-owner Jerry Stewart says he and his partners have been working toward this for five years.
“We started out in home delivery and also doing some wholesale to some different stores,” Stewart said.
Local farmers join together to sell products at Sweet Acres Creamery in Geneva (video)
Now, it’s a place where local farmers can sell their products in a one-stop shop experience, Stewart says. Whether you’re looking for local honey, a fresh peach milkshake courtesy of your neighborhood cows, or locally-raised and produced meats and coffees, Stewart says, their vision is to benefit both local farmers and consumers.
“We needed a place for small family farms to ship their milk as mergers take place throughout the country, bigger conglomerates and bigger farms, we like to maintain that small family-farm atmosphere that people seem to be interested in,” Stewart said.
Customers sampling local milks and cheeses
Like Kelsey Journell and Bridget Fitzgerald, who stopped in after sampling some cheese.
“I was interested in learning about the A2 milk because I have a son who is lactose intolerant, also I do love the Finger Lakes Coffee,” Fitzgerald said.
“It’s just neat to see local things happening. It’s neat to see local things popping up like this that we’re able to come out and enjoy,” Journell said.
Finger Lakes farmers working together
Stewart says eight partners throughout the Finger Lakes came together to make this happen.
“We’re all farmers individually so this is not our only business,” Stewart said. “We milk cows, we work fields, we do all that stuff and each one of us has a role that we play in the creamery.”
It’s a good feeling, Stewart says, when your product quality literally starts from the ground up.
“We are very focused on our soils and improving our soils to help benefit the health of the animals that we work with as well as the people,” Stewart explained. “Trying to increase the health of our community and to bring awareness to what high-quality products can do for them.”
Rebecca is a veteran multimedia journalist serving as one of our core reporters in the Finger Lakes region. She is responsible for telling stories that matter to every day Upstate New Yorkers. Have a question or lead? Send it to [email protected].