A new farm stand is bringing a little bit of everything to Centre Hall. Here’s what you’ll find
Scott Long and Michelle Verge like to stay busy. The couple run Long’s 185-acre family farm, Long Lane Farm in Centre Hall, where they raise a variety of crops, rent their barn out to another farmer who milks cows that live on the property, mill their own lumber, raise bees, produce maple syrup and — as of this summer — operate a farm stand.
The anticipated Long Lane Farm Stand is set to open this month and will bring together products from not just Long Lane Farm, but also a range of similar Pennsylvania businesses, giving Centre Hall residents a local shopping hub.
The idea for the farm stand spawned from Verge’s love for cooking. Working in the Centre County restaurant industry, she says her foodie coworkers loved her homemade canned goods and she thought “if they want to buy my canned goods, then maybe everybody would want to.”
“It just kind of snowballed from there,” she said. “I started talking to other farmers and other small businesses, and I’m just trying to bring them all together into one place.”
She started putting plans for the business in motion last September, though she said it’s an endeavor she’s wanted to pursue for “a very long time.”
The small storefront, which Verge said will sell a little bit of everything once it opens later this month, will fill a much-felt void in Centre Hall.
“There isn’t really anything in this area,” Verge said. “You have to drive either down to Spring Mills or up to State College to get groceries. You can get small things out at Sheetz, but you can’t get anything as far as a gallon of milk or some butter or a pound of hamburger or some spaghetti sauce or something like that.”
Long added: “And with the price of gas, it’ll save the local people a little bit of time and fuel instead of driving to State College or the other end of the valley.”
Most of the items on offer at the farm stand — about 75%, Verge estimates — will be sourced from Pennsylvania, with a few items sourced from bordering states. Recognizable regional brands for sale will include dairy products from Reedsville Creamery, frozen pasta from Fasta & Ravioli Co., venison and elk from Shaffer’s Venison Farm and cheese from God’s Country Creamery, Goot Essa and Clover Creek Cheese Cellar.
As for Long Lane Farm products, Verge said to expect homemade bagels, cupcakes and cookies; ground beef; maple products; honey; canned goods like applesauce and pie filling; and her and Long’s personal favorite: cowboy candy. Essentially candied jalapeños, Verge says the cowboy candy is a true crowd pleaser that’s excellent on sandwiches.
The farm stand will be small — just under 500 square feet — but the two have designed what they call a “laid back, homey atmosphere.” Long milled all of the lumber used in the construction using trees from the farm, and they’ve planned a unique focal point for the space: an observation hive in the wall, where customers can watch one of the farm’s bee colonies at work.
In the future, the two hope to expand the business further, to include an ice cream stand, deli and commercial kitchen.
“We are limited on the items that we are allowed to make and sell right now, with the permit we have, (and) a commercial kitchen would definitely expand our options. I’d love to be able to prepare heat-and-serve meals and side dishes, especially for the holidays, and expand our homemade sweet treat section,” Verge said.
Even with all of their current and planned projects, both Verge and Long seem to have no plans to slow down and Verge noted their relationship as a stroke of good fortune. “It’s exciting that we finally found each other and that we’re equal partners and we’re both hardworking, we’re both passionate and we’re both excited about this,” she said.
Watch out for updates about Long Lane Farm Stand’s opening on their Facebook page.