WHITEFIELD, Maine — The small, red farm stand looks like many in rural Maine. A welcoming sign, bright flowers, and the honor system inside, when the farmers aren’t there.
But there is more to the stand at Swallowtail Farm and Creamery than the vegetables, herbal mixtures, yogurts, and cheese inside.
The stand is also a symbol of the strength it takes to own and run a farm, and the importance so many of their customers feel for Maine’s small farms
Lauren and Sean Pignatello learned how much their customers have come to value Swallowtail Farm after an apparently angry neighbor smashed the stand with his tractor in February.
“I didn’t know what we were going to do, it certainly didn’t feel like we can have a farm stand,” Lauren said.
They did figure out what to do, thanks in large part to a strong show of support from neighbors, customers, and some people they didn’t even know.
Those people donated thousands of dollars to pay for rebuilding. And even as Lauren’s husband, Sean, built the new stand, that support showed in continuing demand for the products the farm sells.
“The outpouring of love from our community, it made it right, it really did. To feel like this is one random person but the rest of the community, far and wide, care and love us and want to support us.”
That dedication has been earned over the 20 years the family has lived in the Whitefield village known as Coopers Mills. Both said they never planned to be full-time farmers, but it simply grew.
“I’m basically just a mom who liked to do everything herself and make everything,” Lauren said.
Small farm bounces back from winter destruction to find renewed success
She liked growing herbs and making herbal products so that business began even as she raised their children. Then came a family cow, which led to making yogurt, cheese, and even butter.
Swallowtail Farm and Creamery was born.
They now have loyal customers in many parts of Maine and others who buy online.
Sean said those customers are eager to meet the farmers at the markets.
“They so appreciate and are happy to talk to the ‘ground zero’ of where the food is coming from.”
The popularity of those products has grown as Swallowtail cheese and yogurt have earned national awards.
So it may be no surprise that many of those loyal customers reached into their pockets when the farm stand was destroyed. It continues to be stocked with cheese, yogurt, and herbal mixtures, as well as some veggies.
Lauren said she thinks the assault on the stand, and the impact on her family touched a nerve with many people.
"It is an old-fashioned way of life and I think our community felt it wasn’t just an assault on us, but an assault on that in general.”
They gained a new fan and a lot of new customers when TV chef Gordon Ramsey unexpectedly asked to record a segment of a program on making butter at the farm. Butter is actually a minor product for Swallowtail, Lauren said, but they were happy to oblige.
The national program aired in June, and she said there has already been quite a response.
“Yes, oh my goodness! People are coming in droves.”
For more information on the farm and creamery, click here.