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Patches Family Creamery, a farm operation located southeast of the City of Lebanon, is a local treat for all ages.
The Creamery celebrated its 10th year of operation just last month. In that time, it’s become a recognizable name and presence among local dairy producers (though it offers more than just dairy, too).
Take a look at some of the Creamery’s treats and attractions—their famous ice cream is a great way to stave off these soaring summer temperatures.
All photos by LebTown photographer Will Trostel.Thanks to Joshua Groh who also contributed to this post.
The front entrance of the Creamery, which is owned and operated by the Patches family.If you don’t have time to stop the car, a drive-thru window is also available.Painted to look like an ice cream cone, this stone located next to the playground almost looks good enough to eat.
Inside, customers can order their ice cream and sit down to eat it. Part of the processing equipment on the farm can be seen through large glass windows next to the dining area.
Customer David Hendricks surveys the selection of ice cream. Around 26 flavors can be made at the Creamery, though it’s not a guarantee that all will be available at any given time.
Hendricks awaits his ice cream from Patches employee Joanna Horst. Look at all those flavors on the wall!Horst hands over the ice cream to Hendricks, spoon and all.Hendricks with his fresh scoop of Patches Ice Cream. The vanilla ice cream is flavored with Madagascar vanilla and made with sugared egg yolk.The Creamery’s dining area, decorated with an assortment of knickknacks and artwork.
The store offers many other items besides ice cream, including butter, eggs, flowers, produce, milk, cheese, and products from other local businesses. The cheese is September Farm Cheese made in Honey Brook in Chester County.
The Creamery also sells flowers, bundled as Patches Posies.Posies, of course, are not a specific kind of flower, but simply a small bouquet.Other local companies sell their products from the Creamery store as well.The Creamery, naturally, sells a variety of dairy products, including its own milk. The milk comes as whole, reduced fat, skim, or chocolate. Seasonally, the Creamery also makes strawberry milk and eggnog.Chilled homemade butter lines the shelves, alongside stacks of egg cartons. The butter is made from cream skimmed off the milk, which is churned, rinsed, and packaged without any added preservatives.
Is there anything that the Creamery doesn’t sell? This fresh produce was also grown on the farm.The motherlode: a freezer stocked full of sweet treats.Besides scoops, take-home quarts of ice cream are also available for purchase.A Creamery employee assists a customer at the drive-thru window.A peek at the operations: all the milk is processed right on the farm, along with the ice cream, which is mixed and frozen using milk and cream.
Outside, the farm has a few other attractions for visitors and families. A petting pasture with goats and ponies is situated near the store, and a playground is set up by a large hay cow sculpture.
An enclosure designed as a petting pasture is also on the farm, in case visitors want to see some of the farmyard animals up close.A little goat peers curiously at the camera.The structure allows the goats to move on it freely and get out of the rain, if need be.The beautiful view of the Patches family farm. The operation was started in June of 2009 by Mark and Stephanie Patches. Some of the ponies graze on the grass.The fence is used to let visitors pet the animals while preventing them from working their way out.After finishing your ice cream, head over to the playground to play.A cow built with packed hay bales guards the playground. Its tail is a rain pipe! Gorgeous coneflowers located outside the front entrance.The entrance sign. The Creamery is located at 201 Fonderwhite Road in Lebanon, a little ways east of the Lebanon VA Center.
