Stutzman’s Farm Stand & Bakery

Name:          Stutzman’s Farm Stand & Bakery

   

Address:      Sid & Rainie Stutzman

                     Stutzman’s Farm

                     891 Doughty Hill Road

                     Sangerville, Maine  04479


Phone:          207-564-8596


Facebook:    Stutzman’s Farm Facebook Page


Webpages on Maine Highlands Farmers:

www.mainehighlandsfarmers.com/StutzmansFarm.html


Email:           doughtyhill@myfairpoint.net


Open:            June through December

Monday- Tuesday:   closed

Wed. - Thursday:     11-2

Friday-Saturday:      11-7

Sunday:                    10-1


Products and Services:


-farm stand

-large selection of vegetables - some organic

-farm to table bakery

-farm to table cafe

-wood-fired oven

-Sunday brunch with live music

-pizza buffets

-special events

-private and public funded Senior Farm Shares

-pyo strawberries, raspberries, pumpkins

-fruit preserves and pickles

-Berry Festival

-homemade soups

-CSA program


What Makes Stutzman’s Farm Stand & Bakery Unique?


Underlying the operation of the forty-acre Stutzman Farm in Sangerville is a deep-rooted sense of community. Like so many other farms in Maine,  Sid and Rainie Stutzman run a farm stand with a wide selection of quality fresh vegetables and fruits. Their recently-constructed beautiful bakery and cafe add a great deal to their offerings.  It is their focus of reaching out and building relationships in the local area; however, that really sets them apart.  Their motto is “We are a family farm, but we are cultivating the community.”


The sense of community is obvious as soon as you enter the Stutzman Farm Stand and Bakery and Cafe.  When Unique Maine Farms visited this past summer, the farm was buzzing with activity.  It was obvious that the patrons purchasing their vegetables and fruits at the Farm Stand were regular customers. The fire in the wood-fired oven in the cafe had just been started and the bakery staff were busy preparing all the baked goods and luncheon menu.  There was talk of the upcoming Berry Festival and signs advertising the buffet brunches that were scheduled each Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the cafe.


There is no question that Sid and Rainie Stutzman and their staff work very hard in growing their many crops and preparing them for market.  Equally significant in their operation is their desire to reach out and connect with their community.  Sid explained that each summer they employ several local young students and one of their primary responsibilities is making sure that they develop a respect for the land and a good work ethic.  WABI TV5 ran a story about how their farm employees often head back to work on the farm year after year.


The new cafe addition has become a venue for musicians to come and play live music during the weekly Sunday brunches.  Sid Stuztman is an accomplished musician and songwriter. He plays the guitar, mandolin, bass, and six-string banjo.  He has been performing for forty-seven years and has run a recording studio for forty of those years.  His musical interests are diverse with a background in everything from blues to bluegrass.  Sid has been a member of several groups including Sid Stutzman and the Doughty Hill Band and String Field Theory


In addition to all the musical groups that have performed at Stutzman’s Farm, the cafe has also been the setting for various community events.  This past November, Stutzman’s Farm hosted a holiday craft festival in the cafe where local artists had an opportunity to display and sell their handmade items.  They have hosted a community salsa contest where a $40 gift certificate is awarded for the best recipe.  Input and interaction with the local community are highly prized at this Sangerville Farm.


Students from the area schools have always been welcome at Stutzman’s Farm.  Summer camps and educational groups have visited the farm and enjoyed tours.  For over ten years, Sid and Rainie have hosted a field trip for area schoolchildren each fall.  The students are able to learn about farming and are invited to pick a pumpkin and take it home.  During the fall, Stutzman’s Farm has hosted weekend events and families have enjoyed the You Pick Pumpkin Patch and the “Where’s Huddy?” contest and the pumpkin catapult that Sid built.


The sense of community is strongly evident at the Berry Festival that Sid and Rainie host each year down by their farm pond.  They offer a traditional barbecue cookout with baked beans, and salads, and burgers, and Stutzman’s Farm’s famous strawberry shortcake with homemade whipped cream.  Various musicians volunteer their time.  All the proceeds from this festival benefit the “Adopt a Senior Program” at Stutzman’s Farm.


It is the “Adopt a Senior Farm Share Program” at Stutzman’s Farm that is truly the epitome of the farm’s mission of “cultivating community.” Each year the Maine Department of Agriculture coordinates a Senior Farm Share program where eligible senior citizens are able to purchase $50 of locally-fresh produce at no cost.  More than five hundred seniors are interested in participating in this program in the vicinity of the farm.  Since state funding can not support the number of seniors interested in accessing a senior share, Stutzman’s Farm spreads the word to businesses, individuals, various organizations, and families, that wish to contribute private donations.


This feeling of sharing and helping one another goes way back in the tradition of the Stutzman family.  Sid shared a little background of the fascinating path that was traveled that resulted in his and Rainie’s ownership of the farm.  His father, Otto Stutzman, ended up in Sangerville with his widowed mother, Mary Stuztman, when she came to marry John Miller, a Lithuanian immigrant who worked very hard and eventually was able to purchase the family farm.  John’s wife had sadly passed away and their nine children were left in his sole care. 


Through his membership in a Correspondence Club, John Miller was able to develop a writing relationship with Mary Stutzman, Sid’s grandmother.  Mary agreed to travel from Louisiana and marry John and help to care for all the children. Sid’s father, Otto Stutzman, became the tenth and youngest member of the Miller-Stutzman family.  Otto inherited the farm and worked it for many years until he passed away unexpectedly in 1978.  Sid and Rainie were able to learn a great deal about farming from Otto and they have shared their knowledge and experience with their two sons.  Their son, Kale Stutzman,  is presently residing in Seattle, Washington.  Their eldest son, Sunny, and his wife, Tracy, will be the fourth generation that hope to see Stutzman’s Farm continue.


A willingness to meet new opportunities was certainly evidenced by Mary Stutzman.  It seems that this quality has been handed down through the generations.  Sid and Rainie have significantly expanded the farm operations by adding the new building in 2013. They grow many varieties of vegetables and fruits.  The small farm stand was transported down near the farm pond and replaced by a much larger farm store and a timber-framed cafe. 


The Stutzman Farm Bakery carries a large selection of homemade baked goods including artisan breads, whoopie pies, fruit squares, pies, cookies, cakes, muffins, and rolls.  Some new items baked in the brick oven include fresh pretzels and malted beer bread. All the food that is prepared for the cafe menu including the soups, sandwiches, and pizza is made from scratch.


The introduction of the Sunday Brunch proved very successful.  If you checked out the menus

on the Farm’s Facebook page, it should come as no surprise that a loyal following of customers has developed.  Items such as blueberry pancakes, homemade muffins and breads, coffee cake, veggie fritatta, bacon, oven-roasted potatoes, breakfast pizza, salad, lemonade, and Somerset Coffee are often some of the offerings.


How fortunate it is for the Sangerville community that so many young people in the area have had Sid and Rainie Stutzman as their mentors.  They serve as excellent role models. In 1938 and 1992, Stutzman’s Farm was recognized by the Pistcaquis County Soil and Water Conservation  District with the Outstanding Cooperator of the Year award. On their Facebook site, the farm posted a customer satisfaction survey for visitors to the farm to share their thoughts on how the farm could possibly improve.  This survey is a great example of how Stutzman’s Farm has embraced a long-standing tradition of including and welcoming the local community in their farm operation.





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