“I just want people to think about food a little differently.”
That’s the dream of local cheese guru Abbe Turner, who last year turned her passion for raising goats into a full-blown community project for farm-fresh food.
The self-proclaimed “entrepreneur and optimist” spent five months renovating a former labor temple in Kent into a goat cheese creamery that produces unbelievably fresh, delicious cheese.
The Lucky Penny Farm Creamery sits on 1 ½ acres of land in the middle of the city, creating what Turner calls “a small jewel in an urban area.” Milk from area goat farms, including Turner’s own, is delivered daily and made into dozens of varieties of cheese – all free of preservatives, antibiotics and pesticides.
“We’ve chosen to farm in a different way,” Turner said. She explained that unlike many commercial creameries, all the milk at Lucky Penny comes from sustainable farms where the goats are fed healthy, balanced diets and raised on open acreage.
It only takes one taste of the tangy feta or creamy chevre cheese produced at Lucky Penny to see the rewards of her commitment to wholesome food. A local couple found this out firsthand after meeting Turner at a recent farmers market. The husband and wife, who were both Greek, said they have never liked the taste of feta cheese made in America. But after trying a sample from Lucky Penny, they were so blown away that they changed their minds.
“They tasted it, and the woman went back to another place in her mind,” Turner said. “They bought two containers and were so excited.”
Turner said anyone is welcome to visit the creamery and purchase hand-crafted cheeses made fresh on the premises. During the summer, residents can spend their evenings listening to bluegrass concerts on the lawn or participate in a series of seminars about food, farming and sustainability.
Turner said her primary goal is simply to give people in the community access to food that comes directly from the pasture to their plate.
“This creamery is the connection between a rural farm making a raw product and people in the urban world,” she said.
Lucky Penny Farm Creamery is located at 632 Temple Ave. in Kent. Learn more by contacting Turner at (330) 572-7550 or by visiting www.luckypennyfarm.com.
