WOOSTER – Wayne County has a lot to offer visitors this fall, including farms, dairies and family-run kitchens.
You can start your journey at Hartzler Family Dairy in Wooster, a farm-to-table dairy. In 1964, Harold Hartzler stopped using chemical pesticides and herbicides on the family farm after watching what runoff had done to a neighboring property, choosing instead to farm the way his own grandparents once had, according to the community announcement.
Today, the Hartzler Family Dairy bottles its own milk in glass and turns it into small-batch ice cream at its Wooster storefront, including a pumpkin flavor.
Wooster's newest dairy destination, The Milkhouse, opened this year inside a restored historic building that once served the town as a feed store and butcher shop. Its ice cream is made from milk sourced directly from Spring Hill Farm and Pine Tree Dairy in nearby Marshallville.
Local Roots Market and Café carries goods from more than 200 Ohio producers, each labeled by the farm or kitchen it came from; the market lets visitors shop the harvest by name, not just by season. Local Roots changes its lunch menu daily based on whatever is being picked that week, according to a news release.
Whitefeather Meats in Creston has built a loyal following as a family-owned butcher shop specializing in locally sourced, sustainably raised meats, from grass-fed beef to bison, elk, and venison, all hand-cut and smoked on site.
Nearby, Gasser's Marketplace is run by a local dairy farming family and blends a bulk food store with a deli counter, offering made-to-order sandwiches alongside local honey and homemade preserves.
If you head south of Fredericksburg, you will find Salt Creek Cafe and Creamery. The creamery sources its dairy from local suppliers and its lettuce from nearby growers, pairing fair trade coffee with scratch-made bakery items and creamery offerings.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Plan a fall food tour through Wayne County farms