When Trickling Springs Creamery suddenly shut down operations in late September, the owners lost more than their 18-year-old business dedicated to organic milk, butter and cheese. They lost their respect and standing in the conservative Mennonite communities of Maryland and Pennsylvania.
From the moment they debuted the Pennsylvania-based company in 2001, the founders were dedicated to local farmers and agricultural practices that would sync with their Mennonite beliefs to live in harmony with the planet and be good stewards of God’s land. Trickling Springs purchased raw milk mostly from farmers who grazed their cows on grass and were certified as organic. The company used a low-temperature pasteurization process to kill bacteria but keep most nutrients alive. It sold milk in returnable glass bottles, an echo of a pastoral time and an elegant way to prevent more plastic from entering the oceans.
As Trickling Springs grew from a small local company to one that sold to chefs, coffee shops and markets all along the East Coast, from Connecticut to Florida, the creamery became something rare: a multimillion-dollar enterprise in a Mennonite community where people usually work with their hands on farms, in cabinet shops and at other modest, family-run businesses. Proud of Trickling Springs’ success, Mennonites supported the company, trusting that its owners operated with the same principles that define their denomination: honesty, integrity, accountability and transparency.
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