A Shangri La In Slatington

Kreeky tree farm follows the dream of business and life partners Allan Schanbacher and Chris Gangi.

Incredibly diverse and productive, especially for its 7-acre footprint, this agricultural oasis is tucked into the woods at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Slatington.

Schanbacher is a classically trained chef who has worked at some of the top restaurants in New York and with pioneering farm-to-table foodie chefs such as Alice Waters. But the core of his training—and his passion for simple fresh ingredients lovingly prepared—began in his grandmother’s kitchen in rural Oklahoma.

Gangi has managed creative departments for top gardening publishers such as Rodale and Condé Nast. His passion for good food similarly took root preparing Old World recipes alongside his
Italian grandmother.

After several years out West, the pair decided to move back to the Lehigh Valley to be closer to friends and family and fell in love with the little farmhouse in the woods—a lot of woods. They began clearing trees, built separated fenced areas and shelters for various farm animals, and took on new construction projects including a 24×36 two-story barn-style production building housing a commercial kitchen, storage, a washing area, and a kill room for slaughtering chickens, all capped by a hayloft.

Kreeky Tree Farm’s current product lineup includes classic organic chicken pot pies, custard-style quiche, free-range chicken eggs, organically raised whole chickens, organic peach and apricot jams, aged raw goat milk cheese, Hungarian paprika, and a variety of hot sauces. Items come and go, depending on the season. With the exception of a few added spices and flour, all value-added products are prepared with ingredients raised on the farm.

An evolution of marketing strategies now includes on-farm and restaurant sales, wholesale to other retailers and online sales as permitted and practical. Customers contact the farm through its website at kreekytreefarm.com and through a variety of social media.

On a perfect Pennsylvania June afternoon, the initial discovery on a farm tour reveals these guys have some really big pets. First stop is a fenced enclosure containing a Belgian draft horse, a miniature horse, and four donkeys.

“It started out, I wanted a horse,” explains Gangi. He soon learned that a horse needs a companion “so I tried with a donkey because I didn’t want two horses.” That donkey turned out to be pregnant “so we got two for one.” Neither donkey took a shine to the horse, so Gangi rescued a mini horse and the two equines clicked. Finally, he obtained a rare French breed jack (male donkey) and bred it to one of his jennets (female donkeys) before having it gelded. “Those are the nonprofits.” 

“Allan, in the meantime, wanted to get into goat cheese,” says Gangi as the tour meanders over to a multigenerational goat herd.

“We started with two and waited a year to have kids,” explains Schanbacher. “We had our first round of kids, then we lost one of our original moms that year, and then every year we’ve had one or two girls come out of each kidding and they’ve stayed so now we’re up to 11. The bucks are sold to restaurants, including the award-winning Bolete in Bethlehem, one of the farm’s biggest customers.

“Right now, I’m milking five, intermittently if the kids are still on them,” says Schanbacher. “By the end of the month I’ll start weaning them off and get a good amount of milk to start cheese production. We make fresh chevre, we’re doing some aged raw milk, a brick style, a gouda style, and I’d like to try to get into maybe a blue this year.”

Around the next bend are the chickens. After experimenting with a variety of breeds, the partners settled on a red hybrid called Royal and a white Cornish cross for meat. Dressed whole chickens weigh in at 3 ½ to 4 pounds. “They’re not monster chickens, but they’re very tasty chickens,” quips Schanbacher. Layers include a variety of heritage breeds.

The farm ramped up egg production to accommodate growing demand for fresh eggs when markets tanked due to the pandemic. With a surplus of eggs and goat milk, and plenty of chickens and goat cheese, the idea was born to make traditional potpies and quiches. They’ve been flying out the door.

A prolific 20×100-foot fence-enclosed garden managed by Gangi produces basil, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, cucumbers, garlic, asparagus, daikon radishes, gooseberries elderberries, strawberries, and culinary herbs. An orchard includes figs, peaches, Asian pears, plums, and apples.

The coronavirus has actually been a boon to the farm as people have begun to grasp the real value of local food production.

“People didn’t want to go the grocery store and started reaching out to the farm,” Schanbacher said. “More people are finally starting to understand what quality is and what it means to shop local.”

Gangi added he hopes the awareness continues to grow once the pandemic crisis has passed “and that it doesn’t go back to the way it was.”

Kreeky Tree Farm
8755 Jones Rd
Slatington
610.442.2719
kreekytreefarm.com