Apple Ridge Farm

We are a Farm that Naturally Grows produce that raises pastured chickens, a poultry farm that raises pastured pigs, a pig farm that makes artisan breads, and a bakery that grows hydroponic lettuce. Apple Ridge Farm is located in Saylorsburg, PA. It is owned by Brian Bruno and run by a group of hard-working people who are dedicated to producing the best food possible in the most sustainable way possible. The farm originally started out as an 80+ acre farm founded in the 1860’s by the Getz family. It was purchased by the Bruno family in the early ‘70’s. For 30 years our family raised sheep, horses, fruit trees, and kept a large garden. Growing up on the farm was a great experience but as a kid it felt like a lot of work compared to the other kids I knew. I honestly had no plans to be a farmer. What I really wanted to do was be an environmental scientist and help save the planet. I went to Penn State majoring in Environmental Resource Management which to my surprise had a lot of focus on agriculture. Turns out many farms are sources of chemical pollutants, manure runoff, and soil erosion. It got me thinking about my family’s little farm. I had no idea agriculture had all these environmental problems, because our farm didn’t. As my parents started talking about retiring and selling the farm I decided to give it a shot the summer before my senior year with a large garden and a roadside stand in the driveway. It was a ton of work and took up all my free time that summer but I was hooked. The more I learned about modern agriculture and our corrupt food system the more interested I became in trying to change it. After graduating in 2004 I moved back to the farm and began working it in my free time. We’ve grown each year since and have added a greenhouse, hydroponics, a certified kitchen, and a wood-fired brick oven sourdough bakery. In 2016 we partnered with the ShawneeCraft brewing company and opened Scratch, a wood-fired brick oven pizza pub in the Easton Public Market. The future is full of challenges. Climate change, labor, politics, and diet trends. All we can do is to keep trying to produce the best food we possibly can with what we have to work with.