Tucked away on East Beaver Avenue, Sowers Harvest Café is a hidden gem for locals and Penn State students alike. A welcoming space and extensive menu offers a myriad of healthy options relying on locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible.
“That was definitely a focus of ours when we started here, of how we can provide healthy food.” says owner Bryant Martin. “It’s not rocket science, it’s hard work.”
From paninis and salads to omelets and breakfast sandwiches, there is something for everyone. Sowers Harvest Café takes pride in promoting sustainability while serving the highest quality food.
“We source all our eggs from an Amish farmer, and it means us going and picking them up.” says Martin. “We crack all our own eggs- there’s not many cafés or restaurants that go through that work.”
Throughout the course of the pandemic, many small businesses dealt with supply chain issues and the effects were felt by all.
“During covid, it became quite a reality that the food supply chain can get pretty easily broken.” says Martin.
Sowers’ mission to provide farm-fresh food to its customers is mutually beneficial to both café and the farms that supply it. The result? Higher quality of food for patrons, and the foundation of more stable farm-to-table relationships between buyers and suppliers.
“If we can develop more local food sources and availability to the local market, it can really help alleviate when the food system gets stressed.”
Another effort to promote this stability is the café’s partnership with Sowers Market, a local produce farm located right in State College. Though two separate entities, Martin notes Sowers Harvest and Sowers Market are “ trying to work as friends and partners.” With ingredients sprouted from the farm less than three miles away, customers can be assured that their food is as fresh as possible.
Martin notes that the heart of Sowers’ mission is to strive to serve customers how Jesus would serve them, citing faith as the driving force behind the attentive, inclusive, and heartfelt customer service evident at the café. The lack of recorded music, television screens, and technology in the space fosters a more intimate environment that encourages human interaction.
“We see a lot of people here talking,” says Martin. “Conversation is so human, interaction is so human. We’ve come through covid, and we have to get back.”
Sowers Harvest is open Tuesday-Saturday from 8am-3pm. For more information, visit their website.
