They Looked Me in the Eyes and Said Thank You

A few weeks ago I took milk and eggs to some friends at church. A week later they thanked me in a way I was not ready for. It made me realize there’s many people telling me what Raw milk did for them, but in email form and I missed the heart-felt “Thank You” part.

That is the whole post, and I will keep it short.

What did they actually say?

Three things. One person said the eggs gave one friend the protein she needed coming off a vegetarian diet. A mother said her three girls can drink the raw milk without the stomach aches they get from store-bought milk. And that the children said thank you on their own.

Some friends at church found out we have a farm and wanted to try raw milk and eggs, so I took some along. I did not think much about it, and was happy to share it with church friends.

A week or so later they came to me, looked me straight in the eyes, and said, “Gideon, thank you so much. Seriously.”

The one friend had just come off a vegetarian diet and was trying to eat healthier. She said the eggs gave her the protein she needed to make that major change.

Another mother told me her three girls can drink our raw milk without the stomach aches they always get from store-bought milk. And when she said it I could see the mother’s joy in her eyes.

I stood there and did not know what to say.

Why does a farmer struggle to answer when someone thanks him?

Because we did not do the clever part. We keep the animals healthy and then let nature do what nature does best. Cows that are not fed soy and are not genetically modified give healthy raw milk. Chickens fed well give good eggs. That is the whole method.

That is genuinely hard to take credit for.

The difficulty in explaining what we do is that there is nothing added. Most food is sold to you on what has been put in. Ours is about what has not been taken out, and about an animal that was healthy to begin with.

So when somebody thanks me for the milk, part of me wants to say the cow deserves the credit. I have come to understand that is not quite what they mean. They are thanking somebody for leaving it alone.

What are families actually saying about the milk and the eggs?

Here are five, in their own words, from our review page. What people mention most is the taste, the color of the milk, and children who can drink it comfortably.

“This milk is the best milk I’ve ever drank. It’s completely different from store bought. My mom used to live on a farm in Europe and said it taste like her childhood. Really tasty, really nutritious, really high quality.” — K.M., Raw Cow Milk

“I know these eggs are quality because regular store bought “organic eggs” make my daughter’s stomach uneasy, while these eggs from Gideon’s family farm are always a delight for her to eat and she always feels great. They have beautiful orange yolks and always taste great!” — V.D., Soy-free Chicken Eggs

“The milk has a golden type of color, it tastes very good and makes you feel fuller than normal milk. It is also very much sweeter than pasteurized.” — Diego, Raw Cow Milk

“The Family’s interest in making sure the best product reaches their beneficiaries. I love their milk, eggs, cheese and fresh vegetables and stock. Loved their farm visit too.” — Nandini, Raw Cow Milk

“This chocolate milk is perfectly chocolately, yet not too sweet. My children absolutely love it. It would be gone in 5 minutes if I let them have all they wanted.” — Gianna, Chocolate Milk

The European childhood line is the one I keep thinking about. She had drank this before. She just had not had it in a long time.

How can you help encourage mothers with Raw Milk?

Your words matter, because I am the farmer. Of course I will say it is good. When a mother searches raw milk at ten at night, most of what she finds sounds frightening, and nothing I write will settle that. A sentence from another mother will.

I hear things like this all the time. In emails, in text messages, in phone calls I take while I am out working. And somewhere along the way I got so used to it that it started to feel ordinary.

It is not ordinary.

School has started again, and I know a lot of you are thinking about what your children are eating right now, before the holidays get here and the sweets show up everywhere.

There is one more reason I am asking. I want to make a booklet for my family out of these. My parents and siblings do the work — the milking, the washing, the packing — and they hardly ever hear any of this. I do. I would like them to see it in your handwriting instead of mine.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to leave a review?

About two minutes. A sentence or two is plenty — you do not need to write a paragraph. The shortest reviews on our page are four or five words, and those get read just as often as the long ones.

Do I have to use my full name?

No. Most people use a first name or initials, and several of the reviews above are initials only. Use whatever you are comfortable seeing in public, because reviews appear on the site with the name you give.

What should I write about?

Whatever actually happened in your kitchen. Taste, texture, how your children took to it, whether the pickup worked, what you make with it. Please describe your own experience rather than what you think we want to hear.

Tell me what our food has done in your home

If our raw dairy — or the eggs, the butter, the cheese, whatever you receive from us — has made a difference in your home, would you take two minutes and share it?

Share your story here: https://cwhministry.org/share-your-story/

Your words could reach a mother standing right where you stood a year ago, wondering whether she can trust any of this. I cannot convince her. You can.

Thank you so much. Many blessings to you!

—Gideon and my family, Clearview Farm

Gideon Lapp farms in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with his family, producing raw cow dairy, grassfed meats and soy-free eggs for families through Clearview Waterfalls Health Ministry. He has been milking cows alongside his father since age 6, and has now shared raw milk with over 5,000 families in the past twenty years. And is now helping other farmers do the same.