Deaf Awareness Month: Bumbleberry Farms

September is National Deaf Awareness Month, an observance with roots in the World Federation of the Deaf’s first congress in Rome in 1951. One of the makers in our Farm Stand has a place in that story.

Bumbleberry Farms started with a beekeeping workshop and a backyard. Karen Sandusky Mosholder set up hives in the foothills of Pennsylvania’s Laurel Mountains in 2011 and began making honey cream spreads from a family recipe, eighteen jars at a time, selling them at county fairs.

Her son Jon took over in 2023 and moved the operation to Pittsburgh. Jon has said that supporting the Deaf community is part of his mission because he is Deaf himself. Every one of his employees is Deaf or hard of hearing. The company works with the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and Pressley Ridge School for the Deaf on job training and hiring.

The honey is small-batch and True Source Certified, but the spreads are what built the reputation. The Pumpkin Spice was named new product of the year by the Specialty Food Association in 2020, and the Chocolate Raspberry took a gold three years later. Sweet Orange Cardamom and Lemon Vanilla round out the shelf. The company motto is a plain one about spreading a little sweetness.