Kansas City is home to local farms, orchards, chocolate shops and factories where many delicious foods are produced right before your eyes.
You can watch as cider and donuts are made on a tour of the Louisburg Cider Mill (14730 Hwy. 68, Louisburg, Kan., 913.837.5202, LouisburgCiderMill.com). Visitors watch the entire process as apples are washed, made into cider and bottled. Then some of the cider is used to make Louisburg’s famous apple cider donuts on-site, and if you arrive in time, you can enjoy a fresh, warm one. Every autumn, the mill’s pumpkin patch, corn maze and annual CiderFest attract many visitors.
Strawberry Hill’s povitica, a beloved traditional Eastern European dessert, is made right here in Kansas City! In 1984, the Strawberry Hill Baking Company (7226 W. Frontage Rd., Merriam, Kan., 913.631.1002) was opened and, now a KC legacy, the bakery is a true delight for the senses! Visit the bakery where you will be invited to enjoy a free sample with coffee and watch as artisan bakers guide you on a fun tour demonstrating the process of creating the specialty bread.
Another delicious locally-produced treat can be found in beautiful glass bottles in the dairy section at your local store. Missouri’s own Shatto Milk Company (9406 MO-33, Osborn, Mo., 816.930.3862, ShattoMilk.com) is a working dairy farm and milk bottling company selling many unique flavors of milk, including root beer, strawberry, orange creme, banana and traditional whole or chocolate milk. The Shatto family has farmed their land for more than 120 years, 70 of those as a dairy farm. The milk bottling company opened in 2003, and the brand new cheese-making factory opened earlier this year. Families are invited to tour the farm, where they’ll enjoy petting calves, milking cows and meeting the famously happy herd. Watch through a window as milk is processed and bottled, then conclude your tour by sampling new flavors of milk and cheese!
While we often associate cows and cheese, sheep’s milk makes delicious gourmet cheeses too. The Green Dirt Farm (20363 Mt. Bethel Rd., Weston, Mo., 816.386.2156, GreenDirtFarm.com) is a working sheep farm on the bluffs of the Missouri River Valley, offering educational tours unlike any other. Guests learn why grass is the best food for the 150 ewes on the farm, how important healthy soil is to the environment and what makes the cheese so good. Visitors also learn about pasture rotation while watching the dairy sheep graze on the hills. The highlights of the tour, though, are the final steps: watching as the sheep are milked, the cheese is made in the kitchen, and tasting samples! Green Dirt Farm is one of only two sheep dairies in Missouri.
One of the most educational and delicious outings for food lovers is a visit to the Heartland Harvest Garden at Powell Gardens (1609 NW US Hwy. 50, Kingsville, Mo., 816.697.2600, PowellGardens.org). Set on 12 acres, the Heartland Harvest Garden is the largest edible landscape in the United States. After a visit, children better understand where their food comes from, and they enjoy sampling foods at the tasting stations, which are open during the growing season. With more than 2,000 types of food plants growing, visitors are sure to find something surprising.
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Chip’s Chocolate Factory
Home to world famous Kansas City FudgeTM and a dizzying array of all handmade treats. Featuring imported Swiss Chocolate and time tested techniques, we make what we sell on site, right before your eyes. Your sweet tooth will thank you for visiting!!
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Louisburg Cider Mill
A fall trip to the Cider Mill is not complete without a stop at our Family Farm! Venture through our 10-acre corn maze, and search for the perfect pumpkin to carve or for one of our special ones in our 10-acre pumpkin patch.
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Shatto Dairy Farm
Shatto Milk Company also offers tours of their farm. They are both fun and educational as visitors get to milk a cow, pet the baby calves, see how the milk is bottled on the farm and of course enjoy many samples of the great products.
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You notice a building with an airplane mounted on the roof, and it stirs your curiosity. What could it be? That airplane has become the trademark of the Roasterie (1204 W. 27th St., Kansas City, Mo., 816.931.4000, TheRoasterie.com), known for selling premier air-roasted coffee. The business offers one of the most entertaining tours in town with an affordable admission charged. Visitors watch as coffee goes from bean to brew. Call for reservations.
From the delicious aroma of warm chocolate to the tasty samples and beautiful artistry of fudge makers’ preparing handmade confections in copper kettles and forming it on marble slabs, Chip’s Chocolate Factory (Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo., 816.421.0012, ChipsChocolateFactory.com) is a delight for all ages. Kansas City Fudge was originally developed by the Chip’s team more than 30 years ago. With a vision for entertaining and educating, the shop was designed for live demonstrations, which are offered daily. Visitors also can schedule a private tour for groups for a full experience in “chocology” that includes tastings and souvenirs. Bonus Tip: Be sure to visit the special free exhibits for kids on Crown Center’s first floor or visit nearby Kaleidoscope to complete your day!