Episode 238: Farming, Food, and Community Power
About the Podcast
In this episode of the Food Dignity Podcast, Clancy sits down with sisters Stephanie and Hayley Painter, co-CEOs of Painterland Sisters. Raised on a fourth-generation dairy farm in Northern Pennsylvania, the sisters share how their farming roots, community values, and commitment to nutrient-dense food led them to build a national organic skyr yogurt brand.
About Hayley Painter
Stephanie and Hayley Painter are the co-CEOs of Painterland Sisters, an organic skyr yogurt company born from their family’s regenerative organic dairy farm in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. As fourth-generation farmers, they grew up immersed in agriculture and community life. Their work has earned national recognition, including Forbes 30 Under 30 Food & Drink, a Nexty Award, and acknowledgment on the U.S. Congress Floor. Today, they advocate for farmers, nutrient-dense food, and stronger connections between producers and consumers.
Discussion Takeaways
- When unstable milk prices threatened their farm's future, Stephanie and Hayley saw the need to create something that could support not only their own operation but neighboring farms as well.
- Skyr yogurt is an Icelandic style of making yoghurt. It delivers higher protein, more nutrients, and better texture without unnecessary additives.
- Food is power because it is a direct line between farmers and consumers. It tells real stories through grocery shelves and dinner tables.
- Farmers or anyone in the farming community must share their own voices, especially through social media, to share honest, positive stories about agriculture.
- Regeneration isn’t only about land but about community, future farmers, local economies, and giving farmers the dignity of fair margins and sustainable livelihoods.
- Food dignity means that the products that are getting to the consumer are the most nutrient-dense that they can be. It also ensures everyone in the food supply chain has an adequate margin.
#1 tip to improve access to healthy food
Food dignity means that the products that are getting to the consumer are the most nutrient-dense that they can be. It also ensures everyone in the food supply chain has an adequate margin.
Each week on the Food Dignity® Podcast, the Food Dignity® Movement's Clancy Harrison hosts a wide variety of hunger experts and other people making changes on the frontlines. Join us as we dive deep into conversations that will change the way you think about food insecurity.
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