As summer transitions into fall, so too do the outdoor activities change. Picnics at the park become leaf collecting and collaging. Pool days turn into scary movie nights. And, in terms of agritourism, farms and orchards finish up their peach and cherry harvests and move to more autumnal fare. For many, a great fall activity is going apple picking with their friends and family — here, they can become closer to the produce they consume as well as make lasting memories. Unfortunately, for individuals with disabilities, it may not be possible to enjoy apple picking due to inaccessibility. The apples may be too far away for those in wheelchairs, and the crowds of farm-goers may be too overwhelming for individuals with sensory disabilities.
At Leffel Roots Apple Orchard, however, there is a different story. Through hard work and perseverance, owners James and Laura Leffel made the decision to install several key accommodations to give disabled individuals the ability to enjoy apple picking and other autumnal activities. To get a better understanding of what Leffel Roots Apple Orchard is all about, we turned to Laura Leffel for an interview.
Tell us how you got started. What made you decide to go into the apple orchard
business?
In 2015, my husband, Jim, retired from the Air Force after 22 years. We wanted to return to Wisconsin to be closer to our aging parents. We saw the farm for sale and decided to go for it! While my husband grew up on a dairy farm, I am a city girl. It’s been quite a challenge (but a welcome one!) to learn the apple business.
What do you want your customers to take away from their experiences at Leffel Roots
Apple Orchard?
Ideally, we want to provide quality fruit along with a fun and healthy place for families to experience an apple orchard and all the associated activities. We hope people will try the corn maze, the pumpkin patch, the apple slingshot (and more!) while eating a fresh apple.
Why did you decide to make accessibility an important part of your business? What were the initial steps you took to make that happen?
Both Jim and I are veterans. Unfortunately, we’ve seen the results of war and know that there is a large population of disabled veterans. As part of our mission we wanted to provide a welcoming environment for all ability levels. In 2017, we saw an opportunity. We needed to move several trees from our main orchard. We opted to plant them near our store. Then, Jim had a spectacular idea to build a raised deck around the newly transplanted trees. My dad, Jim, our son, Otto, and I built the deck in the summer of 2017. Since opening our ADA-compliant deck, we have actually had quite a number of people from all walks of life, all ages, all ability levels who have enjoyed using our deck. It’s probably our most rewarding addition to our orchard.
How do you make your orchard accessible to those with mobility disabilities? With
sensory disabilities?
Our ADA deck is near our store and is wheelchair accessible. The deck allows the tree’s branches to be at a height suitable for someone to pick while sitting down. We’ve actually had the pleasure of helping many people pick their first apple!
We also advertise additional open hours on our website for those with sensory disabilities. For example, if large crowds are a deterrent, we can open earlier in the morning for a family with a member who has crowd aversion. For those with immune system concerns we can also bring orders to your car. We also allow those with mobility disabilities that can navigate the large orchard, but may not be able to walk all the way to the orchard, to drive their cars to the orchard, with prior approval from the store personnel. A wonderful parent also donated a child corn-maze wagon for those interested. We have also donated thousands of pounds of apples to veterans’ homes and Feed My People for those who can not visit our orchard.
If you could give any advice to other orchards/farms looking to address their accessibility issues, what would you say?
The biggest recommendation we have is to be creative. To our knowledge, no one had tried a raised picking deck, but we were given the opportunity and just came up with the idea. Unfortunately, there are very few federal grants or money available for projects; however, there are many organizations who may provide labor, if there are concrete plans. Also, there may be some easy changes orchards can make. Just making your store aisles wide enough for a wheelchair can make a difference. Reducing the threshold on doorways is another easy solution to helping wheelchairs navigate.
Are there other accessibility related concerns that you are working on addressing or
hope to address in the future?
Yes! I’d love to make our pumpkin patch, or a portion of our corn maze wheelchair friendly. We are exploring matting options for the walking aisles. So far, the costs have been too high, but we are always looking for alternatives!
What do you think makes your form of agritourism/your orchard so important and
special?
We are not a huge orchard. We try to keep our crowds manageable so that everyone can have a personal experience. We take care to provide quality apples along with a fun experience. We don’t have pedal cars or panning for gold, as we try to stay with an old-fashioned experience. We try to maintain a fair price, and have no admission, except for the corn maze. Furthermore, we offer educational tours and welcome people to experience our maple syrup production and apple blossoms. We make many items on site including maple syrup made the old-fashioned way, over an open fire, walnut stain, bread and muffin mixes, etc. We have robust apple pie sales and a variety of other apple-related desserts made on site. I think the number of repeat customers we have shows our commitment to a quality experience.
Any final thoughts?
We’d love to host anyone who wants to experience our orchard. If someone has a disability or concern, we want to accommodate it! We are always looking for ways to make a visit more special. We’d love to hear people’s ideas. If families are curious about what we can provide, we are just a phone call away at 715-514-5171.
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