Yoder's U-Pick Strawberries opening for the season

May 30—GOSHEN — Yoder's U-Pick Strawberries in Goshen was filled with family fun during season opening Thursday morning.

The strawberry field, 2021 S. 15th St., is in the middle of peak strawberry season for the next couple of weeks.

"We're just excited to sell to all the community," Jennifer Yoder, owner of Yoder's Strawberries, said. "They really look forward to strawberry season, bringing their kids out, letting them pick, letting them just have a good time."

Yoder runs this family business with her husband, Dale.

"It was started 50 years ago by my husband's mom and dad," she said. "They have since passed, and my husband and I took it over about 20 years ago."

For this current season, they have at total of nine employees.

"My mom Cindy Hall runs day-to-day operations, and then we employ college and high school kids to help us," she said.

Yoder's Strawberries is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Special hours occur two to three days a week, where they stay open until 7 p.m.

"We let the kids eat in the field," she said. "We welcome kids — and no pets unfortunately. We welcome kids and just have a family outing."

The Yoders have rented their land from Goshen College for the past 50 years.

"The college has been very helpful in helping us keep our business going and just have been really friendly and nice landowners," she said.

Yoder's isn't just known for its jewel strawberries, they're also known for their sweet corn.

"We do sweet corn for Martin's Supermarkets," she said. "We just love to farm and my husband does all of the growing and all of the work, and then I do all of the business side."

With the abundant amount of strawberries at hand, the Yoders enjoy using them in their summer treats.

"We love to make strawberry pie with the strawberries, it's a special recipe of my mom's," she said.

To check updates for when the patch is open, be sure to check their Facebook account with username, Yoder's U-Pick Strawberries.

"We want to invite anybody to come out and enjoy the patch and it's a super-friendly, family-friendly time to come out and kids love it," she said. "They love just to eat the berries and just find out where their food comes from."

For more information, visit www.yodersstrawberrypatch.com