Laurel: To a tall glass of support. When the milk market was drying up for Ben Brown’s Westmoreland County farm Saturday, things looked bleak for Whoa Nellie Dairy. While milk is one of those staples everyone buys when a storm is coming or an emergency threatens, some farmers have been dumping milk because the coronavirus shutdown has limited the market for a product with a short shelf life.

But when they spread the word on social media about the extra milk available, buyers rallied around the local business. They lined up 10 cars deep and kept their social distance as they waited in line to pick up gallons and gallons of milk from the dairy’s on-site store, as well as other products like cheese and sour cream.

Good for Brown for finding a way to get his message out when business turned sour. But good for the consumers, too. This is the kind of support that will keep local and small company doors open until the pandemic is over.

Laurel: To sharing the wealth. During the coronavirus shutdown, many people are trying to keep their jobs or struggling with cut-back paychecks. At Sheetz, the staff are considered essential, so they are still in the stores, making food, ringing up purchases and selling fuel. The Altoona-based company has recognized that effort with more money, upping the employees’ pay by $3 an hour.

The Harrison store is putting some of that money back into the community to help those people who aren’t getting paychecks. Manager Jobi Balog asked employees to donate food. For five days, they collected food to help their neighbors through the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches’ food bank.

“This isn’t leftovers from the store. These were the folks that work there every day that were giving up an incentive that they were given to help somebody else,” said the association’s executive director, Karen Snair. “I just thought that was amazing.”

Laurel: To the Buckeye and Mountaineer sstate. OK, to be honest, some may want to give a lance to parts of Ohio and West Virginia for shutting down alcohol sales to Pennsylvania residents. Let’s be fair, though. Is it really a great idea to run for the border to get your liquor? There are other options, including ways to have Pennsylvania-made booze shipped directly to your house.

A small-batch Pennsylvania producer may be more expensive than a bottle of Jim Beam or something a little lower on the shelf. But driving to another state and back — and possibly slipping a resident a little something extra to make the purchase for you — is an added cost, too.

Instead of focusing on what Ohio and West Virginia are doing to Pennsylvania buyers, let’s look at what it could mean for Pennsylvania vineyards and distilleries, and support those businesses the same way people are supporting a family dairy farm.

Cheers.

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