Pennsylvania community raises thousands for small farm after carjacking left thousands in produce losses

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A small Pennsylvania farm is facing thousands of dollars in losses after a barefoot carjacker allegedly attacked an employee and took off with a van packed with freshly harvested produce.

“It is really more surreal than traumatic,” Hayday Farms owner Hank Whittenberg told Fox News on Monday.

“It was just a crazy situation at a stoplight where the man jumped onto the back of the van.”

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Ruined produce from a small farm's ransacked van in Pennsylvania

The incident took place earlier this month when an employee on his way to a Philadelphia farmer’s market was stopped at a traffic light and confronted by a man wearing scrubs.

Whittenberg said the employee was struck in the face during the confrontation, but is doing well despite suffering a black eye.

Bensalem police recovered the van two days later, but the five-acre farm was left facing thousands of dollars in losses after equipment was taken, the vehicle was damaged and much of the produce inside was left to rot.

“The van’s ripped up, equipment was taken,” Whittenberg said, describing the lingering smell of rotting cantaloupes, tomatoes and corn inside the vehicle, which has since been replaced by the smell of chlorine and another scent he described as “mysterious.”

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Whittenberg told an area ABC affiliate that the perpetrator stole the cash box, a supply of honey and scales.

He said it could be several weeks before the van is back in service.

The costly setback prompted Whittenberg to launch a GoFundMe after supporters encouraged him to start one, with the community quickly rallying around the farm. As of Monday, the fundraiser had raised more than $11,000.

“We’re stunned with the response and just overwhelmed,” Whittenberg said. “It really lets me know how much Philadelphia really stands behind us. It’s really remarkable.”

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