Farms and Farmers' Markets

See also: Local (Slow) Food

Pittsburgh Farmers' Markets

The farmers' markets in Pittsburgh run from May to November.

• City of Pittsburgh Farmers' Markets
  Held in several locations on various days.
• Farmers' Market Alliance of Western Pennsylvania
  A support and advocacy group for farmers and farmers' markets in Western Pennsylvania.
• Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank Farm Stand Project
  The Food Bank sets up Farm Stands to provide fresh, Pennsylvania-grown produce at affordable prices to low-income neighborhoods that have limited or no access to farmers' markets and grocery stores. A list of farm stands is available.
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Farm Markets
  This is the July 31, 2008 list of farmers' markets in the Pittsburgh area.
  You can also search for the term "farmers markets" because each Thursday during the summer, the food section reports on what produce is available in the local farmers' markets, which are then listed. Choose the latest article, which should appear at the top of the search results. You can also search for "pick your own" and strawberries, raspberries, apples, pumpkins to find farms that sell that produce.

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Pittsburgh Area Farms

If you miss the farmers market, you can drive out to these farms and purchase fresh produce there.

• Beccari's Farm and Market
  Oakdale, near Heidelburg, south of Pittsburgh.
• Cherry Valley Organics
  Cherry Valley Community Farm is a certified organic producer of specialty cut flowers, berries, herbs, and vegetables.
• Emerald Valley Farm: Artisan Cheeses
  Artisan cheeses made with all natural, whole, raw milk, no added hormones, no food coloring or preservatives. Located in Scenery Hill, southeast of Washington, PA.
• Frankferd Farms
  Frankferd Farms, located in Saxonburg (North of Pittsburgh), is an OCIA certified organic farm and flour mill and also offers an organic foods warehouse. You can buy retail or order from their warehouse for pickup or delivery. Or you can form a buying club with your neighbors and friends!
• Friendship Farms
  Located east of Pittsburgh in the Laurel Highlands of Westmoreland County, Friendship Farms sells beef, jam, bread, and native plants.
• Harvest Valley Farms
  Family farm in Valencia just north of Pittsburgh. Fresh Vegetables & "Pick-Your-Own Pumpkin" in October. They also offer a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program in which you can buy a share that will give you fresh fruits and vegetables each week.
• Jamison Farm
  Jamison Farm in Latrobe, Westmoreland County produces certified humane lamb that is purchased by some of the most prominent chefs in the country.
• Janoski's Farm & Greenhouse
  Located west of the Pittsburgh International Airport in Clinton PA. Hozak Farms is located nearby.
• The Kretschmann Farm
  The Kretschmann Farm, located near Zelienople, about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh, provides Pittsburgh area customers with organically grown produce, fruits, and meats. They offer subscriptions (CSA) to be delivered to your neighborhood or business.

• Sand Hill Berries
  Sand Hill Berries is a family owned and operated small fruits farm in Mt. Pleasant, Westmoreland County (southeast of Pittsburgh), specializing in red raspberries, red currants, black currants, gooseberries, yellow raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries.
• Schramm Farms & Orchards
  Located in Jeannette, PA (Westmoreland County outside of Murrysville), east of Pittsburgh
• Simmons Farm
  Located south of Pittsburgh on Route 19.
• Soergel Orchards
  Located north of Pittsburgh in Wexford
• Trax Farms
  Located in Finleyville, PA, 12 miles south of Pittsburgh on Route 88
• Triple B Farms
  Located 15 miles southeast of Pittsburgh near Elizabeth, PA.
• Wil-Den Family Farms
  Located in Mercer County, north of Pittsburgh, Bill and Denise Brownlee raise "pastured" pork.

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Pennsylvania

• Visit PA Blue Ribbon Passport
  Agritourism brochure for sites along Interstate routes 79 and 78, including farmers' markets, farm stands and wineries.
• Buy Fresh, Buy Local
  "The Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaign is a common marketing campaign being developed across the nation by the Food Routes Network. Buy Fresh, Buy Local aims to create a common branding identity for local foods so that consumers can easily identify food that is fresh, flavorful, and local. In Pennsylvania, Food Routes is working with PASA, Farm to City, and the Philadelphia Fair Foods Project to reconnect consumers back to the land."
• Robyn Van En Center Center for CSA Resources
  This is a resource center for Community Supported Agriculture, in which community members buy a share of a farm and in return get weekly produce. It is located at Wilson College in the Fulton Center for Sustainable Living, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

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Nearby Markets

If you happen to be visiting one of these cities in the summer, here are attractions worth seeing.

• Baltimore: Lexington Market
  An historic food market founded in 1782, and open Monday - Saturday.
• Cincinnati: Findlay Market
  Findlay Market is Ohio's oldest continuously operated public market (build in 1855) and one of Cincinnati's most cherished institutions.
• Cleveland: West Side Market
  A covered market operational since 1912, at the corner of West 25th and Lorain in the Ohio City Neighborhood
• Columbus: North Market
  Central Ohio's "SUPER MARKET" since 1876.
• Lancaster Central Market
  The country's oldest farmers' market, in the heart of Amish country occupies a beautiful 109 year old red brick building chock-full of local character.
• Ohio Proud
  Search for a farmers' market, roadside market, or Christmas tree farm in Ohio at this site from the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
• Reading Terminal Market
  An historic farmers market built in 1892 in Center City Philadelphia.
• West Virginia Farmers' Markets
  From the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.

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United States

• AMS Farmers Markets
  Agricultural Marketing Service at the US Department of Agriculture offers a directory of farmers' markets as well as information on setting one up.
• Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
  "CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, members or "share-holders" of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer's salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production." This website from the National Agricultural Library includes an information center and a database of CSA farms.
• Epicurious: Farm to Table
  Includes a Peak-Season Ingredient Map with a state-by-state guide to what's at farmers' markets. Each crop is linked to recipes.
• Fondy Market
  Fondy Market is Milwaukee's largest farmers market. It has a TV show about using produce and offers their episodes online.
• Local Harvest
  "Local Harvest maintains a definitive and reliable "living" public nationwide directory of small farms, farmers markets, and other local food sources. Our search engine, built entirely over Open Source software components, helps people find local sources of sustainably grown food, and encourages them to establish direct contact with family farms in their local area."
• Project for Public Spaces: Public Markets
  The Public Market Collaborative is a network of individuals and organizations involved in the planning, design, development and operation of public markets. Look here for news about public markets throughout the US.

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Selected Books

For additional books browse Farmers' Markets.

Corum, Vance
The New Farmers' Market: Farm-fresh ideas for producers, managers & communities
HF5472.U6 C67 2001x
Are you interested in starting a farmers' market for your community? This book will tell you how to sell at the farmers' market and how to run a farmers' market.

Denevan, Jim
Outstanding in the Field: a Farm to Table Cookbook
TX715.2.C34 D36 2008
Learn more about the author Jim Denevan in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article or check out his website.

Hirsheimer, Christopher and Peggy Knickerbocker
The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market Cookbook
TX801.H58 2006
"A comprehensive guide to impeccable produce plus 130 seasonal recipes"

Madison, Deborah
Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets
TX715.M1157 2002
Madison's portraits of markets from Maine to Hawaii showcase the bounty of America's family farms and reveal the sheer pleasure to be found in shopping for and cooking with local foods.

Parsons, Russ
How to Pick a Peach: the Search for Flavor from Farm to Table
TX391.P37 2007
In this follow-up to his critically acclaimed "How to Read a French Fry," Parsons (food columnist for the L.A. Times) helps the cook sort through the produce in the market; reveals intriguing facts about vegetables and fruits; and provides instructions on how to choose, store, and prepare these items.

Patraker, Joel
The Greenmarket Cookbook
TX715.P3169 2000
"Recipes, tips, and lore from the world famous urban farmers' market." From Manhattan's famed Union Square Market.

Sebak, Rick
(DVD) HF5472.U6 T624 2007x
To Market, To Market, To Buy a Fat Pig
In this PBS video released in Auguest 2007, Rick Sebak of WQED tours farmers' markets around the United States, including Cleveland's Westside Market and Baltimore's Lexington Market.