Farmers Market
Join us Saturday, May 10th, from 9 to 1 p.m. for our market’s opening day in the DaVinci Pub Parking Lot! Enjoy Phamous Phil’s mouth-watering All Day BBQ while shopping for first-of-the season just-picked tender greens, herbs, green onions, radishes, kale, Swiss chard, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, and our many artisan, homemade, and sustainably produced products.
Now in its fourth year, the market features five vegetable vendors: Jubilee Hill Farm, Burkholder Organic Produce, the Ursinus College Farm, and our new farm, Valley Run CSA. Additionally the PV High School “Take Action” Club sells vegetables from their organic garden. Selling fruit this year will be Frecon Farm; Longview Farm also sells berries in season.
The Collegeville Farmers’ Market is a producer-only market, which means that the vendors grow or make all their products themselves. Since we depend on nature for our bounty, in Pennsylvania, early Spring markets are usually limited to salad greens, asparagus, kale, radishes, scallions, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips. In addition, the Market will also be stocked with bedding plants, and most importantly our year-round products, which include pastured poultry, eggs, meats, homemade sausages and charcuterie; cheeses, organic milk and baked goods, including ICED by Betsy cupcakes, The Hearth Baker artisan bread, MacDougall’s Irish Victory Cakes, and our new cookie baker, Lavinia’s Cookies. We also carry local wines and many homemade and home-prepared food products, including hummus, international foods, organic granola, stuffed peppers, olive oils, jams, jellies, pickles, extracts and spices, Bigg Dutt’s BBQ sauce, Sweet Success homemade chocolates, gourmet dog treats, crafts and much more.
The market is also your local source for high-end teas: “Health and Tea” carry exceptional organic tea blends. New this year is that market patrons can enjoy artisan coffees: the market is hosting “Sweet Tree Artisan Roasters”—freshly roasted (within 24 hours of purchase) sustainability produced blends of coffee not available in stores.
The Market’s 2014 Summer Celebration Day to mark the introduction of our larger summer market–with our full complement of over 20 local farmers and vendors with a large variety of vegetables and fruits in season–will be held on June 14th, 2014. By June, our produce vendors will have the first fresh beets, broccoli, peas and early tomatoes, along with local strawberries, followed in July by the full complement of vegetables, and fruits–including blueberries, cantaloupe, and peaches.
Market shoppers will also enjoy our line-up of talented local live entertainment, as well as more food events this year. Back by popular demand are our Sample Saturdays, when you can “eat your way” through our market, and our all day market breakfast and lunches featuring Freeland sausage, onion, pepper and egg sandwiches, barbequed pizza with fresh market vegetables, fruit pancakes, Bendybrook Farm pastured hamburgers, our Pie-Paloosa pie baking contest, and many more food events. If you don’t already receive our newsletter with weekly information on our vendors and all the market’s upcoming offerings and events, sign up atwww.collegevillefarmersmarket.org.
By shopping at our farmers’ market, you directly support our local farmers and small business owners. Over half our vendors are from Montgomery County, and the rest are from neighboring counties. Our vendors support their families through the sales of their products, with no middle man involved. Their practices are sustainable, chemical free, and the nutrition from their products comes from the soil and the sun as nature intended.
The market will be open every Saturday, rain, snow or shine, from May 10 through Nov. 22, the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Our market is dog-friendly, and parking is available on site in the DaVinci and Power House parking lots. Our market is also handicapped accessible. DaVinci’s Pub is on site, and is open from 11 a.m. on for a delicious lunch.
The Collegeville Farmers’ Market was started in 2011 by volunteers of the non-profit Collegeville Economic Development Corporation (CEDC). Our volunteers are committed to the importance of bringing fresh, nutritious, local products to the residents of the Borough and surrounding area and in supporting local farms and businesses. We are always looking for others who would like to be involved. If you believe in the importance of sustainable farming, protecting the earth, and healthy eating, please volunteer to join our Committee, help out at the market, or help us with special projects. Individuals interested in volunteering with us can contact Cathy Kernen, Co-chair of the Collegeville Farmers’ Market Committee, at[email protected] or call her at 610 409 0370. Individuals can friend the market at www.facebook.com/CollegevilleFarmersMarket.