At 6:00 AM on a frigid Friday in February, Lancaster Central Market is already humming with life. The morning crowd shuffles into the Romanesque brick building in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania, wrapped in scarves, bundled in down jackets, and hungry for local fare.
Meanwhile, vendors work quickly and quietly to finish setting up for the day. They arrange bouquets of fresh-cut flowers in buckets of water, stack seasonal produce, and carefully place pastries in glass cases where every sprinkle and frosting swirl glistens under the glow of market lights.
Vendors warn us that goods go fast, and they aren’t exaggerating. By noon, pastry cases are nearly empty, produce displays are sparse, and top-selling items at some booths have sold out.
But today, Food Liability Insurance Program (FLIP) isn’t just here to take in the sights and flavors of America’s oldest continuously operating farmers market. We’re here to present a $7,500 donation to Jason Traverse, Assistant Director of Central Market Trust.
A Market Rooted in History
These days, the market is open year-round on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with doors opening bright and early at 6:00 AM and closing at 3:00 PM.
The market’s iconic brick building, which sits adjacent to the old City Hall, was built in 1889 and occupies part of the original market location. In 1972, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been owned by the City of Lancaster since its initial opening.
Stories Behind the Stands
Over 65 vendors — or as they’re known at the market, “standholders” — set up shop at Lancaster Central Market, offering everything from locally-grown produce to gourmet pickles.
Competition for booth space is fierce, and this limited availability is evident from the market’s standholder application. Prospective standholders must submit a “mini business plan,” including information about projected monthly profits and the amount of working capital available to them when their stand opens.
Even with limited spots available, new vendors still break into the market space and make a name for their business. Corey Woods, owner of Soulcialize, told us he opened his Southern soul food stand at the market in January 2020 — just before the pandemic hit.
Other standholders have been at the market for decades or even generations. Earl Groff’s family opened Groff’s Vegetables 71 years ago when he was just eight years old.
“That’s a long time,” Groff told us. “The market has changed, but I still enjoy it.”
While the market will continue to grow and develop, Groff’s Vegetables remains a family business. Groff’s son took over the farm, working alongside his dad and his sons to grow fresh produce, marking four generations of farmers. “It’s just lovely having them help us,” said Groff with a smile.
Family is an underlying theme in standholders’ stories, with two or more generations working together at each booth. Lauren Moore is one example, running the stand for Moore Desserts by Julie — a bakery her mother started eight years ago after a bake sale fundraiser brought her talent for buttercream frosting to light.
“She was able to leave her job and open an in-home bakery, and then we were able to come to a couple [of] markets,” said Moore. Moore Desserts by Julie also has a stand at the Fresh Market in Hershey, PA.
No matter what they sold or how long they had been at Lancaster Central Market, there was a common refrain amongst the standholders we spoke to: community — both within the larger Lancaster County area and between standholders themselves.
“The best thing about working in a farmers market is that you are amongst your community,” said Woods when asked what makes selling or shopping at the market special. “All your standholders are local, your produce is local, so you know you’re supporting the community.”
Moore shared a similar sentiment when asked what she loved about working in a farmers market. “The community in markets [is] phenomenal.” She compared it to “having a bunch of different coworkers” who all work together to support each other. “It’s a dream,” she added.
Standholders were also in agreement about the bright future ahead for farmers markets.
When asked if he felt markets would continue to grow in popularity as they have in recent years, Woods said, “I definitely think [they] will continue to grow as people start trying to be more conscious of who they’re supporting, what they’re consuming, their health, and everything else that comes along with it.”
More Than Just a Market
While Lancaster Central Market is primarily a place for local farmers and food business owners to sell their products within their community, the standholders’ stories revealed the market means so much more than that.
For Woods, the market helped his business stay afloat during the pandemic while many other food businesses throughout the country struggled. “We made it through COVID because the market is just like a grocery store. You can get produce, milk, anything you need here,” he told us. “All [the market] did was limit the foot traffic.”
Happiness is… Granola has a similar pandemic-related story, with the market offering co-owner Greta Fairbanks a fresh start with a new business. Fairbanks, an interpreter for the hearing impaired, lost most of her work when the pandemic canceled events.
With more time on her hands and a desire to bring joy to her family and friends during a challenging time, she started making batches of granola. Before long, her loved ones urged her to start selling her creations, which brought Fairbanks and her business partner Angel Gray to Lancaster Central Market.
Mary Beth Shenk, the salesperson working Happiness is… Granola’s stand, said Fairbanks and Gray have sold their products to several stores in the area but felt strongly about having a stand here “because Lancaster Market is so special.”
The market and standholders also make efforts to give back to the community that keeps them in business, including those who may have fallen on hard times.
All standholders are encouraged to participate in Lancaster After Market, a program where they can place any perishable goods that won’t last until the next market day in a fridge on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Community members can then pick a numbered card at the Information Stand and line up as early as 2:40 PM to receive five free items of their choosing, given what’s available.
FLIP’s Commitment to Supporting Farmers Markets and Their Vendors
FLIP champions vendors and markets like Lancaster’s across the country with affordable farmers market liability coverage, ensuring lasting success that won’t stop because of an unexpected claim.
Beyond insurance, FLIP provides vendors with free resources, from a step-by-step guide on becoming a farmers market seller to an annual food and beverage industry trends report featuring exclusive data that helps vendors make informed decisions about their businesses each year.
FLIP also partners with market managers and organizers to make it easy for their vendors to get insured via a custom webpage where they can purchase coverage. In turn, market managers don’t have to worry about managing different insurance plans across multiple companies.
Are you a farmers market vendor? Learn more about FLIP’s farmers market insurance and how it helps streamline your insurance coverage needs so you can focus on providing the best products to your community.
Are you a farmers market manager or organizer? Discover how partnering with FLIP takes the stress out of juggling your vendors’ insurance certificates and ensures they meet your coverage requirements.
Alex Hastings
Seattle-based copywriter and (WA) licensed insurance agent Alex Hastings leverages her experience as a lover of fast-casual food, baked goods, and iced oat milk lattes. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from Western Washington University. Before working at Veracity, she was a retail copywriter at Zulily and an English language teacher in South Korea. Alex is fully trained on FLIP insurance coverages and writes content that connects food and beverage business owners with the policies they need.
Seattle-based copywriter and (WA) licensed insurance agent Alex Hastings leverages her experience as a lover of fast-casual food, baked goods, and iced oat milk lattes. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from Western Washington University. Before working at Veracity, she was a retail copywriter at Zulily and an English language teacher in South Korea. Alex is fully trained on FLIP insurance coverages and writes content that connects food and beverage business owners with the policies they need.
