While on a recent trip to Pennsylvania we had the opportunity to visit Lancaster Central Market, the world’s oldest continuously running farmer’s market.
It had been years since I visited downtown Lancaster, and while we found parking easily, these maps and historical markers made our journey over to the actual marketplace much simpler.
The market is in an old building right in center-city Lancaster. It’s open three days each week and while it began as a farmer’s market, and still carries many fruits and veggies, you can now find cuisine and handmade goods from cultures originating all over the world.
My Big Helper and My Little Man were particularly watchful for local, Amish-made goods, and we found some great ones. There were several bakeries, some farm stands, and at least two stands with handicrafts. I was hoping to find crafty things, and we all left happy.
My Big Helper was thrilled to find this dishcloth made using a pattern she had recently found online. She’s even more eager to try making her own now.
To me, it wouldn’t be an authentic farmer’s market if there wasn’t a dairy present, and this one had everything.
Every Thanksgiving for years my grandmother has purchased a special, organic celery at the Lancaster Central Market and brought it to share at dinner. I’m not sure if this is the stand she visited or not, but it still an exciting find. It would’ve been loads of fun to be able to visit this market with her and hear her stories!
We meandered our way through the market, spending hours checking everything out. After that, we went back to make our final purchases, and we decided that we couldn’t leave without trying these doughnuts. They were amazing!
Should you ever find yourself near Lancaster on market day, you should make the journey downtown to visit. The Lancaster Central Market is a wonderful place full of all sorts of fresh, handmade goods and farm products, and you can learn a lot about the area, too.
What sorts of things do you look for in a farmer’s market?
For more fun, farmer’s market resources, check out these links:
