Lansdale Farmers' Market Blossoms in 2013 Season

The Lansdale Farmers' Market, in many ways, is just like the crops its vendors sell from their stands and trucks each season.

It began with a seed. In this case, an idea was planted in Lansdale Borough by a group of neighborhood residents, councilmembers and businessowners, such as Tabora Farms owner Caleb Torrice, Renew Community Church Pastor J.R. Briggs and Molly Whetstone. 

In five years, the idea grew into a strong group of volunteers and fiscal agents. It branched off to influence vendors from Telford, Doylestown and beyond. The market lived and thrived and survived due to Saturday shoppers on Railroad Avenue.

Now, the Lansdale Farmers' Market enters the 2013 season Saturday with its roots firmly planted in the ground—it has received nonprofit 501(c)(3) status.

"We want to make decisions for ourselves and stand on our own two feet as an organization," Whetstone said.

Lansdale Farmers' Market now has a board of directors: Whetstone as president, Torrice as vice president and head of vendor relations, realtor Carol Bailey Zellers as treasurer and Lansdale Democratic Committeeman Rege McKenzie as secretary. They all wrote their own bylaws and articles of incorporation themselves, Whetstone said, sans attorney and with teamwork.

"We’ve been at it for long enough, that it is one of our longtime goals to become something. For four years, we were just group of volunteers, and we operated to the generosity of a fiscal agent like Manna or food trusts," Whetstone said. "Because they were formal organizations and we were not, they could purchase insurance for us and handle our finances and accounting."

"It was just a matter of time and organizational capacity in place to do that," she said.

The group of volunteers put together the formal filing to become a registered corporation in Pennsylvania, and also filed with the federal government to get the nonprofit 501(c)(3) status. 

"That was big deal for us," Whetstone said. "We were just a group of volunteers doing this nice thing for such a long time, and we wanted to continue it in a sustainable way."

The Lansdale Farmers' Market will be tended by new market manager Charisse McGill, a high school hospitality management instructor. Part-timer McGill will lead fundraising efforts and vendor relations.

Whetstone said McGill brings 10 years of event management and hospitality experience, specifically as former principal planner for Ardent Meeting and Event Management. Ardent played significant role Philly Neighborhood Food Week, Whetstone said.

"Our search focused on finding someone with great communication and interpersonal skills, and someone who can work in a team environment," Whetstone said. "Charisse's professional experience, along with her energy and excitement, make her a great fit for the position."

More vendors have also signed on for the May-November farmers' market season. One of them is a sharpening service—bring your knives, scissors, axes, gardening tools to get sharpened while you shop, but it is only there every third Saturday.

Come Saturday, shoppers can enjoy crabcakes and homegrown roasted coffee alongside the greens and the fruits, the breads and the candles, the spices and herbs.

"These vendors turned a hobby into a business, which is exactly what it's there for: to incubate small businesses and owners who can't afford startup costs. It's a great opportunity for them," Whetstone said.

New vendors include:

• Backyard Beans — A small, Lansdale-based coffee roaster.
• Beyond the Spice — Hand-crafted, Asian simmer sauces.
• Lissful Light Candle Company — Locally-produced candles.
• Mickley's Orchard & Farm — Fifth-generation farm and orchard offering apples, peaches, donut peaches, plums, apricots, sweet cherries and nectarines.
• Neil's Sharpening Service — Every third Saturday, Neil's will sharpen knives, scissors, garden tools, clippers, axes and hatchets and more. Customers bring their knives to be sharpened while the shop. 
• Shell.Fish.Sue — A local Main Street restaurant offering their tasty crabcakes.
• Saxman Breads — A full-time vendor from the first season, Eric Saxman is returning with delicious artisan breads.
• Kulp's Spices — A vendor from seasons one and two, returning with organic spices, herbs and homemade spice blends.

The children's storytime and crafts return for every third Saturday of the season, including this Saturday.

More than a dozen new events are on tap at the market, Whetstone said. There is a desire to have cooking demonstrations and canning and composting demonstrations. There is a necessity for community service events, like bike safety and fire safety and awareness.

Whetstone said the general public won't notice much has changed from the oustide; it is all the same faces and same names doing the same thing, she said.

"From our perspective, it's more streamlined and organized. One designated person is in charge of finances. Peopel can contribute to the farmers' market, as oppose to a fiscal agent," she said. "It makes us a little bit more stronger."

The market begins Saturday at 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Railroad Avenue in Lansdale and runs through Nov. 2—there are 25 market days in all, rain or shine.

"We'll be there every Saturday. Rain or shine, or hurricane or snow, or anything Mother Nature throws at us, the vendors are there," Whetstone said. "We have great loyal customers that come out to support us."