Flanked by displays of shimmering white onions, golden potatoes and lush, leafy cabbage, food grower Tom Culton surveyed the bustling scene around him.
"This is perfect for selling produce," he said of the venerable market structure in the heart of the city. "That's what it was built for."
Any denizen of the Garden Spot would assume this scene was taking place in downtown Lancaster's Central Market. But while the onions, potatoes and cabbage came from Culton's Silver Spring farm, they were actually drawing the attention of Philadelphia produce shoppers at a new market in that city's historic Headhouse Square.
The Food Trust, a nonprofit Philadelphia-based nutrition advocacy group, opened the Headhouse Farmers Market July 1; it celebrates its grand opening today, July 22.
The Trust's focus is multipurpose; in addition to nutrition education, it supports regional farmers — many of whom practice environmentally friendly agriculture — and the concept of markets as economic resources for growers.
The Sundays-only market, which runs until Thankgiving, boasts the bounty of 25 regional growers. Two of them, Culton Organics and Wimer Organics, are from Lancaster County.
Both were drawing crowds Sunday, July 8, which marked the second week of business for the market.
"Not too bad," summed up Bud Wimer, 41, of the turnout at his stand, which overflowed with vegetables from his East Earl-based business. His day at the market began at 6 a.m. back home, but the trek was worth it.
"They went for the lettuce — that's all gone," said Wimer, who runs his stand with the help of daughters Rebekah, 16, and Ada, 14.
"And the Roma tomatoes," he added, "did really well today."
Open-air farmers markets were once the anchors of Colonial American cities such as Philadelphia. The structure which houses the Headhouse Farmers Market, an arcade-like open-air building called The Shambles, was built in 1745, and hosted a produce market until the 1950s. In the past several years, however, The Shambles was used for craft fair events. Enter The Food Trust.
Founded in 1992, the Trust started out by conducting nutrition-education classes for inner-city children at the city's Reading Terminal Market. After the Trust opened its first farmers' market at Tasker Homes, a public housing development in Philadelphia, the organization began working with communities "to develop lasting and stable sources of affordable foods," according to the Trust's Web site.
Part of that goal is achieved through seasonal farmers' markets; the Trust either runs or is affiliated with 28 of them. The Headhouse Square location is the Trust's newest.
Though the atmosphere is upscale — Headhouse Square adjoins tony Society Hill — the new market fits in with another goal of the organization: to create "a new revenue source for our region's farmers, who will be able to use the market as a place to grow their businesses," according to the group's Web site.
Most of the Trust's markets are located in the Philadelphia area, but there's a Lancasterlink: the group has also consulted in the startup of Eastern Market here, which operates a Saturday market at 308 E. King St.
The Trust has "provided us with 'this is how you do this,' " said Fritz Schroeder, economic coordinator of the East King Improvement District, which is part of Tabor Community Services. Tabor hosts the Lancaster market, now in its second season.
Philadelphia has long benefited
from Lancaster County's agrarian contributions; Amish-run stands have been a fixture at Philly's Reading Terminal Market for years. The Headhouse Square market is another way for the county to make its presence known in the big town.
"The proximity to Lancaster allows us to bring this beautiful fresh food into the city," said Yael Lehmann, The Food Trust's executive director. She also has a first-hand local connection.
"My mother-in-law lives in Lampeter!"
Prices at the market, as with organic-style produce everywhere, tend to be a bit more expensive. But there's an advantage for buyers who are expressing more concern about where their food is coming from, Lehmann said.
"People are willing to pay for organic ... They enjoy being able to talk to (those) who are growing the food."
Decked out in a straw hat, Culton, a specialty grower of "boutique vegetables," such as heirloom tomatoes, and French melons, spoke about his business as shoppers stopped to admire such selections as oversized "Hempfield Super Sweets," an onion hybrid of Walla Walla and Vidalia.
"I came up with that, he said. "We're into breeding vegetables."
His farm, which eschews synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, supplies such Lancaster restaurants as John J. Jeffries in the Lancaster Arts Hotel and the Belvedere Inn. Culton has also maintained a stand at the Eastern Market.
His Philadelphia venture requires Culton to be up at 2 a.m. for what he calls "the night harvest" — washing, packing and bunching produce to get it on ice for transport.
"I'm not getting much sleep," said Culton, who's 26. Which is another aspect of the Headhouse market.
"Everyone here is young," said Market Master Nicky Uy, 33. "Twenty-five percent of the farmers here are under 40."
Headhouse Square is Wimer's "first and only" food stand. "I was somewhat surprised," he said of how busy the new market was. "Everybody seems to be doing well."
Both Wimer and Culton praised The Food Trust for their know-how in helping them find a place in The City of Brotherly Love.
"Even though I'm in Lancaster and they're in Philadelphia," Culton said, "they've definitely helped us feel at ease."
The Food Trust's Headhouse Farmers Market is open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays at Second and Lombard streets, Philadelphia. For information, log onto www.thefoodtrust.org.
Stephen Kopfinger is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact him at skopfinger@lnpnews.com or at 291-8799.
