Doylestown Farmers' Market Returns Saturday

The Doylestown Farmers' Market returns to downtown Doylestown this Saturday with some new faces and a 21st century flair.

The popular downtown market will kick off its 2011 season at 7 a.m. on Hamilton Street, between W. State and W. Oakland.

It's never certain which vendors will be on hand for the first few sessions in early spring, said Jan Tompkins, president of the Buckingham Township Civic Association, which runs the market.

"We don't know what they have ready to sell this early in the season," Tompkins said Tuesday. "But we do know we'll have a grass-fed beef vendor this year, which we're very excited about. We've had lots of requests for a long time for beef."

A new dog biscuit vendor also should prove popular, Tompkins said. "We have lots of people who come through there with their dogs."

The first 100 people to visit the market on Saturday will get a free market bag, Tompkins said. Organizers again will accept donations of non-perishable food to donate to a food shelter. This weekend's donations will go to the Bucks County Housing Group, she said.

This year marks a number of changes to the way the farmers' market operates, from rules on food preparation to communications with the public - even to coupons.

The civic association plans to send out email blasts to keep in touch with shoppers, Tompkins said, and is even offering coupons for a "deal of the week" at participating vendors. To print the coupon, click here.

"A farmer might have a lot of potatoes, for example, and might sell 10 pounds for the price of five," Tompkins said. "It'll be up to them whether they participate and what they offer."

The market even has its own Facebook page.

"We're joining the 21st Century," Tompkins said, laughing.

Another change comes from the implementation of a new state law, Act 106, which took effect Jan. 22.

Among many changes, the law included a provision that individual vendors at farmers' markets are now considered retail food facilities. They now must be licensed and inspected and comply with safe food-handling requirements such as refrigeration.

However, the law exempts market vendors who sell only raw agricultural products, such as produce.

Though many farmers' markets' advocates were upset about the new law at first, after time to digest it, Tompkins said she thinks it won't hurt the markets too badly.

"There are going to be some more restrictions than there were before, but I don’t think it’s going to be as bad as people thought it was going to be," she said. "They’re just trying to make sure people don’t get sick."

For now, the Doylestown Farmers' Market will not offer chef demos, as it has in the past, Tompkins said, while organizers work through the implications of the law on such demonstrations.

A few of the vendors expected to display this year include:

• Bucks County Preserves, of Fountainville, offering jams and jellies.
• Don's Gourmet Pickles, of Doylestown.
• Lilies and Lavender, of Doylestown, offering cut flowers, flower arrangements and plants.
• Tabora Farm & Orchard, offering cookies, cakes, pies and other baked goods.
• Trauger's Farm Market, of Kintnersville, offering seasonal fruit and vegetables and more.

The Buckingham Civic Association started the farmers' market in 1976. For the first few years, it was held in Buckingham, Tompkins said, but it was moved to Doylestown early on, presumably to take advantage of the foot traffic in town. It's been in the borough ever since.

It is now in its 35th year.

To contact the market organizers, call 215-345-5355 or email info@buckinghampacivic.org.