When you think of Amish Country, PA attractions, several activities probably come to mind: horse & buggy rides, Amish countryside tours, local shopping, or trying new foods. But there’s nothing as exciting as the buzz of an Amish farmers market.
From the smell of fresh-picked produce and warm baked goods to the soft hum of voices and the smiling faces behind each stand, the routine of the local farmers market remains a steady part of the Amish Country, PA tradition.
These markets are more than just hubs for wholesome, locally-grown food. They create a community where everyone — farmers, craftsmen, and neighbors — can gather to support each other’s way of life.
If the allure of Amish Country, PA is calling to you, your neighborhood farmers market is the perfect place to visit! Here are the top benefits of Amish farmers markets and 5 reasons why you should add them to your list of must-see Amish Country, PA attractions.
1. You Can Learn & Try New Foods
Food can be a fun way to learn about Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish culture. The Amish are known for their uniquely delicious array of canned goods, salads, baked treats, and hot foods — most of which aren’t found in your average grocery store.
Try some of these regional favorites next time you visit Amish Country, PA:
- Shoofly pie
- Chicken pot pie (the authentic PA Dutch way!)
- Amish macaroni salad
- Whoopie pies
- Turducken
- Amish meadow tea
- Scrapple
2. You Can Taste the Freshness
A tasty benefit of visiting an Amish farmers market is that you get to experience what fruits and vegetables taste like at their peak ripeness.
Let’s be honest, our produce goes through a lot in the United States. Most grocery stores source their fruits and vegetables from large distributors hundreds of miles away, meaning that food could spend hours (or days) on trucks or planes before they reach their destination in your grocery store.
To ensure that produce isn’t spoiled before it’s delivered, those farmers must harvest their crops early and let them ripen during transport. During that time, the fruits and vegetables they picked can actually start to lose some of their valuable nutrients.
Local crops, like the ones you’d find at an Amish or Pennsylvania Dutch farmers market, don’t need to travel as far. In fact, it’s common for those merchants to pick their harvests the same morning they put them out on display.
The longer they ripen in the field, the fresher they are, and the shorter the span between farm to table, the more nutrients they carry. So the fruits and vegetables you try at the farmers market will not only taste fresher, but they’ll be healthier too.
3. You Can Educate Your Family
Visiting any Amish Country attraction in PA is a chance to learn about a new lifestyle. The Amish live a simple life without the distractions of modern technology. They are hard workers who place their faith, family, and community above all possessions.
Farmers markets are full of bright colors and valuable lessons. Aside from trying new unique and regional foods, your family can learn about the value of simplicity and start a conversation about living a healthy lifestyle.
While the Amish may be private people, they are incredibly humble and friendly! An Amish farmers market is the perfect place to interact with Amish folk and experience the kindness of their spirit. Perhaps you’ll even see that despite the vast differences between their culture and yours, they are just humans like the rest of us, living in the way they’ve found to be the most fulfilling.
4. Find Inspirations In The Kitchen
Another unique reason you should visit a farmers market in Amish Country, PA, is because you can enhance your cooking skills. We all need some inspiration every once in a while when it comes to experimenting in the kitchen.
Whether it’s finetuning your cooking techniques or learning how to cook new regional goods, the folks at the Amish market can help! In the Amish culture, recipes are passed down for generations — and with that, the techniques that have helped perfect them. And if you ask, they might be willing to share these tips with you so you can make these hearty recipes with your family.
5. You’re Helping the Environment & Local Farmers
Carving out time to visit an Amish market during your trip to Amish Country, PA has many green benefits. Local markets allow farmers to sell their harvest without sending it very far. Typically food in grocery stores travels over 1,000 miles from the point of production to the retail shelves. By keeping food sales local, markets help reduce pollution caused by food transportation.
Additionally, urban sprawl and overcrowding through new construction threaten the environment and small local farmers in rural and suburban towns. When you visit an Amish or Pennsylvania Dutch farmers market, you can support these farmers and help reduce the chance they’ll sell their farmland for urban development.
Keeping farmland in use can help:
- Maintain open spaces for farmers to tend to their crops.
- Care for the natural landscape.
- Preserve a natural ecosystem for the next generation.
- Support biodiversity (a variety of life), which is essential for maintaining a healthy ecosystem.
Aside from those environmental benefits, shopping at Amish farmers markets has a domino effect on the local economy. It keeps the farmers and the businesses that help power their farms in business, which helps make sure tourists like you can enjoy the charm of the best Amish towns in Pennsylvania.
When you shop at your neighborhood farmers market, everyone wins!
