Farmers@Firehouse Market

Farmers@Firehouse Market
2216 Penn Avenue (Pittsburgh’s Strip District)
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Farmers@Firehouse brings the best of the fields to the heart of the city every Saturday. Look for the market’s green awnings next to the historic No. 7 Firehouse.

Farmers@Firehouse set up its first tables in 2001, in space offered by Firehouse property owners Ray and Susan Werner. They believe in buying fresh, buying local and buying organic. Ray is a serious home baker and often sells his wood-fired brick oven bread under the banner of Fumo Sancto (Holy Smoke).

Market Organization:
Farmers@Firehouse Market is professionally managed and directed by a board of member growers and community representatives.

Growth story:
Per-person spending increased 25 percent in two years - from $16 for an average purchase in 2003 to $20 in 2005. Walk-through traffic doubled in that time-- to 400 per market day. The farmers market has been the salvation of some small farms. Typical growers in our group run intense organic farming operations on far less than 20 acres.

This market has strict rules!
Each farm vendor that is not certified organic must agree to and meet a minimum set of standards to be included in this market as sustainable. Farmers@Firehouse Eligibility Committee (see Article VI, Section 1) will do an annual, on site inspection of each non-certified member. The minimum standards are as follows: No use on crops of prohibited* insecticides, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or fertilizers. Conserve the use of water. Use soil-building techniques such as crop rotation and cover cropping. Will not plant crops in areas where they could come into contact with chemicals leached from treated wood or other sources. No use of treated seeds. Use clean, fresh water to clean produce.

Farmers@Firehouse mission: We will work the land with the respect it deserves, grow our products with the care it takes, deliver to our customers the quality they expect and treat each other, always, with the respect we have worked so hard to earn. By doing this, we will help build a sustainable future for our families and for our customers’ families. Further, to achieve this, we will:

• Stay at the forefront of best practices in organic and sustainable farming.
• Build strong relationships with our customers through excellent and consistent service, education and quality.
• Create a partnership of local organic and sustainable farmers built on a foundation of integrity and mutual respect.
• Stay true to our belief that few things in life are more satisfying, or better for you, than the tastes and flavors of fresh, locally grown farmers’ products.
• Pursue our goal of making Farmers@Firehouse the most admired and enjoyable farmers market in the Pittsburgh area.