Farmers Market in Hershey

1215 Research Blvd

Hummelstown, PA 17036
http://www.facebook.com/farmersmarketinhershey

Our Story
In autumn 2009, the idea of establishing a farmers’ market near Penn State Hershey
Medical Center was borne out of a serendipitous conversation between Danny George, a
faculty member at Penn State College of Medicine, and Wade Edris, a scientist in a
College of Medicine research lab.

Upon joining the College of Medicine in October 2009, Danny immediately saw the
potential for a farmers’ market in this region, with its rich agricultural heritage and a
medical center nestled among the acres of farmland. Wade, having grown up locally on a
farm, shared the vision. Upon meeting, it was clear to the co-founders that they shared a
conviction that the mission of academic medical centers is not merely to treat disease, but
to support wellness and sustainability in local communities.

Danny and Wade began sharing their vision with Medical Center and College leadership
and the surrounding community. Support was overwhelming, and soon Penn State
Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine, the Hershey Center for Applied
Research (HCAR), the Hershey Trust Company, and Hershey Entertainment and Resorts
(HERCo), had all backed the concept and formed a Steering Committee to bring the
Farmers Market in Hershey (FMIH) into existence on June 3, 2010. Thanks to generous
funding from the Association of Faculty and Friends, Karen Green was hired as the first
manager and played a crucial role in the market’s planning, launch, and ongoing growth.

Now, the FMIH is open seasonally from May to October on farmland left to the Hershey
Trust by Milton S. Hershey, whose cows once grazed in the fields. Each Thursday
afternoon, customers visit to peruse a wide selection of locally produced fruits and
vegetables, dairy products, meats and baked goods, and other specialty items such as
herbs and spices, canned/preserved goods, flowers, cider, wine and honey. We all share
in supporting local and regional agriculture: our vendors represent eight surrounding
counties, and at least eighty percent of our products are organic, naturally produced
and/or vendor-produced and originate within a 30-mile radius of the market; the
remaining 20% extends market variety further to include soaps, crafts, jewelry and other
non-food items. Each week, the market features innovative wellness programming in the
form of cooking classes, free health screenings, health education, and musical acts from
the community.

The FMIH is an unincorporated Pennsylvania association and operates seasonally with a

1
revenue- and cost-neutral business model. It is currently directed by Danny George and
managed by Kathy Graham; Wade Edris and Karen Green are organizational consultants.

Our Mission
We will make a significant contribution to the long-term health of the region and model
how a farmers’ market can serve community wellness and sustainability in multi-faceted
ways. Specifically, our vision is:

(1) To increase community accessibility to healthy, locally grown foods;

(2) To support local farmers engaged in sustainable practices by creating a sustainable

venue for the sale of their goods;

(3) To establish opportunities for community wellness partnerships, such as health

screenings, public education about prevention, and study of health interventions;

(4) To build a community space for interaction among employees and students of the
Medical Center and College of Medicine as well as people from surrounding
neighborhoods and towns; and

(5) To pay homage to the agricultural heritage of the land surrounding the Medical
Center and College of Medicine.

2010 Recap
Overall market performance

In its inaugural season, the FMIH averaged 333 customers per week, with over 700 on
opening day in June and approximately 1,200 at the grand opening in July, including
dignitaries such as PA Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, Senator Jeff Piccola, Derry
Township Supervisor (and now Dauphin County Commissioner) Mike Pries; and Dean
Harold Paz and CEO Alan Brechbill from PSHMC. Total market attendance was
approximately 7,332 customers. Gross sales from the market totaled $116,451, far
exceeding the expectations of the FMIH Steering Committee, management and local
community. Overall, 15 market volunteers put it in approximately 500 hours of service,
including Dr. George, Mr. Edris, Ms. Green and Ms. Graham.

Feedback from vendors, customers, colleagues at the Medical Center – and even people
on the FMIH Facebook group – has been uniformly positive, confirming the founders’
intuition that the market would meet a need in this community and provide a venue for
people who are increasingly mindful of the link between nutrition, health, and wellness,
and reflective about the need for modern communities to live in more sustainable ways
on a local level.

Wellness programming

2
A key competitive advantage for the FMIH is the proximity of experts at PSHMC in
areas such as medicine, public health, nutrition, kinesiology, and psychology, which
enable the market to serve as a credible community venue for public health promotion.
Throughout the season, three booths at the market were reserved for weekly community
wellness outreach, and PSHMC nurses Kathy Morrison, Judy Dillon, and Beth Bates
were engaged in conceptualizing and conducting this programming.

At the first booth called “Know Your Numbers,” student and faculty volunteers from the
College of Medicine and School of Nursing provided free weekly health screenings
(blood pressure, BMI, osteoporosis, vision, and skin cancer risk) to shoppers as well as
general information about the prevention of chronic disease. On the occasions where
customers were identified as high-risk, volunteers were able to provide dietary advice
that could be instantly acted upon in the market. In addition to serving public health, this
also provided a platform for students to get real-world practice with "patients" and hone
their clinical skills.

At the second booth, “Preventive Health” healthcare professionals from multiple

backgrounds, who had submitted ideas for programming, rotated weekly at the booth,
providing free information on such topics as stroke risk awareness, diabetes education,
nutrition and activity promotion for children, breast cancer awareness, and head injury
prevention. FMIH leadership also used the Preventive Health booth to promote featured
fruits and vegetables of the week, including recipe card distribution to provide shoppers
with a suggested usage for featured weekly produce. The FMIH was also able to support
a variety of fundraisers to generate donations for breast cancer research, cancer
education, and persons affected by traumatic brain injuries. Overall, during the 2010
season:

• 258 people were screened for blood pressure and pulse

• 120 people were screened for osteoporosis
• 217 people stopped by for brief conversation/literature
• 392 people visited the 19 preventative health expert tables for
education/information on various topics
• 245 volunteer hours of 21 nurses, 23 nursing students, and 5 med students were
devoted to the FMIH for this programming

Additionally, “Know Your Numbers” volunteers provided the following anecdotes:

• “Several people commented to us that they counted on us being there to monitor

their BP – they had been identified to have high BP and either had not been
aware, or knew it, but hadn't had the advantage of weekly free screening to keep
an eye on it.”
• “Several people commented that they had taken the literature home and shared it
with family members.”
• “I had one attendee who told me she had her BP meds changed as a result of our
weekly screenings demonstrating a consistent pattern of still high BP on her

3
 current regimen.”

Community

A third “Community” booth featured programming from non-medical specialists in the

area who sought to contribute to the market’s vision of furthering wellness in the region.
Community programming included free workshops on holistic health, Reiki massage
demonstrations, Yoga and tai chi workshops, acupuncture information, aromatherapy,
and a variety of other integrative medicine approaches, as well as informational offerings
from local fitness centers, businesses, and environmental action groups. In addition to the
programming at the three booths, guest chefs from HERco restaurants and certified
organic chefs from the community held several free classes on preparation of healthy
meals that involved organic ingredients from the market. Overall:

• 32 community partners provided 128 hours of service at the market.

• The market was awarded a 2010 Penn State Hershey Community Service Award
by Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Musicians

Local musicians from the community also performed at the FMIH most weeks, adding a
rich aesthetic dimension to the market culture. All connections with musicians were
made through word of mouth, via person-to-person networking, or through the social
networking (Facebook) page that was set up for FMIH. As described below, it is hoped
that the FMIH can secure grants to compensate musicians for their performances during
future seasons, as is commonly done at other markets. Overall:

• 12 musicians provided 46 hours of free entertainment.

Charitable partnerships

• The FMIH is registered with the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

Program (SNAP) and we intend to sign up with additional assistance programs,
such as WIC and the senior citizen supplemental nutrition programs in 2011. Dr.
George has had preliminary discussions with Head Start in Harrisburg about
partnering next season to take advantage of these federal programs as well as the
wellness screenings. Our biggest challenge is our physical distance from
underserved communities and the transportation necessary to make our offerings
more widely available.

• The FMIH partnered with Penn National Racetrack and the Dauphin County
Medical Spouse Association to purchase a significant amount of fresh produce
from our vendors each week and deliver it as a donation to workers at the
racetrack stables in packages that include bi-lingual messages about health and
prevention.

4
 • The market and its customers have offered ongoing supported for Mike
Macchioni's charity Gemma's Angels, which purchases and distributes fresh
produce to local homeless shelters and halfway homes as far away as Harrisburg.
Dr. George has also had preliminary discussions with other area entrepreneurs and
non-profit leaders about setting up a mobile farmers market that would drive to
Harrisburg and rural underserved areas each week with produce from our market.

• Dr. George has offered to help the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg set up a
health screening program modeled after the programming at the FMIH.

Special events

During the season, the following special events were held during usual market days and
times:

• Grand Opening (July)

• Farmers Market Appreciation Week (August)
• Autumn Festival (September)
• Healthy Halloween in Hershey (October)

Social media

We set up a Facebook group page (www.facebook.com/farmersmarketinhershey), a

Twitter account (www.twitter.com/marketinhershey), and published a weekly newsletter.
These were free interfaces that connected the market with thousands of persons from the
community who could be reached through simple status updates and email blasts, all of
which placed a minimum time burden on market leadership. Because of the viral
networking effect of Facebook, the group page accumulated 1,400 fans over the course of
the season and became an influential means of two-way communication with customers,
both by promoting market events and programs and receiving customer feedback.
Further, the FMIH was registered in various farmers’ market directories, and on Google
Places1 so that it would appear on Google map searches and networking customer review
sites such as Yelp!23.

Steering Committee

A steering committee was created to provide ongoing leadership on significant market

decisions. Members of this committee included:

HERCo: Donna Fair, Cocoa Beanery Manager

PSHMC: Danny George; Dan O’Donnell, Events Manager at PSHMC
1
http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&georestrict=input_srcid
%3A7392883b0f6bcefe
2
http://www.yelp.com/biz/farmers-market-in-hershey-hummelstown
3
Local entrepreneur Deanna Fox generously volunteered her time to helping support the FMIH’s social
media strategy.

5
 Hershey Trust Company: Todd Pagliarulo, Consultant
Hershey Center for Applied Research: Laura Butcher, Executive Director

Marketing Committee

A marketing committee was created in partnership with HCAR’s marketing firm Verbr4
and the PR marketing department at PSHMC to oversee the creation of a marketing
strategy. The marketing plan encompassed three phases: 1) development of logo,
branding, and distribution materials; 2) development of a marketing strategy within the
hospital and surrounding community; and 3) development of an online and social media
presence. Members of this committee included:

FMIH Director: Danny George

FMIH Manager: Karen Green
Verbr: Dori Pitzner,
HERCo: Jennifer Henry, (title)
PSHMC: Megan Manlove, (title)
HCAR: Linda Garisto, (title)

This committee will continue to convene in future seasons to facilitate market growth and
consistent information and message delivery.

Community Wellness Committee

A committee was created to provide leadership for wellness programming:

Kathy Morrison, RN
Beth Bates, RN
Judy Dillon, RN
Deb Tragea, MEd

Vendors

Produce
Landisdale Farm (certified Meats
organic) Breakaway Farm (organic)
Schaeffer’s Farms (conventional)
Shady Acres Farm (organic) Dairy
Smith’s Farm (organic) Green Acres Farms (organic)

Baked goods Flowers/Plants

Short and Sweet Blue Heron
Hershey Pantry Tim’s Greenhouse

4
Verbr generously donated many hours of service to the FMIH throughout the
inaugural season.

6
 Other
Stonefield Soaps-goat’s milk
soap Stroopies-specialty confections
Cassel Vineyards-wines LeBoons-humus, dips
In a Jam by Maryann – pepper Alpacas and Beyond
jelly Half Fast Farms, Dye Hards-
Good Karma Better Health-teas, goatsmilk soaps, tie-dyes
holistic medicine Next Life Design
Grandpa Dan’s Honey-honey, Stella Blue-hand crafted jewelry
bee’s wax products Roundtop Farm - redwood
Torchbearer Sauces-specialty hot furniture and crafts
sauces Sugared Beauty - sugar based
Pour Daddy’s-soya candles beauty products
Kauffman’s Ice Cream-soft ice Begging Dog Bakery - custom
cream doggy treats
Los Tres Tias

Vision for the Future

After a successful first season, the FMIH intends to continue growing its customer base
and expanding its community wellness programming. Below is a general overview of
future goals for various market domains:

Market goals

• Obtain grant support for Director and Manager and for community wellness and
music programming
• Launch a website for the 2011 season
• Integrate renewable energy into the market/showcase electric cars
• Upgrade the weekly newsletter
• Consider a shift in hours to 2-6pm to accommodate lunch hour crowd
• Improve upon average attendance numbers and gross sales
• Locate a permanent home for the market (described below)
• Appoint an official volunteer coordinator to assist the Manager
• Create video profiles of each vendor that can be turned into YouTube videos and
disseminated through Facebook

Wellness goals

7
 • Reach out more effectively to the patient base at PSHMC
• Reach out more effectively to departments at PSHMC devoted to nutrition,
childhood obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc
• Initiate prescription produce program at PSHMC
• Encourage PSHMC employees to walk/bike to the market using campus footpath
• Make recipe cards and featured foods a standard week-to-week tradition
• Expand on local chef demonstrations (“5-minute dinner preparation”)
• Gather recipes from vendors and customers for the eventual publication of a
FMIH recipe book to be sold as fundraiser
• Develop public health interventions based on data collected through surveys in
2010

Community goals

• Register with WIC, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) and
other federal and state assistance programs as able
• Continue building partnerships to increase participation of the community,
including underserved individuals and families
• In the spirit of the farm-to-school movement, we hope to have our farmers source
produce for local school cafeterias, and are working to establish these connections
• Partner vendors with area restaurants to source foods
• Work towards the establishment of a Farm Fresh menu at PSHMC in which
cafeteria services will become a purchaser of FMIH produce and integrate
healthier foods into patient meals5
• Revisit partnership with Milton Hershey School and local Future Farmers of
America (FFA) school programs to enlist students as volunteers in the market and
in the wellness program

Special events

Our vendors have asked that we schedule more special events in the coming season to
drive increased attendance. Some ideas:

• Opening day (May) (Walk to the market with Dean Paz)

• Local author day6 (May)
• Summer Solstice Festival (June)
• 4th of July Strawberry Festival (July)
• Farmers Market Appreciation Week (August)
• Farmer and the Chef (August) http://www.thefarmerandthechef.com/about
5
A program called Stanford Hospitals and Clinics Farm Fresh has created an inpatient menu option that
uses exclusively organic ingredients from local sources. The philosophy undergirding this program is that
healthy food is an important part of the healing process for patients from all backgrounds, and that locally
sourced products can help serve a medical center’s larger mission of health promotion.
6
Kristin Kimball, author of The Dirty Life kristin@kristinkimball.com

8
 • Apple Crunch celebration (September)
• Pumpkin Fair (October)
• Healthy Halloween in Hershey (October)

Location

Our current location has been wonderful, but may be unsustainable due in large part to
exposure to sun, wind, rain, and other forms of inclement weather, as well as liability
issues for our vendors (i.e., concerns about persons falling in the uneven grass surface).
The market ultimately seeks a permanent home and is currently considering its options
for next season. An optimal permanent home will have the following features: protection
from weather; electricity, including lighting and sound system; ample space for vendors
and community wellness programming; proximity to main customer base at PSHMC;
adequate parking in accordance with local code and zoning regulations; accessibility of
restroom facilities; ease of access for customers with disabilities; a pleasant aesthetic, etc.

National positioning/future opportunities

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), 6,132 markets now operate in

rural and urban areas1, serving public health in multi-faceted ways: increasing
consumption of fruits and vegetables2, reconnecting patrons with the land, revitalizing
neighborhoods and strengthening local economies, promoting a sustainable environment
through the consumption of local foods3, empowering community members to learn more
about the nature of the items they are buying (i.e. what chemicals went into their
production, how many miles the food traveled, the means through which soil was treated
and animals were raised and slaughtered, etc), and encouraging social interaction and
physical exercise.

Markets are increasingly viewed as one facet of the solution to national chronic health
problems. The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity Report to the President
has sought a greater role of farmers’ markets in contributing to a reduction in childhood
obesity4, and First Lady Michele Obama has promoted markets as part of her “Let’s
Move” initiative5. Consequently, the President’s 2011 Budget proposes an additional $5
million investment in the Farmers Market Promotion Program at the USDA, which
provides grants to establish and improve access to farmers’ markets6. The federal
government is also investing millions of dollars to increase the number of farmers’
markets that participate in supplemental nutrition programs, with the goal of reducing
“food deserts” in inner city and rural communities7,8.

Within this national movement, there has been a more recent trend towards the
establishment of farmers’ markets on medical center campuses – partnerships that
strengthen the abilities of medical centers to provide complete, patient-centered care for
patients and families9 and serve community health in a variety of ways. Specifically,
such markets may provide a promising venue for promoting long-term healthy eating and
healthful lifestyle changes. The mission of PSHMC – as with any medical campus – is
not only to treat illness but also to promote wellness for patients, employees, and the

9
community at large. As venues that are visited by hundreds if not thousands of workers
and patrons each day, medical centers can provide a practical site for markets by ensuring
a steady customer base populated by health professionals and community members
concerned about their health. The FMIH is modeled after successful markets at the
Cleveland Clinic and Duke University.

Beyond anchoring a customer base, medical center campuses can frequently provide: a
sustainable supply of students/residents interested in further developing their health
screening and program management skills; researchers interested in evaluating market-
based initiatives; and volunteer staff committed to improving community health. The
proximity of medical center-based farmers’ markets to these diverse labor sources
strengthens the likelihood of maintaining a sustainable supply of qualified staff for
lifestyle change initiatives. Market vendors themselves – who can benefit economically
from participating in the market – may provide another source of health-related
programming (e.g., featuring healthy products, demonstrating the preparation of healthy
foods, distributing healthy recipes, and participating in federal nutrition supplementation
programs). The potential for mutual benefit – including meeting the educational, public
service, and research mission of academic medical centers, and providing economic and
social benefits for local farmers – is likely to contribute to the sustainability of market-
based health initiatives on medical center campuses.

Our market is one of several dozen known organizations located on medical center
campuses (see Figure 1), and this is a competitive advantage that will continue to
differentiate us from other markets in the region. Further, given the national movement
towards prevention of obesity, our market is well positioned to position itself on the front
lines of this public health struggle. This could conceivably create opportunities for
federal grants, as well as research partnerships with researchers and physicians at
PSHMC who may be interested in using the FMIH as a venue for clinical interventions.
Such partnerships are currently being explored.

Figure 1: Known farmers’ markets on medical campuses*

*The above markets were identified through the USDA National Farmers Market

10
Directory (https://apps.ams.usda.gov/FarmersMarket), using the search terms
“medical” (8 results), “hospital” (17 results), and “clinic” (3 results). We also
performed Internet searches using the terms “farmers market”, “medical center”,
“hospital”, and “clinic” which identified an additional 12 markets. By state, these
markets include the following:

Arizona – Clinica Adalente Farmers Market, Surprise;

California – LA Medical Center Farmers’ Market, Los Angeles; Oakland North
Hospital, Oakland; Oroville Hospital, Oroville; Stanford, Stanford; UCSF, San
Francisco;
Florida – Memorial Regional Hospital Market, Hollywood;
Illinois – Hines Veterans Hospital Farmers Market, Hines;
Indiana – Wishard Memorial Hospital, Indianapolis;
Kentucky – Kings Daughters Medical Center Farmers’ Market, Ashland;
Maine – Greater Androscoggin Farmers’ and Artisans’ Market – Central Maine
Medical Center, Lewiston; Greater Androscoggin Farmers’ and Artisans’ Market –
St. Mary’s Hospital, Lewiston;
Maryland – Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Baltimore; Western Maryland Regional
Medical Center Farmer’s Market, Cumberland;
Massachusetts – Boston Medical Center Farmers Market, Boston; Burbank
Hospital, Fitchburg; Milford Hospital Farmers Market, Milford; Springfield
Shriner’s Hospital Farmers Market , Springfield;
Michigan – Friday Farmer’s Market at Borgess Medical Center, Kalamazoo; C.
Allen Street Satellite Farmers Market at Sparrow Hospital, Lansing; Beaumont
Hospital, Royal Oak Farmers Market, Royal Oak; The Bushel Basket Market at
Chelsea Community Hospital, Chelsea;
New Hampshire – St. Joseph’s Hospital, Nashua;
New Jersey – Beth Israel Hospital, Passaic; The University Hospital Auxiliary’s
Farmers Market, Newark;
New York – Canandaigua VA Medical Center Farmers Market, Canandaigua;
Schenectady Farmers Market – McClellan Campus Ellis Hospital, Schenectady;
Harlem Hospital Greenmarket, Harlem; Harvest Home Coney Island Hospital
Market, Brooklyn; Harvest Home Jacobi Hospital FM, Bronx; Lincoln Hospital
Greenmarket, NYC; Mt. Sinai Hospital Greenmarket, NYC;
North Carolina – Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Mission Hospital
Tailgate Market, Asheville;
Ohio – North Union Farmers Market at Hillcrest Hospital, Mayfield Heights;
Cleveland Clinic Market, Cleveland; North Union Farmers Market at the Cleveland
Clinic, Cleveland;
South Carolina – Ralph H. Johnson Medical Center Farmers Market, Charleston;
Tennessee – Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nashville;
Washington – Island Hospital, Anacortes.

11
www.facebook.com/farmersmarketinhershey

12
References

13
1
United States of America. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural

Marketing Service. Number of Operating Farmers Markets. Available at:

http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?

template=TemplateS&navID=WholesaleandFarmersMarkets&leftNav=WholesaleandFarmersMarkets

&page=WFMFarmersMarketGrowth&description=Farmers%20Market%20Growth&acct=frmrdirmkt.

Updated August 4, 2010. Web. Accessed August 16, 2010.

2
Kamphuis CB. Gisks K, de Bruijin GJ, Wendel-Vos W, Brug J, van Lenthe FJ.

Environmental determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among adults: A systematic review. Br

J Nutr. 2006;96:620-635.
3
Farmers Markets. US Dept of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service Web Site. Available at:

http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/farmersmarkets. Updated August 5, 2010. Accessed July 14,

2010.
4
White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity. Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a

Generation. Available at:

http://www.letsmove.gov/pdf/TaskForce_on_Childhood_Obesity_May2010_FullReport.pdf. Updated

May 2010. Accessed September 9, 2010.

5
Let’s Move: America’s Move to Raise a Healthier Generation of Kids. http://www.letsmove.gov/.

Accessed July 14, 2010.

6
Budget of the US Government: Fiscal Year 2011. Office of Management and Budget. Available at:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2011/assets/budget.pdf. Accessed July 16, 2010.

7
Institute of Medicine, National Research Council. The Public Health Effects of Food Deserts:

Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2009.

8
US Department of Health and Human Services. Obama administration details Healthy Food

Financing Initiative [press release]. February 19, 2010. Available at:

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/02/20100219ahtml. Accessed September 9, 2010.
9
American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of

Physicians, and American Osteopathic Association. Joint principles of the patient-centered medical

home. Available at:

http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/where_we_stand/medical_home/approve_jp.pdf. Updated March

1, 2007. Accessed June 30, 2009.