POTTSTOWN PA – Pottstown FARM, the borough’s non-profit farm and artisan regional market, returns Saturday (July 12, 2025) from 9 a.m. to noon in downtown Pottstown.
As they do twice monthly between mid-May and late October in acceptable weather, more than 20 selected sellers will again gather at Smith Family Plaza, 138 E. High St. They will offer shoppers fresh locally grown produce; fine meats, baked goods, and hand-crafted beverages; and the tangible talents of local artists.
By coincidence, Saturday also marks the 208th birthday of American philosopher Henry David Thoreau.
Thoreau knew more than a little about growing and eating fresh food. His now famous 1854 book, “Walden, or Life In The Woods,” was in part a treatise on the value of farming and self-reliance. Like some of FARM’s current vendors, he sought to enjoy the bounty of nature in a simple and wholesome lifestyle.
Frequent visitors say Pottstown FARM is as entertaining as it is delicious. Live or recorded music often fills the air. The plaza’s fountain entices kids to play. Adults occasionally find samples of new tastes to try. A fun and delicious “Two Bite Club” is free to all children age 12 and younger, FARM Director Sheila Dugan reports.
Additionally, the open-air market provides savings incentives for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
Come Help ‘Fill The Bag’
Saturday also arrives with a continuing Pottstown FARM initiative, called “Fill The Bag With Hope.”
Throughout the remainder of its market schedule, Pottstown FARM and its shoppers can help supply fresh FARM items – fruits, vegetables, and other foods – to hungry area families. FARM is partnering in this project with long-time borough-based non-profit, Operation 143.
Those interested in assisting the program can pick up specially labeled bags at the FARM information table, Dugan says. To the bag or bags, add purchased food items you usually eat and enjoy yourself … and you think others would enjoy too.
Then return the filled bag or bags to the information table before you leave. Operation 143 representatives will ensure all donated edibles are distributed to families in real need. Every item consumed means one more otherwise hungry stomach is nutritiously filled.
A Partnership with Operation 143
Operation 143 has plenty of experience in completing these deliveries. What started as a ministry project in 2010, involving a few families in the Pottstown School District, has blossomed to meet community needs during the past 15 years.
When schools are in session, many students-in-need benefit from various daily meal programs. But from Friday nights through Sunday nights, Operation 143 provides weekend meals to food-insecure families whose children on weekdays are educated across more than 30 buildings.
The organization is at work in six area school districts: Pottstown, Pottsgrove, Norristown, Boyertown, Spring-Ford, and Upper Perkiomen Valley.
In contrast, Dugan says, “Fill The Bag With Hope” operates during school vacation weeks when meal programs usually are unavailable. The need “is great in our borough alone,” she acknowledges. That makes “Fill The Bag” an initiative in which Pottstown FARM believes “the community can share.”
“Fill The Bag With Hope” remains in effect on seven more market dates: July 12 and 26, Aug. 9 and 23, Sept. 13 and 27, and Oct. 11 and 25.
Fill The Bag With Hope graphic provided by Pottstown FARM
Remaining photos from earlier Pottstown FARM markets by Travels With The Post
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