Now that the beautiful warm days and blossoming buds of spring are finally here, it’s time to start getting outside and enjoying the fresh air and activities that you’ve been dreaming of all winter! Spring picnics are a great way to spend time with the people you love and to savor the freshest seasonal produce and local delicacies that Berks County has to offer. We took the time recently to talk to John Zimmerman, the general manager of Kirbyville Farm Market in Fleetwood, Pa., about its local small business and its spring offerings!
Five Years in Business
Seven years ago, the 18-acre farm was purchased along 222. What was once a nursery, Zimmerman noticed would make a great produce stand, and eventually, the business grew from that idea. They renovated the barn and doubled the size of the market to what it is today.
“We’re almost at our fifth anniversary,” Zimmerman said.
With this upcoming anniversary, it’s only right that there should be some celebration, and so there will be! Follow its social media pages for more details as the event gets closer.
Local Treasures
The Kirbyville Farm Market is known for its locally grown, made and sourced products. Residents enjoy the convenient and delicious ready-to-eat food — homemade soups and casseroles and frozen meals among them — as well as the jarred goods, including pickles, relishes, jellies and jams from Ellen’s Garden. The freezers are stocked with Heritage locally sourced meats and 95% of the baked goods offered in the store are baked fresh in-house.
Non-food items like soaps and crochet washcloths also are available. One of Zimmerman’s sons brews kombucha to sell, and dairy products from their farm can be found at Kirbyville as well, including milk, cheese, yogurt and even goat milk ice cream, which will be coming soon! From free-range eggs and honey to kimchi and kielbasa, you can find just about anything here.
The market also sells locally grown produce, one of its crowning jewels. Right now, asparagus and early greens are in season, but things will be booming by June, July and August, when sweet corn, watermelon, cantaloupes, tomatoes and other summer crops are ripe.
Sandwich for Laura
One of the ways that Kirbyville Farm Market engages with the community and makes shopping local fun is through its named sandwich program. The market sells subs, wraps and sandwiches almost entirely made to order, but each day there’s a special twist. Two particular names are featured every day and anyone with that name can get a free sub!
“Depends on the name, [but] there’s always somebody coming, I don’t recall a day where no one came,” said Zimmerman.
More common names like Michael can get up to 38 people coming in for a sandwich. Zimmerman reports that the program drives engagement and gets people excited to come into the store.
“What I like about it is it makes people happy. I hear someone say ‘I never get anything for free or see my name anywhere, this is a first!’… It’s fun when someone comes in and says ‘I never thought I’d see my name on the board.’”
Supporting Local
Zimmerman recounted a note on a vendor invoice that he’d heard of when discussing what supporting local means to him. “Please pay me so I can pay him so he can pay you,” it said. As a small business, that idea of supporting local is about more than just avoiding shopping at major chains; it’s about relying on each other and giving and taking in turn, especially when it comes to sourcing local products for the store.
“If you send it out of the area, it might not come back to your neighbors,” he said. “[It] keeps it in a circle, we’re supporting each other.”
Whatever you’re planning to do with your time and your loved ones this spring, be it a huge party or a little picnic, you’ll be able to find something delicious that’s made with love at the Kirbyville Farm Market! You can visit its website for more information today.
