Here's where the food at Penn's farmer's market actually comes from

Many Penn students’ Wednesday routines include a stop at the small, white-tented farmer’s market outside the bookstore.

The vendor is a family-owned farm called Beechwood Orchards, which offers a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as homemade canned goods and jars of preserves each week — and students can use their dining dollars to stock up.

For many students trying to practice a healthy, plant-based diet, the market is a go-to.

“I really like knowing the produce I’m buying is local,” College sophomore Natalie Breuel said. “I go each week and buy things with a nutritious recipe in mind ... it’s really convenient.”

Beechwood Orchards is located two hours west of Penn’s campus, in a small town called Biglerville that happens to be home to the country’s National Apple Museum. The farm, which has been around for over a century, is operated by David and Tammy Garretson, with support from their children, Shawn Garretson and Melissa Allen. Shawn, who graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2005 with a degree in horticulture, can often be found arranging the apples at the market on Wednesdays.

“Yes, we’re a real family business,” David Garretson said. “It’s a bustling business.”

Until 11 years ago, the 200-acre farm sold its produce mostly to wholesalers and food processing companies. The farmers first forayed into the farmer’s market scene by opening a stand at the market in Head House Square, an area in Philly’s Society Hill district.

The farm now caters to 11 different farmer’s market locations, including a corner stand at Swarthmore College, and other sites in Christ Church, Rittenhouse Square and, of course, outside Penn’s very own bookstore.

Students who know the market only for its selection of fresh apples have a limited scope of the variety of products that Beechwood offers. Among apples, peaches and berries, the farm also grows a slew of vegetables, makes packages of different kinds of dried fruit and cultures its own honey (the bees on the farm serve the double purpose of pollination and honey production).

“We are in operation year-round,” said Melissa Allen, who manages vegetable production. “We love being able to work at [Penn] throughout the school year. The dining dollar system works out so well. The students are right there with it and we’re right there with it.”

Melissa said that Beechwood has been in talks with Bon Appetit about expanding access to their produce to dining halls for a while now, but have been “unable to get in there.”

“I think it’s great that we have it there as an alternative to buying mediocre stuff from the Fresh Grocer,” said College and Wharton sophomore Shane Meyers. “Eating healthy is easier when you know where it’s from, and that what you’re buying is quality.”

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