Downtown State College Farmers Market to Return in June

For more than 40 years the Downtown State College Farmers Market has been a seasonal staple, with its arrival each May signaling a transition to summer and drawing crowds to Locust Lane.

Because of COVID-19 concerns, the market did not return as planned on May 1, but now it will be back every Friday starting in June.

State College Borough Council on Monday approved the Central PA Farmers Market Association request for the closure of the 100 block of Locust Lane from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Friday from June 5 through Nov. 27 — a rare return of a special activity at a time when annual events have been canceled or postponed en masse.

The approval includes conditions for social distancing and other virus mitigation measures.

The market is typically open from 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Other farmers markets in the area have continued with necessary precautions in place, including those in Boalsburg, Bellefonte and Millheim, as well as the North Atherton Farmers Market, which returned on Saturday to the Home Depot parking lot on Green Tech Drive.

‘The one in Boalsburg is a model for what we can do. I think it’s about the same amount of space and I think this is imminently doable for social distancing,’ Borough Council President Jesse Barlow said. ‘It’s going to be nice to welcome the farmers market back to State College again.’

The association has been working with borough health officer Brian O’Donnell on precautions that must be followed, including guidance from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for farmers markets.

According to a post on the market’s Facebook page last week, it will be limited to 10 vendors until the county moves from the yellow to green phase of reopening. Produce will be prepackaged and face masks will be required for vendors and customers.

Council’s approval also requires designating an employee to enforce social distancing and masking and to monitor for overcrowding. Vendors will be limited to one side of the street to allow for appropriate distancing.

The market and vendors also will be required to follow guidance for sanitizing, hand washing and other mitigation.

In addition to the downtown market’s return in June, currently operating Farmers Markets in Centre County include:

Boalsburg Farmers Market
2-6 p.m. Tuesdays
St. John’s UCC parking lot
281 N. Church St., Boalsburg

Bellefonte Farmers Market
8-11 a.m. Saturdays
Gamble Mill parking lot
160 Dunlap Street, Bellefonte

North Atherton Farmers Market
10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays 
Home Depot parking lot
2615 Green Tech Drive, State College

Millheim Farmers Market
10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays
162 W. Main St., Millheim

For more on local farmers markets, visit www.centremarkets.com.