Our Farmers
In 2006, our founding seven farms had their first meeting on hay bales in a Lancaster County barn. They’d met then out of a clear need: to support local farms in an industry eclipsed by large agribusiness.
For years, our farmers were running into each other at the same restaurants and stores trying to sell their produce. They grew the same crops, competing against each other when they could have been working together. So, that’s exactly what they did next!
A cooperative model offered our farmers the opportunity to coordinate as both growers and decision-makers. As a result, they could earn the most from their products and have the power to shape their collective future.
Today, Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-Op (LFFC) represents over 100 member farms. We are committed to helping our farmers thrive in their vocations and livelihoods.
Our status as a non-profit agricultural co-op means that while we do sell products, any money we make above operating costs goes back to our farms. Our LFFC board of directors, an elected group of member farmers, decides on how to best use the funds to help each other and the co-op.
Many of our farmers are Amish, and we respect their cultural requests for privacy. Yet in working with and for these farmers, we’re confident in sharing that they take incredible pride in their work: enriching both the health of people and the land. All our farms are certified USDA organic or utilize the same practices to work towards their certification.
Beyond growing produce, our farmers raise only small herds and flocks. These animals always have extensive access to pasture and enjoy the freedom of foraging through the grasses with the earth under their feet. The well-being of all living creatures is central to the way we farm.
