FLIP Donates to Lancaster Central Market: Celebrating 295 Years of Community and Local Flavor
At 6:00 AM on a frigid Friday in February, Lancaster Central Market is already humming with life. The morning crowd shuffles into the Romanesque brick building in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania, wrapped in scarves, bundled in down jackets, and hungry for local fare. Meanwhile, vendors work quickly and quietly to finish setting up for the day. […]
9 Farmers Market Booth Ideas: FLIP Customers Weigh In
It’s hard to beat the experience of selling at a farmers market. They can be extremely profitable for your food or beverage business, so long as you can stand out from the crowd and attract customers over to your booth! Other vendors can be a great source of inspiration for your business. But, if you’re […]
How to Become a Vendor at a Farmers Market
While shopping for groceries can feel like a chore, strolling through the farmers market feels a little magical. Colorful produce displays wherever you look. The mouthwatering smell of cooked food wafting from vendor stalls and food trucks. The greetings exchanged between vendors who recognize returning customers and know them by name. There’s no place quite […]
The Perks of Selling at Year-Round Farmers Markets
Within the past 30 years, farmers markets have seen a boom in popularity. In the US today, there are over 8,600 farmers markets across the country where people can enjoy fresh, locally grown produce as well as concessions, baked goods, pet treats, and more. While many are seasonal, closing in the winter and opening in […]
How Good Food Makes a Strong Community
The University of Oxford explored the correlation between communal eating and personal well-being, including happiness, friend circles, community connection, and overall life satisfaction. The verdict? The more we dine with others, the happier and more content we feel with our lives — a reflection of how ingrained the act of sharing meals is within our […]
Changes for Making the Food Service Industry More Resilient
The food service industry is fast-paced and highly volatile. Owners try to serve as many customers as possible while creating positive experiences for everyone involved. When food sits on the counter waiting to be served, it starts to wilt, get cold, and go bad. This leads to lost revenue if it goes to waste and […]
Creating a Permaculture Market Garden
A permaculture market garden is where permaculture principles are applied to grow a diverse range of crops meant to be sold in local markets. Unlike a traditional commercial garden focusing on large-scale, single-crop production or a community garden, where the yield is primarily for personal consumption or community sharing, a market garden aims to create […]
Developing a Community-Focused Business
Every business owner is connected to a community, whether a business-to-business (B2B) company works with specific industries or a plumber helps homeowners restore their water flow. However, business owners can decide how much they want to be involved in their local communities. Some companies build strong relationships with the people around them and make a […]
New and Emerging Tech Innovations That Are Impacting Food Quality
Innovations are changing the way the food industry operates. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) points out that tech-enabled food tracing and smart systems can predict contamination, assess risk, and quickly find the source of a food-borne outbreak and contain it. Meanwhile, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) points to automation and […]
Do Food Storage Methods Really Affect Flavor?
An array of colors in the produce aisle, the aroma of fresh bread, and the sizzle of a tender cut of meat hitting the pan are all sensory experiences to look forward to when anticipating your next meal. Yet, have you ever paused to consider how your food storage methods influence these experiences? This subject […]
