About – York Fresh Food Farms

Our Mission

Our mission is to cultivate community health through agriculture, access and affordability.

Why We Farm

York Fresh Food Farms’ core focus is growing healthy food. We are committed to improving access to affordable, healthy, fresh food for everyone in our community, especially for families living in poverty and in food desert neighborhoods.

Hunger hurts everyone, but diet-related illnesses and food insecurity—lack of access to sufficient, quality food—disproportionately impact people in underserved communities. York Fresh Food Farms is growing food right here in the City of York, making fresh, farm-grown produce available– at affordable prices – so that all members of our community can eat a healthy diet.

We are committed to community: growing, harvesting, and sharing our produce connects everyone --customer, volunteer, employee, contributor, or community member – with “where food comes from.”

We care about health, and our farming practices show it. Farming sustainably is the foundation for all that York Fresh Food Farms does to reduce hunger and improve health outcomes. Our commitment to health extends to the soil and air, too. We farm in York, PA, to provide produce to York, PA, residents. Our produce travels nearly zero food miles!

Fresh, Affordable Produce, All Year Long

Vegetables and fruit from York Fresh Food Farms are available 52 weeks a year through our Mobile Produce Market with regularly scheduled stops around York City six days a week (June to November), our Winter Mobile Produce Markets (November to June) and through FarmShares. Customers can visit one of our mobile markets to select fresh vegetables and fruit, or order FramShares online, a pre-selected box of fresh, farm-grown, affordable produce, delivered free within the City of York. Customers living outside of York City can arrange to pick up their boxes on Friday or Saturday at 150 Willis Road, York, PA. Order Online or view our FarmShares Program.

York Fresh Food Farms accepts SNAP/EBT, Food Buck coupons, WellSpan Market Bucks (produce Rx), Farmers Market Nutrition Program checks (June – November only) as well as cash/credit/debit. We encourage customers to use SNAP, food assistance checks and vouchers. If you pay with SNAP, we offer a $2 Food Buck coupon with every $2 spent with your SNAP/EBT card up to $10! With Food Buck Coupons, SNAP customers can save $10 on each subsequent Farm Share order or other purchase after making the first purchase at the full price.

Our roots

It started with a seed. Bruce Manns and Metta Barbour met at a Master Gardeners class in 2012, and shared the idea that became York Fresh Food Farms. Bruce contributed his knowledge of growing food and his passion for making fresh produce available and affordable to city residents. Metta brought extensive experience as an attorney and her connections with local and state organizations. Together, they cultivated the idea of a city-based farm to implement recommendations of WellSpan Health’s Food Availability Task Force Report to increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables with urban farming and community gardens. In 2015 Bruce and Metta founded York Fresh Food Farms, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the City of York, PA’s first and only urban farm.
Then there was soil. York Fresh Food Farms consists of 4+ acres at 2 York City locations that are provided by The Housing Authority of the City of York and TrueNorth Wellness Services. The Farms’ headquarters is located within the Parkway Homes development at 150 Willis Road, York, PA.Farming began in July 2016, with the first crop of zucchinis harvested on August 20, 2016.Today, the commercial farming operation at York Fresh Food Farms runs year-round and follows organic farming practices. To maximize productivity of its urban farm acreage and grow as much produce as possible, York Fresh Food Farms follows advanced commercial growing methods in its 2 heated greenhouses, 4 high tunnels (large, unheated plastic greenhouses) and for its field crops using intense growing techniques including drip irrigation, fertigation, integrated pest management, and succession planting. As a steward of the land it farms, York Fresh Food Farms’ sustainable farming includes an extensive program of regenerative cover cropping to add biomass, increase nutrients, and build up the health of the soil.
From farm to table. Our small but mighty team of employees and volunteers nurture, harvest, clean and market everything we grow. The Mobile Produce Market launched in June 2018 with a used shuttle bus and 7 market stops. York Fresh Food Farms expanded both farming and the Mobile Produce Market in 2020 and 2021 to meet the increased need for affordable, quality produce due to COVID-19. During those challenging times, York Fresh Food Farms’ demonstrated resilience in meeting the needs of its customers and the community as we adapted to new market conditions through collaborations, optimizing a diverse workforce and being flexible in meeting the needs of pandemic-affected families. Today, the Mobile Produce Market runs 12 months a year, with 2 market vehicles and scheduled stops in 14 different York City neighborhoods June through November, with reduced schedule and locations November through May. The Mobile Produce Market serves more than 3,200 customers annually, about half of whom pay with SNAP, Farmers Market Nutrition Program checks and other food assistance.York Fresh Food Farms’ Community Gardens Project maintains City of York community gardens at 4 locations that produced more than 5,000 pounds of vegetables and fruit for donation in 2022. Check us out on facebook!