Co-Operative Farmers Market

WNEP’s Good Morning Pennsylvania has featured the Scranton Co-Op Farmer’s Market, a fitting spotlight for a market that has been farmer-owned and farmer-operated since 1939. In Scranton, this seasonal open-air market runs at 900 Barring Avenue and centers its identity on direct sales from growers rather than resellers. The market describes itself as a strictly grow-your-own operation, with fresh foods brought straight from participating farms, and it marks its 86th season in 2025. That gives the place a very specific shape: shoppers come here for seasonal produce and farm goods sold by the people who grew or made them.

Why it matters locally

Since 1939, the Co-Operative Farmers Market has been owned and operated by the farmers serving Scranton, and that structure is central to why it matters. The market says shoppers buy directly from a farmer here, and it ties its long run to a grow-your-own model that brings fresh foods from local farms to the stand rather than through a middle step.

Its local role also extends beyond produce sales. The market has hosted Penn State Extension Lackawanna County master gardeners, weekly Visiting Nurses, counselors from the Voluntary Action Center, and library staff from the Scranton Public Library at different points in the season. Programs connected to senior farmers market nutrition vouchers and Pennsylvania WIC also appear in the market’s materials, showing that food access and public-facing services are part of its regular orbit.

What you'll find there

The market’s own description points to a seasonal mix of home-grown fruits and vegetables alongside baked goods, jams and jellies, meats, eggs, and fresh-cut flowers. The vendor roster reads like a long-running roll call of family growers and individual farm sellers, which matches the market’s direct-from-the-farm emphasis.

• -Find Robert & Elizabeth Graves among the market’s listed vendors.
• -Shop from Albert & Francis Broyan at one of the named farm stands.
• -Look for Mike & Debbie Russell on the current vendor roster.
• -Pick up seasonal farm goods from James Vasky.
• -Browse the stand run by Paul, Linda, & Logan Brace.
• -Stop with Robert Ciravolo while working through the midway.
• -Check offerings from Rex Thompson.
• -Visit James Schirg, another listed market vendor.
• -Add William Metzgar to your round of farm stops.
• -See what J. Wilfred Richards is bringing to market.
• -Continue on to Helen Hopkins for farm-sold goods.
• -Catch Mark Phillips on the market roster as well.
• -Seek out Clayton LaCoe Jr at his stand.
• -Include Barbara Thompson and Marylee Schirg in your pass through the market.
• -Round out the visit with Jim's Farm Produce.

Seasonal programming has included a summer cucumber salad cooking demonstration led by Chef Mark Seibert of the Kiesendahl School of Hospitality at Lackawanna College, Friday customer appreciation with free donuts and cider, and an annual Halloween Parade. The calendar has also brought in weekly Wednesday Visiting Nurses and Friday office hours from a representative of State Representative Marty Flynn.

Know before you go

No pets are allowed, and the market’s recent policy notice specifically asks shoppers not to bring dogs. For logistics, the market notes restrooms on site and says the present location added an adequate parking lot, which can make this an easier stop if you are planning a larger produce run.

The setting is 900 Barring Avenue, at the market’s present site off Providence Road and Albright Avenue near Memorial Stadium. Market materials also note that hours can shift later in the season, with a posted change to 12pm to 5pm after daylight saving time in 2024, so late-season shoppers should expect noon openings even if closing time varies by season notice.