Molly de Aguiar, Program Associate
Highland Park Farmers Market
This week is National Farmers Market Week – a good reminder of the importance of supporting our local farm families, investing dollars in our local communities, and buying fresh, local food.
With more than 10,000 farms and 120 farmers markets across New Jersey, there’s a good chance that you can find a market near you. You can check the comprehensive guide to New Jersey Farms and Food for 2010-2011 published by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey (a Dodge grantee). You can also use their handy find a farm search on their website.
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s website is a treasure trove of information as well, with links to roadside markets, pick-your-own farms, recipes and restaurants who use locally-grown/harvested foods.
Highland Park Farmers Market
Personally, I can’t seem to get enough of the peaches and blueberries right now, which I get from my local farmers markets in Highland Park and the Rutgers Gardens Farm Market, as well as from Terhune Orchards in Lawrenceville. Terhune is a great place to take your kids for some hands-on farm fun. In fact, as we were filling up our blueberry buckets last weekend, we were rewarded with this sweet little surprise:
Blueberry Picking at Terhune Orchards
Pretty lucky, eh?
If you don’t live in New Jersey, there are several online resources for finding farms and markets, near you, including:
Local Harvest
Foodroutes
Slow Food USA
And if you happen to have a particularly amazing farmers market, you can vote for it in “America’s Favorite Farmers Market” contest.
Happy Farmers Market Week!