Heirloom Tomatoes, Turkeys, and More Detailed in New Guide to Farmers’ Markets

Ellen Gilbert

The new, spiral-bound 80-page glossy guide, Farm Markets of Central New Jersey, has Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset, Monmouth, Hunterdon, and Burlington Counties covered, but if detailed descriptions of where to buy locally grown fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, dairy products, and wine in Central New Jersey aren’t enough, those who buy the guide can take satisfaction in knowing that their $10 purchase will benefit New Jersey Farmers Against Hunger.

The largest produce recovery program in New Jersey, Farmers Against Hunger is dedicated to collecting surplus fruits and vegetables and distributing them — free of charge — to those in need through local community organizations.

The guide “was created as a way to help the environment and to meet the region’s growing interest in buying local products and supporting local farms,” said contributor and Princeton resident Kim Rizk. “Inside the book are county-by-county listings of farms and farmers’ markets, what products are sold, and general directions on how to find the farms.” Pick-your own options, state preserved farms, farms offering certified organic products, and farms that use integrated pest management are also identified.

Sansone’s Farm Market in Hopewell, for example, is described as “a family business since 1914 with quality products and personalized service,” featuring “great heirloom tomatoes!” Lee Turkey Farm in East Windsor, we learn, has been farmed by six generations of Lees who “tend fruit trees and cultivate field crops for pick-your-own and retail sale,” in addition to raising 5,000 turkeys a year for sale (whole or in parts) year-round.

Sales of the guide are going “tremendously well, and it’s been very well received,” Ms. Rizk reported. A value-added feature is a recently-created blog (gcaprincetonlocavores.blogspot.com) that shares photos and stories about the farms and markets featured in the book, along with a selection of relevant seasonal recipes. “We’ve had fun doing it,” said Ms. Rizk of the follow-up effort. “I’ve been going to a variety of weekly farmers’ markets to sell the book, take photographs, and put them on the blog.”

Copies of the guide itself are available at Terhune Orchards; Whole Earth Center; Henderson Sotheby’s International Realty (34 Chambers Street); on Thursdays at the Princeton Farmers’ Market in Hinds Plaza, just outside the Princeton Public Library; at the West Windsor Farmers‘ Market on Saturday; and at the Lawrenceville Farmers‘ Market on Sunday. The realty company helped to underwrite publication costs.

The 11-by-4 inch soft cover book is, according to Ms. Rizk, “conveniently sized for a shopper to tuck into the glove compartment or side pocket of a car for easy access.”

The book was created over the past year and half “by a group of hardy volunteers in conjunction with The Garden Club of Princeton.” Ms. Rizk and Terhune Orchards co-owner Pam Mount are co-chairs of the club’s Conservation Committee.

In addition to the ongoing blog, contributors to Farm Markets of Central New Jersey see the guide as a work in progress: noting that “things change,” they welcome comments and updates that can be sent to farmmarketscnj@gmail.com.

For more information about New Jersey Farmers Against Hunger call (609) 462-9691.

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