MORRIS COUNTY — State Agriculture Secretary Douglas Fisher visited a Harding farm and supermarkets in Parsippany and Hanover Township as part of a Jersey Fresh homegrown agriculture promotional tour.
Fisher was joined by Morris County Freeholder Christine Myers at his stop at the ShopRite of Greater Morristown (located in the Cedar Knolls section of Hanover).
He touted the importance of New Jersey’s agricultural community and the Jersey Fresh fruits and vegetables sold across the state and nation.
It was a message he repeated at the ShopRite of Parsippany and Wightman’s Farms in Harding, which were part of his promotional tour.
Jersey Fresh is an advertising, promotional and quality grading program launched in 1984 to help farmers inform consumers about the availability and variety of fruits and vegetables grown in New Jersey. Through the many years of the program, consumers’ awareness has increased, and it has become the benchmark for other states to initiate their own state-grown agricultural marketing programs.
Freeholder Myers spoke of the county’s commitment to agriculture through the taxpayer-supported farmland preservation program, which has permanently preserved 132 farms totaling nearly 8,000 acres, at a cost of more than $158 million since 1987.
“Our farmers produce a wide variety of crops ranging from hay and grain to bedding plants and from hydroponic lettuce, to sheep milk for gourmet cheese,’’ said Myers. “Many of our farmers now focus on fruits and vegetable, which they market through local supermarkets, their farm stands, and community farmers markets.
“Morris County also is now a major agri-tourism destination. Farmers welcome consumers on their farms to pick strawberries, apples and pumpkins,’’ added Myers, noting that work being done on these preserved farms fits right into Secretary Fisher’s Jersey Fresh model.
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture has continually worked to bring Jersey Fresh to all who want it, by working with restaurants, schools, colleges, big box stores, local communities, hotels, hospitals and more. The program has evolved over time with the Jersey Fresh logo getting a new look in 2006.
Wegmans Food Store, which opened on Sunday, July 23 is known for offering an unmatched variety, with hundreds of different fruits and vegetables on any given day, including many organic choices. Their Fresh Cut Market provides a variety of cleaned, cut, and ready to sue/eat fruit and veggie items, including veggie noodles, cauliflower rice, and fresh-squeezed orange juice made daily. The Hanover store builds a strong partnership with “Near Our Store” growers and, in season, offers locally grown fruits and vegetables picked daily and delivered directly to the store.
Advertising has been a key component of the Jersey Fresh program since its inception.
For more information on Jersey Fresh click here. For more information on Morris County’s farmland preservation program click here.
