Farmers may get market in Montgomery

Zoning board to consider site at Princeton North Shopping Center.

By: Paul Sisolak
   MONTGOMERY — Enterprising local farmers and residents looking for Jersey Fresh vegetables may not have to wait much longer. The township will soon be starting a seasonal farmers’ market.
   The sponsoring Montgomery Friends of Open Space will appear before the Zoning Board of Adjustment tonight to seek the necessary approvals to set up the market, said Loraine Otis, chair of Montgomery Friends of Open Space.
   The weekly outdoor market, she said, is proposed for Princeton North Shopping Center on Route 206 from 2 to 7 p.m. every Thursday from June to October.
   "We are thrilled to try and get a farmers’ market off the ground in Montgomery," said Ms. Otis. "Direct market opportunities are just what smaller, local producers need to make their farming operations financially viable."
   Friends of Open Space trustee Kim Rowe said three farms have expressed interest in participating at the market.
   The Watershed Organic Farm in Pennington, Grossman Farms in Wrightstown and Suemac Farms in Belvidere would all sell a variety of produce, flowers, herbs and plants, she said.
   Baker’s Bounty of Linden will be on hand to sell baked goods, Ms. Otis said.
   Three other area farmers looking to sell poultry, beef and eggs were forced to back out after the township Health Department disallowed the foods to be sold there, said Ms. Otis.
   "This is a new thing for our town and the health inspector is cautious," she said. "It’s really a judgment call."
   Township health inspector Dave Henry said selling perishable meat and dairy items in an uncontrolled environment violates Chapter 12 of the State Sanitary Code on food protection.
   Temporary refrigeration like ice or portable coolers in outdoor summer weather, he said, was not enough to prevent food spoilage.
   "I would have little or no concern if it was in a store," he said. "But when you sell items that require refrigeration … more things can go wrong."
   Mr. Henry said his decision could be reversed if the Health Department comes across new research findings that justify including those foods at the market.
   Montgomery Friends of Open Space considered the Princeton North Shopping Center an ideal location to hold the market, Ms. Otis said.
   "By locating it in the center of Montgomery’s commercial district, we’re making it easier for residents to stop by in the course of running other errands," she said.
   Ms. Otis hopes the market will act as a tie-in for health-conscious foot traffic from the neighboring Princeton Health and Wellness Center, located in the shopping center.
   The farmers’ market would join the ranks of at least 50 similar markets statewide, she said, including ones in Princeton, West Windsor, Franklin, Bernardsville, Summit, Hopewell and Highland Park.
   According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the total number of farmers’ markets nationwide has increased 50 percent since 1998, totaling more than 2,600.
   The Friends of Open Space’s goal is to open the market by Thursday, June 5.