Coalition aims to grow J’burg farmers market

Organizers pleased with success of first-year event

BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer

JAMESBURG — The only thing sweeter than the corn was the success of this year’s farmers market.

Those involved said the first-time market, which ran on Saturdays from July to October, was a greater success than imagined. And they plan to make next year’s an even bigger event.

The market had four vendors setting up shop under tents along West Railroad Avenue and selling fresh produce from local farms such as Von Thun’s in South Brunswick and Farmer Al’s in Monroe.

Diane Lemelman, who chaired the farmers market for the Jamesburg Revitalization Coalition, said she was pleasantly surprised at the event’s success, especially considering it was approved only a few months before it began.

“The vendors want to come back next year,” she said. “We had a lot of positive feedback from people here and in surrounding communities.”

Lemelman said she got a call in July from a man in Piscataway who wanted to buy some fresh corn, and came all the way across the county to get it.

Elliott Stroul, president of the revitalization coalition, which organized the market, said the goal was to draw an average of 200 visitors to the market each day. Officials were thrilled to get more than double their target.

The market began in mid-July and ran every Saturday until the first week of October. Stroul noted that the goods were abundant, with freshly picked corn, tomatoes, eggplant, basil, potatoes and string beans among the sale items.

“The farmers had a really great selection of stuff,” Stroul said, “including lettuce, melons and apples towards the end.”

Stroul noted that such markets sell fresher produce because they eliminate the time it takes to get goods to consumers via the supermarket. In fact, the corn was picked the morning of the market, he said.

“This stuff is picked the day before and morning of, you can’t make it any fresher,” Stroul said.

Though the prices at the market tend to be a bit higher for the truly fresh produce, many customers can save on gas by simply walking there, he said.

“All the vendors did very well with the results, and only a couple of people complained about the prices,” Stroul said, adding that the vendors simply cannot offer the discounts that supermarkets do.

The coalition hopes to have eight to 12 vendors take part next year, and the borough has already contacted about 20 potential sellers.

Lemelman presented the idea for the farmers market to the coalition in early 2008, inspired by a Barbara Kingsolver book. She said the coalition then worked with the borough to get the permits.

“They wanted to do it for a long time, but needed someone to take the bull by the horns,” she said of the coalition.

Lemelman said she has a garden at home, and her family has a somewhat vegetarian diet, so it was natural for her to take part in the market.

Stroul noted that there are 98 towns in New Jersey that have farmers markets, and Jamesburg makes it 99.

The market helps with the coalition’s goal of bringing more people into downtown Jamesburg to patronize local businesses. Currently, a lot of the traffic is just people using the town as a crossroads to get to other destinations, but officials want people to see the town as a place where they can fulfill their shopping needs.

When people come to the farmers market, some of them also visit nearby businesses such as a barber’s shop or restaurant.

More shoppers will help the borough bring in more retail outfits, and possibly a coffee shop or cyber cafe that some residents have sought, Stroul noted.