It’s Farmers Market Week: Buy Jersey Fresh produce

   New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher and Patricia Dombroski, USDA Food and Nutrition Service mid-Atlantic regional administrator, has called on Garden State residents and visitors to enjoy Jersey Fresh produce from one of the state’s 153 community farmers markets during Farmers Market Week, which began Sunday and runs through Saturday, and throughout the state’s growing season.
   Mr. Fisher and Mrs. Dombroski visited the Long Valley Green Market on Aug. 2 to kick off 2012 Farmers Market Week, proclaimed by Gov. Chris Christie and nationally by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack.
   ”You can’t get more local than visiting a New Jersey farmers market, where you can find a vast variety of just-picked fruits, vegetables and herbs and many other agricultural products from our state’s farmers,” said Secretary Fisher. “Shoppers could really spend hours at the Long Valley Green Market, where they can pick up Jersey Fresh produce, plants, meat, cheese, wine, bread, and local items.”
   ”The USDA will provide over $2 million in funding this year for New Jersey — funding that improves the diets of seniors and low-income families by bringing the bounty from New Jersey farms into more kitchens and onto more tables,” said Ms. Dombroski. “This is truly a win-win for everyone- shoppers benefit from more locally grown produce in their diets, and farmers benefit from having additional customers close to home.”
   Some New Jersey farmers markets also allow those in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to purchase produce at the markets, through their electronic benefit transfer cards
   New this year, the Department of Agriculture teamed with the state Department of Transportation to create a list of public transportation options for visiting New Jersey Farmers Markets. That list can be found at www.state.nj.us/jerseyfresh/transportationoptionsNJFarmersMarkets.pdf.
   Eating Jersey Fresh fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products can go a long way to improving overall health. Eating locally also is a good choice for protecting our environment by reducing the miles a meal travels between farm and fork, lessening fuel consumption. In addition, choosing locally grown products helps keep New Jersey farmers on their land, preserving the Garden State’s quality of life.
   Jersey Fresh produce is at the peak of the season with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables available, including sweet corn, tomatoes, peaches, nectarines, peppers, eggplant, squash, basil, melons, beets, cabbage, collards, Swiss chard, arugula, kale, leeks, cilantro, parsley, dill, mint, turnips and white potatoes.
   TO LOCATE a nearby community farmers market or roadside market, visit www.jerseyfresh.nj.gov.
   At that site, we found, among others, the following:
   — Hunterdon Land Trust Farmers Market, Route 12 Circle, 111 Mine St., Flemington.
   — Sergeantsville Farmers Market, Route 604, Village Green, Sergeantsville.
   — Collier Farm, 87 Pine Hill Road (rural Stockton), Locktown.
   — Cvetan’s Fresh Produce, 422 Route 31 North, Ringoes.
   — Gunn Creek Farm, 143 Rosemont-Ringoes Road, Stockton.
   — Highland Company Gourmet Market, 343 County Route 519, Stockton.
   — Homestead Farm Market, 262 N. Main St. (Route 29), Lambertville.
   — North Slope Farm, 386 Rock Road East, Lambertville.
   — Sweet Valley Farms, 1034 Routes 202 and 31, Ringoes.
   — WoodsEdge Wools Farm, LLC, 78 Bowne Station Road, Stockton.
   Those wishing to learn more should visit www.jerseyfresh.nj.gov again.
   To learn more about farmers market nutrition programs, visit http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/md/prog/communityfarmers.html#1.