We’re telling you. Metuchen has the best looking residents in New Jersey! Of course, we’re biased. We love this town! And Metuchen Market Day is one more reason not to love it. We came relatively late at around 11am. We were met with quite a large crowd enjoying the products and the weather! Yes, can you believe it? Weather temperature that doesn’t start with the number 9. Seriously though, aside from the variety of stuff that’s available. The market has become a sort of gathering event. We spoke with a couple of organizations supporting the event and also talked with residents about this and that. We did get some taps on our shoulders for pictures. (We posted on our Facebook page to give us a tap so we can meet folks). We’re really starting to enjoy the Market Day not just for the things we can buy AND EAT for also for the people that we meet! And yes, we stand by what we said earlier – Metuchen has the best looking people in New Jersey! 😉


Hoboken Farms‘ Fresh Mozzarella Cheese! Usually our first stop. We have them with toasted bread and tomatoes!

Build with Purpose helps to build strong vibrant and healthy communities by providing real estate services to organizations and communities that lack in-house capacity. However, understanding real estate alone does not change communities or lives. Their Approach to Social Change uses real estate to build knowledge and shape healthier and greener communities.

Yona’s Gourmet Delights (From their website: “Yona’s Gourmet Delights is a family based business. We first received our start when we first sold our food at the 77th and Columbus Ave Flea Market. We didn’t know what kind of response we would get and we sold out by 1pm. The second time around we sold out by 3pm. Ever since then, we’ve been feeding the west side neighborhood with our quiches and appetizers. We’ve received an amazing response  from the neighborhood and our customers are very loyal. Your continued business and praise is always appreciated. We thank you for your patronage and our start.”)

We remember this little guy from the Pet Parade poster we created last year!

Now, isn’t that sweet. 😉

Freshly made lemonade! What more can one ask for?

Cherry Grove Farm is located in Lawrenceville, NJ just south of Princeton, NJ. – “We are a sustainable, diversified farm that strives to produce quality cheese while respecting our animals and the environment.  This ultimately benefits our customers by offering them healthier, locally produced food with no hormones, antibiotics or steroids.”

“Come plant a seed. Be prepared to expect wonders!”

Metuchen Chamber of Commerce

She’s all set and ready to go (shop)!

Via The Edison Metuchen Sentinel Front Page
Published 6/13/12

BY JACQUELINE DURETT
Correspondent

The Metuchen farmers’ market, which has grown as organically as the food it offers, will open downtown for the summer this weekend.

“TheMetuchen FarmersMarket is one of those lovely fixtures of town life that seems to have been around since anybody can remember … nobody can firmly pin down when or how it started. The trail seems to go back at least 10 years, and all that time under the auspices of the Metuchen Area Chamber of Commerce,” said Nelson Li, the market’s manager.

The market will open June 16 and continue through Oct. 20. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays on the northeast corner of the Pearl Street parking lot.

Li has been at the forefront of the market’s revival. Prior to last year, the market had shrunk to a core group of three vendors: Von- Thun Farms of South Brunswick; FarmerAl’s Market & Greenhouses of Monroe; and Hoboken Farms. But during the off-season, Li said, “there developed a grassroots movement to reinvigorate the market; to make it a more vibrant and abundant place to shop and enjoy downtown Metuchen.”

Visitors check out the artwork of students from the Westerhoff School of Music and Art during the fifth annual Junebug ArtFest in Metuchen on June 1. Councilwoman Sheri-Rose Rubin and borough Development Commission member Gideon Gelber recruited Li. However, Li said that without the market’s volunteers, it would not be the success it is.

“We have 20 people who offer their time, ideas, energy and enthusiasm to make the market so wonderful,” he said.

Volunteers do everything from distributing flyers to managing the market’s Facebook page to providing onsite support. The market also is supported by local businesses like Metuchen Savings Bank, Boyt Drugs, Black Belt Institute and Boro Hardware, as well as the municipal Parking Authority.

Li said he has surveyed participants about their preferences and uses that to make decisions about which vendors to include. To that end, there are some additions to this year’s market. Lawrenceville-based Cherry Grove Farms, which makes raw-milk and pasteurized cheeses from grass-fed cows, joins the vendor lineup. Li said the market had been trying for two years to get Cherry Grove to sign on, and thanks to committee member Frank Ferrara, its owners agreed. Also new this year will be Gourmet Nuts & Dried Fruit.

“We’re also fortunate in that our market is gaining word-of-mouth credibility, and vendors are approaching us to join,” Li said.

On various Saturdays this summer, there also will be special events at the Old Franklin School in coordination with the market. These include cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, workshops and more.

That Metuchen has so much going on all summer — Junebug and Cruise Nights, for example — is liberating to Li.

“In a way, it’s fortunate that there is so much going on, so that the Farmers’Market does not need to be a fair or festival, it can simply focus on being a great market for food,” he said. As the borough finalizes its redevelopment plans for the Pearl Street lot, Li is mindful that a decision will impact the current setup; however, he sees the two working in partnership together.

“The long-term plan for the market is to create a community enterprise that will help provide an anchor for downtown Metuchen, luring new visitors to Metuchen and driving business to our Main Street restaurants and boutiques. Our ability to accomplish this goal is tied up with the plans for the development of the Pearl Street parking lot. The vision is of a quality indoor-outdoor permanent home for the market, which could be integrated with the half-acre town square, and adjacent to the retail spaces proposed as part of the development scheme. Nothing like the food-themed destination we envision exists in our part of New Jersey, and we are confident it will draw visitors to Metuchen and shoppers to our downtown.”