More vendors, new location in works
BY JACQUELINE DURETT via Sentinel
Metuchen is expanding its farmers market this year in response to feedback from the community. “We had a little one for 10 years,” said Gideon Gelber, coordinator of Market Day. When the borough’s Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the market, conducted a survey, it learned that residents wanted an expanded event with more variety. “We received hundreds of responses,” Gelber said.
As a result, the event was reinvented and will focus on providing access to healthful, locally grown foods, said Helene Zahn, chamber president. Market Day has been a collaborative effort among local citizen volunteers, chamber board members and the Metuchen Borough Council, Zahn said.
Another key change to the farmers market is a move from the Pearl Street parking lot to the corner of Pearl and New streets, giving it a more visible position. Additional special activities, such as recipe demonstrations, are being planned for upcoming Market Days.
Gelber extolled the value of providing convenient access to healthful, locally grown foods, and noted that many residents have become more educated about the foods they choose. “They know what’s out there; they know what tastes better,” he said.
The mind-set is a departure from that of decades past, namely that “packaged” food was considered more modern.
