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Buying your food from local farmers will help keep their farms profitable, reducing the pressure to sell their land.
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 NORTHWEST NEW JERSEY BUY FRESH BUY LOCAL HOLDS FOOD AND FARM OPEN HOUSE
April 2007 - NJ
 This past September, the Northwest New Jersey Buy Fresh Buy Local (BFBL) Chapter held a special Local Food and Farm Open House. NW NJ BFBL is administered by the Foodshed Alliance, a grassroots, nonprofit devoted to promoting profitable, sustainable farming and locally-grown, fresh, healthy food in northwestern New Jersey. The Food and Farm Open House was a daylong event co-sponsored by BFBL and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey. Over 400 folks toured several local farms, and enjoyed inspiring conversation as well as samples of the local harvest. The farms in included Ashley Farms, Best's Fruit Farm, CSG @ Genesis Farm, Donaldson Farms, Howling Wolf Farm, Race Farm, Tassot Apiaries, Valley Shepherd Creamery, and Valley View Farms. Local food consumers were given maps of the area and got to choose which farms they wanted to visit over the course of the day.
As a delicious end to a fun day, nearly 300 people broke bread together at a sold-out celebration and benefit dinner for NW NJ BFBL. The talented cooking crew included chefs from Whole Foods Market in Millbum, Perona Farms, Eccoqui, Circa Restaurant, as well as "Singing Chef Billy" and Chef Mike DiCenso. The meal was a true local effort, with ingredients from area farms including those on the day's farm tour.
This was the first year for NW NJ BFBL to hold a Food and Farm Open House, and all involved agreed it was a successful one. The chapter has only recently began (in 2006), but besides the Open House and Celebration Dinner, they have maintained an online listing of farms in the 3-country campaign, and published their first Local Food Guide. In 2007, NW NJ BFBL Coordinator and Foodshed Alliance Executive Director Tara Bowers says, "We hope to bring BFBL to the next level. It's been very well-received in this area and we would like to get more local food guides into even more stores." In addition, more farm tours similar to the Open House will be in the works for 2007!
For more information about NW NJ BFBL or their Food and Farm Open House
and Celebration Dinner, contact Tara Bowers, Foodshed Alliance, at info@foodshedalliance.org
or 908-362-7967. Visit their website at www.buyfreshnwj.org.
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