Community Kitchen to Support Farmer Processing, Educational Events, Community Gatherings, and NOFA NJ offices
New Jersey farm products are about to become much more exciting! In April 2024, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey (NOFA NJ) purchased a commercial kitchen on Bridge Street in Milford, NJ using funds from a NJ State Grant-In-Aid, which arose from bipartisan legislative support from Asm. Roy Freiman, Sen. Andrew Zwicker, and Asm. Alex Sauickie.
Now known as Farmers Process, the 1800’s property has a long history of supporting local food in Hunterdon County. The building previously housed local favorites such as the Milford Oyster House, The Lovin’ Oven, and The Potager. NOFA NJ will continue that history via Farmers Process, focusing on supporting local farms in creating value-added products. Turning tomatoes into sauce, cabbage into kimchi, basil into pesto, etc…, value-added processing makes the most of a farmer’s field by reducing food waste, utilizing B-grade produce, increasing the value of their products, and allowing for shelf-stable products to be marketed year-round. This is the first step in what NOFA NJ hopes to grow into a state-wide effort to support farmer processing.
In addition to farmer processing activities, Farmers Process will also serve as a community kitchen available for rent for local food businesses as well as a workshop space for the community. NOFA NJ hopes to enable small food businesses (such as bakers, food trucks, caterers, and more) to rent the kitchen and produce food in a clean, well-equipped space. Keeping costs low and encouraging the use of locally-produced ingredients, NOFA NJ will connect these small food businesses to area farmers and increase the variety of local foods in the region.
Farmers Process will also host a variety of community-forward workshops and classes. Attendees will have fun while learning the skills needed to make the most of each season’s harvest. Offering up small-group classes on canning, pickling, preserving, fermentation, baking, cheesemaking, and more, participants will be able to learn from local food artisans and professionals and apply the skills learned at home or while renting the kitchen space for their own use.
So far, the project has been a true community effort, with contributions from a variety of local businesses and volunteers. Chef and commercial kitchen consultant Jared Batson, owner of Onion Bulb Productions, has worked hand-in-hand with the NOFA NJ team from the beginning real estate search. MSI Plumbing & Remodeling has provided flexible and supportive plumbing services to improve the dishwashing area and install fixtures and appliances. Two Bridges, a local community group in Frenchtown and Milford, is eager to collaborate with NOFA NJ to share this resource with the community. Two Bridges Community leader, Max, enthusiastically shared their excitement in “partnering with NOFA on helping to make this community food center blossom into something incredible.”
Other NOFA NJ stakeholders are equally excited for the project. West Windsor Community Farmers Market Co-Founder and Manager, Chris Cirkus, comments “Kudos to the team at NOFA-NJ on a very worthwhile and needed addition to our overall foodshed. Our farmers in the area will greatly benefit from being able to process additional product for the marketplace. I’m thrilled to support.” Another champion of this project, NOFA NJ Board Member Cali Alexander added “The excitement of opening up the first commercial kitchen for farmers and increasing locally-made products is a win-win!”
As NOFA NJ engages farmers throughout the Garden State, the need for support with value-added processing is repeatedly heard from farmers. Significant inspiration for this project also comes from supply chain disruptions throughout 2020, when store shelves sat empty while farm fields were full of produce ready to be turned into a variety of packaged foods for local consumers. NOFA NJ Executive Director, Devin Cornia, recalls managing a local Organic grocery store (Basil Bandwagon Natural Market) during the pandemic. “I became so frustrated knowing that local farms could produce what we needed to fill our shelves, but the state lacked a mechanism to turn their produce into products for our shelves.”
Working hand-in-hand with local farmers, NOFA NJ will provide technical support with creating value-added products. Value-added processing supports farms and local food systems by reducing food waste, (turning blemished or “imperfect” produce into a marketable product), by increasing the value of raw produce, by creating market opportunities (shelf-stable products can be sold year-round to retailers, distributors, and directly to customers), and more. NOFA NJ intends to offer Technical Support activities, which include assisting producers with obtaining food safety certifications, developing recipes, filing scheduled process, sourcing packaging material, creating labels, marketing their product, and more.
To support the needs of the space, NOFA NJ is fundraising to “cross the finish line”, hoping to purchase a select few additional kitchen items and fund the cost of providing farmer educational workshops in 2025. The overall goal of the campaign is to raise $50,000, and NOFA NJ is accepting donations and auctioning off local farm & food experiences via an online fundraiser (click HERE to visit fundraiser).
It’s time for NJ farmers to be supported with value-added processing to increase farmer profits, reduce food waste, increase local food security, and create artisan products to display what the Garden State has to offer. Support Farmers Process and put your mark on the building today. Sponsorship inquiries are most welcome, and interested sponsors should email [email protected] or call (908) 371-1111 to discuss opportunities to support and collaborate with NOFA NJ’s Farmers Process. Learn more at NOFANJ.ORG
