Five Reasons Why New Jersey Punches Above its Weight in Supplying Fresh Produce

Garden State farmers grow over 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables.

Each summer, shoppers find a market within a market at McCaffrey’s Food Markets. The nine-store chain, headquartered in Langhorne, PA, with locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, features a one-stop shop destination display filled with locally grown and Jersey Fresh fruits and vegetables.

“Our farm stand display, which sits at the front of the produce department, is a customer favorite,” says Tony Mirack, produce director of operations. “By July, we’ll have a good volume of product, including tomatoes, corn, zucchini, summer squash, bell peppers, blueberries and peaches. Local has always been important, especially in New Jersey, but the demand has taken off over the past five to 10 years.”

Here are five reasons the Garden State punches above its weight when supplying fresh produce:

1. LOCAL & GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

New Jersey, which ranks 47th in size but 11th in population, may not seem like a fresh produce-producing powerhouse. But fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and more flourish on 15% or 712,000 acres of state land, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 2022 Census of Agriculture, released last year.

Local has always been important, especially in New Jersey, but the demand has taken off over the past five to 10 years.

– Tony Mirack, McCaffrey’s Food Markets

“New Jersey-grown produce makes up between 3% to 4% of our total volume,” says Stefanie Katzman, chief executive officer for Katzman, based at the Hunts Point Produce Market, in Bronx, NY, one of the largest produce wholesaler distributors in New York City, with 75% of its customers retail and distribution from Massachusetts to Maryland. “Some of our largest volume fruits and vegetables from New Jersey include blueberries, cucumbers and peaches.”

Marco Matta, buyer and account manager for John Vena Inc., located at the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, in Philadelphia, PA, says they move a great deal of New Jersey produce when in-season. “Our main product line from New Jersey consists of leafy greens and bulk box herbs. Occasionally, we will bring selected fruit and vegetables to broaden our line and expand the selection so that customers can source such products locally.”

New Jersey’s Mid-Atlantic position is within a few hours’ drive of about 50 million customers.

“We’re able to sell direct to retailers with multiple deliveries each week, which is fresher than product coming from out west,” says Jay Schneider, executive vice president of sales at Consalo Family Farms based in Vineland, NJ. “We also sell to customers as far north as Canada and south to Florida and Puerto Rico.”

2. BEYOND BLUEBERRIES AND TOMATOES

New Jersey farmers grow over 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables, according to Joe Atchison III, assistant secretary of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA), based in Trenton, NJ.

“The state ranks in the top 10 production of eggplant, squash, peaches, peppers, blueberries, cranberries, sweet corn, asparagus … the list goes on. Our microclimates and great soils, combined with the dedication of our farmers and the department’s food safety team, guarantee the freshest, most flavorful, and safest produce retailers can offer their customers.”

The Garden State’s growing season spans almost eight to nine months.

“New Jersey asparagus starts mid-April and runs through mid-June,” says Fran Hancock, co-owner of Sheppard Farms, in Cedarville, NJ, and of the family’s sales company, Eastern Fresh Growers. “Asparagus is our core product. After decades of producing this crop commercially, we are happy with our current varieties that grow and yield extremely well.”

Hancock adds their bell pepper season is July 10 to Oct. 20, and they plan to increase bell pepper acreage to meet expected demand for fresh and processing markets. Cucumbers are available from June 20 to Oct. 20.

The sweet corn season is from July 4 to Sept. 4. “We hand-pick, cool, and ship sweet corn to retailers and processors in the area to ensure freshness and a superior sweet flavor,” she says.

Retailers take advantage of the relatively long season to offer customers the freshest local produce.

“New Jersey farmers annually provide our family-owned stores with high-quality fruits and vegetables,” says Ross Farnsworth, vice president of produce and floral for the Keasbey, NJ-headquartered Wakefern Food Corp, the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the U.S. “In the springtime, customers can find assortments of Jersey-grown leafy greens, herbs, and cabbage. During the summer months, our stores carry fresh, juicy corn, blueberries, peaches, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, green beans, tomatoes and more.”

The cooperative has invited local and regional growers to apply through RangeMe for its Local Produce Supplier Summit July 9 at the New Jersey Convention & Expo Center, in Edison, NJ. At the Summit, growers can showcase their offerings, connect with Wakefern and ShopRite produce procurement teams, and be considered as potential suppliers for Wakefern.

What people eat has changed over the last few decades, and growers like Nardelli Bros. Inc. – Lake View Farms, in Cedarville, NJ, have adapted.

“There’s been increased demand for ethnic produce, like cilantro, napa and bok choy,” says Bill Nardelli Jr., vice president of sales. “We offer 80 commodities from April to November. This enables us to assemble a cross-mix of items, and deliver it overnight, which offers our retailers a big advantage.”

This season, Sheppard Farms is also growing a variety of hot peppers in conjunction with a specialty marketer/producer, says Hancock.

3. ORGANIC PRODUCTION

New Jersey has 81 USDA-certified organic farms, as of the 2024 Census of Agriculture, representing over 2,700 acres.

“We’re seeing an increase in organic products out of New Jersey, which has been great for keeping up with our increasing customer demand,” says Katzman.

Consalo Family Farms’ Schneider says organic production is a recent trend. “We have 20 products grown organically, such as beets, green onions, kale, parsley, cilantro, red and green leaf lettuces, Swiss chard, collards and dill. We’ve also increased our acreage on organic blueberries.”

Eastern Fresh Growers also has 200 acres of organic land under the Jersey Legacy Farms label. Organic offerings include grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, squash, bell pepper and lettuces.

4. CUTTING EDGE GROWING, POST-HARVEST & SALES

Farmers must adapt to changes in the industry, both natural and manmade. A good example on the growing end is Consalo Family Farms, which will celebrate its centennial in 2027. The operation uses an automated transplanter where veg seeds are dry-sown via a proprietary tape and sent to a nursery. At the nursery, seeds germinate inside the tape after they are watered.

On the farm, the transplanter unspools the tape from the trays, cutting each transplant loose and placing it into the ground. The machine can do 2-7 acres per hour, significantly reducing labor and time, says Chelsea Consalo, president. “We have also trialed the Stout Smart Weed Cultivator, which uses AI to cultivate and weed fields using mechanical blades. The Smart Cultivator clears 1 to 2 acres per hour, depending on soil conditions.”

The grower is also testing new blueberry varieties, says Consalo, a New Jersey Blueberry Advisory Council member and treasurer for the New Jersey Blueberry Growers Association.

“The new varieties are Arabella Blue, Peachy Blue and Pink Lemonade, some of which we will market with a variety-specific label per a retailer’s request.”

On the post-harvest side, Sheppard Farms, which can trace farming this land back to nearly a century before the U.S. was founded in 1776, has a cutting-edge operation.

“Our facility has multiple packing areas, dedicated break rooms, and a full assortment of precooling capabilities. The packing area is also temperature-controlled, and the produce and employee flow are optimized for food safety,” says Hancock. “Currently, we are in the process of installing a large ground-mounted solar field to power this facility. We hope to have it active within the 2025 growing season.”

In 2023, the Vineland Cooperative Produce Auction, which operates live and remotely simultaneously six days a week from April through November, installed a new hydro-vac cooling unit. The cooler recently received approval to cool and store organic produce.

On the sales side, the co-op has upgraded its auction and computer systems over the last two years. “Buyers can now bid from their office, and we have had buyers from as far south as North Carolina. These upgrades have made it easier for the remote buyers to access the auction,” says Carol DeFoor, manager.

5. A MARKETING PROGRAM WITH BRAND RECOGNITION

Jersey Fresh, launched in 1984, was the state’s first state-funded agricultural marketing campaign. A 2016 marketing survey showed that 79% of consumers are aware of the Jersey Fresh brand and 80% have an excellent or very good opinion of the brand. Also, two-thirds of consumers are more likely to purchase produce bearing a Jersey Fresh label.

“The Jersey Fresh logo seems to carry more weight with shoppers than just the words ‘locally grown,’” says McCaffrey’s Food Markets’ Mirack.

Every season, the NJDA offers its retailer partners point-of-sale materials, such as banners, bin wraps, price cards, aprons and more, to promote the Jersey Fresh brand in-store.

“Retail buyers should always remember that their consumers want locally grown produce and have their shelves stocked with produce that will support local growers and fair wages for workers in our area,” says NJDA’s Atchison.