When you walk through the 1800s Dutch barn on Wertsville Road in Hillsborough into the pasture beyond on the Saturday closest to the new moon, you enter a whole other world.
At the New Moon Farmers Market, you will explore a bounty of color—vegetables, fruits, honey, oh my!—and have the opportunity to talk to the people who brought this goodness to you from Central Jersey’s fertile soil. There are tales to be told from the farm and from the shops where artisans create organic and holistic products. No produce has come via train or 18-wheeler. You will be buying food from the very people who grow it and make it.
“Our goal is to reconnect people to the environment and how they get their food,” says Tony Kennette, market manager and co-proprietor of Martenette Farms in Hillsborough. “The market helps to preserve this land and the history of the building.”
The farmers market is a collaboration among Kennette and the owners of 94 Wertsville Road LLC, which owns the property: Maureen Vella, who also owns the neighboring What a View Farm—she is also a Managing Partner at Vella Singer Associates—and brothers Tom and Alan Brown. They are working with historic restoration specialist Tim Johnson to return the barn to its former glory.
“Our acquisition of 94 Werstville Road allows us to give back to the community,” Tom Brown says. “The farmers market provides an agritourism environment, which we plan on building upon going forward.”
In addition to farmers, the market showcases local artisans who sell organic products and offers food trucks, wine tastings and activities. Musicians play on an improvised stage: the bed of a vintage 1977 Ford F700 truck equipped with speakers and lighting.
Besides Martenette and What a View, featured local farms that emphasize organic growing practices include Dogwood, AquaSprout, Muller and Morganics. Alongside are offerings from vendors such as Manville Pastry Shoppe, Caldo Sauce Company, Jams By Kim, Bon Nut Butters, S&J Honey, Oink and Moo BBQ, Bone-in Food, Maha Premium Granola, Noble Mushrooms, Lucid Coffee Co., F.E.D. pop-up restaurant by Chef Andrew Mercado, Reasons Wine, FreeSpir Chocolates and Zaanti Aromatherapy. AMA Pizza serves up hot, made-to-order personal pies.
Representatives from the Sourland Conservancy, Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey and the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum can tell you about the lore and the legacies of the Sourlands region and the efforts to conserve the beauty of the land.
“People are more interested in learning about who is growing their food and how it is being grown,” Kennette says. “When people meet the farmers, it brings everything full circle. It breaks the pattern of people thinking that food comes from the grocery store.”
Visit the New Moon Farmers Market, 94 Wertsville Rd., Hillsborough, on July 10, Aug. 7, Sept. 4, Oct. 9 and Nov. 6.