New Jersey Involved Groups and Organizations

The following organizations have resources and information to help with your local Farm to School program.
New Jersey Farm to School Network
The New Jersey Farm to School Network is a statewide collaboration of organizations that communicate and share information to help promote improving school feeding programs and to empower schools to enhance their nutrition education through garden based education learning programs. The Network also collaborates with other NJ stakeholders to promote policies that fund school feeding programs and expand opportunities for hunger related advocates and farm to school opportunities to join forces.

New Jersey Agricultural Society
The New Jersey Agricultural Society preserves and enhances agriculture, farming and related activities and businesses in New Jersey through educational, informational, and promotional programs. This membership-based organization is the sponsor of such programs as Learning Through Gardening, New Jersey Agricultural Leadership Development Program, and New Jersey Farmers Against Hunger. In terms pf farm to school specifically, they provide financial and educational support to elementary school gardens in NJ, teacher professional development, lesson plans, and activity guides.

The Jersey Fresh Information Exchange
New Jersey farmers grow some of the best produce in the country. But these juicy tomatoes and peaches, sweet corn and melons and plump blueberries don't always get into the groceries and restaurants where you shop and eat. To help raise consumer awareness about New Jersey produce and get it into new retail locations, Rutgers Cooperative Extension piloted an innovative produce distribution and merchandising project in 2004.

Fernbrook Farm Education Center
Fernbrook Farms' mission is to provide hands-on educational experiences for people of all ages by exploring the complexinterconnectedness of our natural world. Our purpose is to educate about agriculture, the sources of our food and the importance of nutrition for healthy lifestyles. We believe people should make meaningful connections with our natural world in order to become responsible steward of local and global sustainability.

Isles, Inc.
Isles assumes that strengths and assets exist in even the most challenged areas in its work to foster self-reliant families in healthy, sustainable communities. Over all, this nonprofit supports personal and community change, offering an array of services and training that empower people to improve their lives, families and communities - while they restore the environment.

Sustainable Fare
Sustainable Fare is an independently operated food service and consulting company that focuses on integrated sustainable food systems designed for all food service institutions. Sustainable Fare's emphasis is on locally grown foods and high quality seasonal menus, prepared fresh with unprocessed ingredients for healthy and nutritious meals. Sustainable Fare takes a holistic approach to the relationship between the community and the dining services to develop sustainable food practices that compliment one another.

City Green
City Green works to facilitate the creation and expansion of urban community gardens and communal green open spaces in Northern New Jersey's cities to enrich the lives of inner city residents, while cultivating education in public health, nutrition and the environment.

Slow Food Northern New Jersey
Slow Food Northern NJ's mission is to connect earth friendly farmers, food producers, and chefs with New Jersey palates by spreading awareness and nurturing appreciation of slowing down to enjoy healthy, locally grown food. Through Slow Food NNJ initiatives, such as food tasting and seminars, cooking demonstrations, farm tours, school food garden programs, and much more, residents will develop a real taste for our state and find themselves in a Garden State of Mind.

Princeton School Gardens Cooperative
The Princeton School Garden Cooperative is a group of individuals who believe in garden based education and in re-connecting students to the earth's bounty in the garden, the classroom and the cafeteria. Princeton now has outdoor garden classrooms in every public elementary school. Our goal is to create flourishing edible gardens at every Princeton Public School K-12 and to share ideas and lesson plans with anyone and everyone so they can grow edible teaching gardens at their schools, community centers and even their own homes. The Cooperative has worked with committed teachers, principals, parent volunteers and students at each of these schools to design, plant, water, weed and nurture the gardens into being.