Alstede Farms Gives Customers What They Want

Editor's Note: This story is part of a series profiling the farmers and vendors who sell at the Millburn Farmers Market.

Millburn-Short Hills shoppers can get what they want from Alstede Farms when they go to the weekly farmers market.

Kurt Alstede, who started the farm 28 years ago, said they adjust what they sell at each of 19 farmers markets to fit to their customers' needs.

"Millburn is just a good all-American market," he said. "People are buying the staples here. It's one of our top five markets. We have a loyal customer base."

The most popular items Millburn-Short Hills shoppers are buying include tomatoes, corn, peaches, strawberries and blueberries.

Farming was in the Alstede family in Germany, but Alstede said his parents owned a service station in Clifton until a few years ago. He was the first to go back to farming when he bought the farm.

The difference between Alstede Farms and others is that people can visit the farm in Chester, which is in western Morris County.

"It's a fun place to go," Alstede said. "It's a connection people want to have now."

Families can pick their own fruits and vegetables on the farm and participate in a variety of activities, he said.

As for specialities, they are the only ones at the market to sell certain tree fruits, including peaches and apples.

But they try to have a wide variety of items at the market. Alstede said they want to have a lot of "neat things" for people to buy each week.

"We want to have things people won't find in a grocery store," he said. "We want to give people a reason to come to the farmers market."

The Millburn Farmers Market is open Tuesdays through Oct. 27, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the corner of Essex and Main streets.