Farmers Market to Start in June

The Paramus Farmers Market will start June 20, after receiving formal approval from the Borough Council Tuesday night.

The market will be managed by Dina Burke and Judith Remiszewski, who previously managed the Washington Township farmers market.

Burke and Remiszewski are charged with seeking out and vetting vendors, setting up and cleaning up the market and making sure vendors follow the rules. The market will be supported by vendor fees, Gerald Anthony, chairman of the Environmental Commission, which is sponsoring the market, said.

"We think it's going to be fabulous, being it's Paramus and the traffic on Farview Avenue is incredible," Anthony said.

Burke and Remiszewski are neighbors living in Washington Township. They had been attending farmers markets together for a long time before starting their own in Washington Township in 2011.

Anthony contacted several market managers, but chose Burke and Remiszewski.

"They had experience and since they ran the next one over, they had connections with all the vendors," he said. "It just seemed like a logical way for us to get the Paramus market off the ground."

Starting a farmers market takes a lot, Burke said. The Mayor and Council need to give their blessing, as well as the Borough and county health departments, the state Department of Agriculture and the police and fire departments.

However, the farmers market will have a lot to offer, Remiszewski said. She tallied off a list of products, including: corn, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, melons, berries, onions, eggs, flowers, pumpkins, garlic, cheese, apricots, peaches, pie, cake, stuffed bread, kielbasa, pierogi, bratwurst, stuffed cabbage, fresh pasta, pasta sauce, handmade mozzarella, homemade Italian sausage, olives, hummus, barbecue sauce, homemade ketchup, coffee, loose tea, pickles, candy, soap and honey.

Members of the Mayor and Council were initially might compete with Paramus supermarkets. Burke said the market would focus exclusively on New Jersey produce, not pineapples, mangoes, kiwis or other fruit that doesn't grow in the state.

"Your orange juice and your milk and all of your staple items, that's not part of the farmers market," Burke added.

Both New Jersey farmers and the Paramus community should benefit from the market, Burke said. The farmers get business and the community has a place to come together for fresh products.

The needy will also benefit from the market, Remiszewski said. Some of the leftover produce will be donated to the Paramus food pantry.

The managers hope to secure 12 to 15 vendors for the market. They will set up shop at the nortern parking lot at every Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. until Sept. 26.