Scotch Plains Woman at Forefront of Slow Food Movement

One of the best things about summer is the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables that are available, particularly at our local farmer’s market.

But for one Scotch Plains resident, eating food that’s fresh and grown only a few miles from home is practically a full-time job.

Margaret Noon is the president of Slow Food Northern New Jersey, a group that strives to raise awareness and appreciation of New Jersey farmers, food producers and chefs.

“Our organization is dedicated to improving the food system,” Noon said. “Our focus is food that tastes good, that’s raised in an environmentally friendly way, and that’s fair to those who produce it.”

Slow Food Northern New Jersey is one of about 200 Slow Food chapters in the United States. The group regularly hosts food tastings, seminars, cooking demonstrations, farm tours, and school food garden programs throughout North Jersey in an attempt to expose more people to the importance of eating locally. The group holds about ten to 12 events a year. Its next is a five-course fundraiser dinner at Starbrite Farm in Andover.

“There are some huge issues with just the way food is grown,” Noon said. “Just all the fuel involved, for one. When you’re in the middle of a season and there’s so much good stuff right here in New Jersey, why buy a peach from California?”

While Noon and her group do a lot at the state level to raise awareness, much can be learned from what Noon does right from her home in Scotch Plains.

Every couple of weeks, a large delivery of freshly-picked fruits and vegetables gets delivered to her garage from Genesis Farm in Blairstown. She and several other local families partake in what’s known as “community supported agriculture," purchasing shares of a local farm so that they can receive food from it throughout the season.

Right now, about seven local families participate. All of them take turns driving to the farm to pick up the food and bring it back to Scotch Plains for the other families to pick up.

“You’re getting stuff that’s harvested that morning, cabbage, beans, potatoes, onions, garlic, tomatoes, peaches, plums,” Noon said. “It’s a good thing because it helps the farmers continue to do what they do best.”

The community-supported agriculture trend is not one that’s unique to Scotch Plains. In Westfield, more than a 100 area residents take part in a similar CSA program.

Noon says she thinks that more and more people in the area are deciding to make eating local food a priority.

“I think a lot of people are getting back into it,” she said. “I spoke at the Scotch Plains library last year, and I met people who are doing amazing gardens in their backyards.”

While most people only purchase a share during the spring/summer season, Noon said she partakes in a year-long program, which offers her a lot of root vegetables during the winter.

She also tries to freeze lots of berries and can vegetables to save them for other seasons.

“I try to grow things on the deck, but I can’t grow a lot because it’s pretty rocky here,” she said of her home near Watchung Reservation. “I also have a neighbor around the corner who does year-round organic gardening, and he always has something he’s harvesting. I think there are little pockets of people doing really cool stuff all over the place.”

For more information on the community-supported agriculture program at Genesis Farm, go here.