I can’t believe it’s been 14 years since I launched the Long Valley Green Market, not long after moving back to New Jersey from the DMV, finding my footing career-wise (with a couple of missteps), and having two babies. My co-founder Leona sent me this video today, and it stopped me dead in my tracks.
The market was a chaotic experiment and somehow, a largely successful one. I met so many people doing interesting, meaningful work, making connections I still value to this day. It got me involved with NOFA-NJ, where I presented twice at the Winter Conference (before *that* was cool). We won an award from the Department of Ag! I learned so much about liability insurance and food handling! And also discovered along the way how cranky farmers are (with good reason, obvs).
Seriously though, this endeavor was the launchpad that propelled me into the world of NJ food and farming, all of the people and projects I’ve immersed myself in since then: marketing, writing, web design, grant writing, cooking, evangelizing, and community building. And there’s so much more to come.
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