Farm Blog Archives - Page 16 of 17

Donkey Contest

on August 7, 2018

Help Us Name Our New Donkey!

This contest is for teachers, classes, and individual pre-school, kindergarten, and elementary school students in the Washington, NJ area only.
Enter the contest now via our farm Facebook page.

CONTEST ENDS MAY 15

The winning name for the donkey will be announced on Facebook before May 20

The winning class or individual will receive their choice of:

A free farm tour of our farm in Washington Twp. for your class (this year or next)
A visit from the donkey for your class at school & a short presentation about donkeys
A visit from our staff (no donkey) & a presentation about local agriculture

This spring we are adding a Barnyard area near our farm market in Washington … and every Barnyard needs a donkey, right?! We adopted a cute little brown donkey from the Last Chance Ranch animal rescue in Quakertown, PA. Although he came with the name Wilfred, we feel he’s way TOO CUTE for that name. We’re on a quest to find him a cuter, more appropriate name, and thought what better way to name him than with the help of our local school kids!

Wilfred’s story is a sad one according to the rescue folks at Last Chance Ranch. Poor Wilfred started his life living with an Amish family in Pennsylvania. When they no longer wanted him, he was taken to an auction, his fate unknown. Some nice folks found the donkey scared & alone in a back corner of the auction barn, bought him, and brought him to the rescue. Ranch volunteers worked with the thin, fearful donkey for months to make him happy & build his confidence. Today, our chubby little donkey is pleasant as can be & loves attention!

There are SO many names that we’ve thought of and thought about, but we can’t all agree on one!
Maybe his new name could be a name that …

tells about how he looks?
shows what a little trooper he’s been?
relates to his new home in Washington?
is a typical/common donkey name?
relates to his personality?
is just a fun name?
We sure hope you & your class will help us choose a name … we open for the season on May 24, and he needs a name for opening day!

Entering the contest is simple … all entries can be submitted via our farm Facebook page. Simply tell us:

your choice of names for the donkey
why your class chose that name
what school you’re submitting the contest entry for
what teacher’s class you’re submitting the entry for
For more chances to win, share this contest with your students & their parents. The more donkey name suggestions there are for your class, the more chances your class has to win!

Should more than one person suggest the name that we choose for the donkey, we will put the names of those individuals in a hat and choose one Grand Prize winner. That Grand Prize winner will have their choice of prizes listed above. The runners up that suggested the chosen name will each receive a $10 VonThun Farms gift card & a stuffed donkey from Douglas Toys.

We can’t wait to give our little boy a new name … thanks for taking part in our contest.
Good luck!

Resolutions

on August 4, 2018

Although we’re knee deep in snow, winter paperwork and general farm upkeep, we’re more than ready for the promise of warmer weather and delicious, homegrown vegetables! It’s with great anticipation and excitement that we offer our 2018 Weekly Veggie Basket & CSA Program at our South Brunswick and Washington locations.

We frequently hear about folks that make New Year resolutions to eat healthier and lose a little weight. Reality is, by the time the Jersey fresh season finally arrives, we’ve forgotten about those resolutions. We’re too busy and life gets in the way … and once again, we don’t eat healthier OR drop those pounds.

We welcome you to join us for the 2018 CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) season -registration is now available. Sign up NOW for your Weekly Veggie Basket, Homegrown Angus Beef, Jersey Fresh Fruit, and/or Farm Fresh Eggs, and you’ll be committed to eating healthy throughout the Jersey Fresh season!

Our CSA is made up of folks that pledge their support of the farm during our growing season by purchasing a crop share. Shares are sold in advance of the growing season, allowing our farmers to invest in the year’s seeds, fertilizers, and supplies. Shareholders then receive a weekly share of our farm fresh veggies for 20 weeks (SB shares) or 14 weeks (Washington shares), during the height of the season (June-October). Our beef, fruit, and egg shares are offered differently – details are on the sign up page.

You’ll enjoy our CSA if you like the idea of getting to know your farmers, trying new and interesting foods, supporting local, participating in your local food economy, eating fresh, eating healthy, and receiving recipes and cooking tips.

Got questions? Check out the details … for your convenience, we currently have CSA pick up at the farms in Washington Twp (Warren Co.) , at Gibsons Gym, & in Phillipsburg. In South Brunswick (Middlesex Co), you can pick up at the farm, or in Milltown, Highland Park, East Brunswick, North Brunswick, or at Rutgers University (Student Center on George Street). We also deliver to a few corporate host sites.

Community is the key to success in small business, and a small farm is no different. We all rely on each other for support, whether it be monetarily, spreading word of mouth, sharing our news, or just telling each other we are appreciated. So with that, we appreciate you reading our blog, sharing our Facebook posts, and telling your friends about our family farm. We couldn’t do it without you!

Weekly Veggies

on August 2, 2018

CSA is often a misunderstood concept … so we thought we’d simplify it and give it a new name: Weekly Veggie Baskets & CSA Program. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. When you purchase a ‘share’ of Veggies or other crops, you are indeed supporting the farming and agriculture within our community!

Weekly Veggie Baskets are the foundation of our CSA Program. They come in various sizes and are received by members each week of the program. Our Veggies are homegrown and are picked fresh just for our members the day they receive them.

Our Jersey Fresh Fruit Share can be purchased as an Add-On to any size Weekly Veggie Basket. For 6 intermittent weeks, subscribing CSA members receive locally grown fruit that is packaged as a special CSA fruit share. Anticipated fruit includes berries, melons, peaches, nectarines, & apples. Not all fruit is grown here on the farm, but it is all guaranteed to be Jersey Fresh!

The Farm Fresh Egg Share can also be purchased as an Add-On to any Weekly Veggie Basket. Each week, subscribing members receive a dozen farm fresh brown eggs within their Veggie basket.

New to our CSA Program is our homegrown, all natural, grass fed beef, as our herd of cattle graze the pastures at our farm in Washington, NJ. Angus Beef will soon become part of the homegrown, farm fresh food we offer from our fields to your plate. (Stay tuned for details!)

CSA shares can be picked up at our farm in Monmouth Junction (South Brunswick township), our farm in Washington Township (Warren County), or at one of our many Host Sites.

What are the benefits of joining a Weekly Veggie Basket Program rather than just visiting the store to buy fresh produce each week? By joining a CSA Program, folks are committing to eating fresh, eating healthy, & eating local. They’re supporting their local farms & farmers, and they’re cutting down on the number of miles their food travels from farm to plate.

Eating fresh, eating healthy, & eating local … it’s never been so easy!
Want more details? Check it out.
Ready to sign up? Join now!