(TRENTON) – The New Jersey Department of Agriculture will highlight Jersey Fresh tomato season on Thursday afternoon, July 21, with special visits to the shore towns of Wildwood, Atlantic City and Seaside Heights where NJDA marketing staff will be on hand to distribute free Jersey Fresh grape tomatoes to beachgoers.
“Tomatoes are one of the crops New Jersey is known for nationally and internationally,” NJDA Secretary Douglas H. Fisher said. “These grape tomatoes can be eaten as a tasty nutritious snack or taken home to use in a wide range of recipes and dishes. We encourage everyone to seek out all the varieties of famous Jersey Fresh tomatoes throughout the growing season.”
The tomatoes will be available beginning at 1 p.m. until supplies last, at the end of East Schellenger Avenue at the boardwalk near Morey’s Piers in Wildwood, at the end of New York Avenue on the boardwalk near Ripley’s Believe It Or Not in Atlantic City, and along the boardwalk in Seaside Heights.
New Jersey is annually among the top 10 producers of tomatoes in the U.S. In 2020, New Jersey had a production value of $48 million for tomatoes, according to the USDA, when Garden State farmers harvested 80 million pounds of tomatoes on 3,100 acres.
The tomato season for New Jersey lasts through the end of October. Go to www.FindJerseyFresh.com to see where Jersey Fresh tomatoes are available locally and to find recipes that include delicious Jersey Fresh tomatoes.
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To learn more about the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NJDeptofAgriculture and www.facebook.com/JerseyFreshOfficial or Twitter @NJDA and @JerseyFreshNJDA.
