Eating local food becomes more challenging after the end of the harvest. But for now, New Jersey produce still abounds for Thanksgiving dinner -- especially if you know where to look:
• Old Hook Farm in Emerson, a 6½-acre organic farm that has been in the Marek family for more than 70 years, is currently selling more than 20 of its 125 annual crops, including butternut squash, sweet potatoes, bok choy, radishes, celery and arugula. (201-265-4835)
• Abma's Farm, a 30-acre farm in Wyckoff, offers local eggs, leeks, tomatoes, greenhouse basil, Swiss chard, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, escarole, chicory and -- until temperatures dip into the 20s -- romaine and leaf lettuce. The farm also sells turkeys raised in Mercerville. (201-891-0278)
"Everything we sell is New Jersey," says owner Jim Abma, whose family has farmed the land for nearly 80 years. "We are New Jersey people."
• Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff is ready for the Thanksgiving rush. Between now and Thursday, the store expects to sell more than 5,000 free-range turkeys raised in Lancaster County, Pa., then killed on premises. The farm also sells Narragansett turkeys raised on site, along with eggs, rabbits, quail and pheasants. (201-444-3238)
"The Narragansetts have a little different taste, the flavor of wild game, and we have a particular group of customers that wants that," says third-generation owner Joe Silvestri, who hastens to add: "Most of our customers do not want that flavor."
• European Meat Market in Glen Rock gets its farm-raised meat from Lancaster County and uses traditional European methods to process, cure and smoke it on premises. (201-251-2800)
• Peters Fish Market in Midland Park offers sea scallops and mahi-mahi from off New Jersey and swordfish and bay scallops from off Long Island. (201-444-3331)
• Purple Dragon Food Co-op, which serves nearly 1,000 customers in this region, tries to offer local produce whenever possible. Janit London, who runs the Glen Ridge-based co-op, says she works with small regional farmers who either use organic or "very alternative" growing methods. (973-429-0391)
"There's surprisingly a lot of local food still available," London says.
I'll bet it does!