Washington Borough was recently awarded a $2,000 Sustainable Jersey capacity-building grant funded by the PSEG Foundation for its efforts in providing a valuable service to the community.

The Washington grant is going to the Washington Borough Green Team in cooperation with the Washington Borough Business Improvement District (BID) to expand the Washington Borough Farmers’ Market. With combined efforts, they hope to attract more people to the downtown and promote local farmers and small businesses.

A scene from last year’s farmers’ market.

The farmers’ market, kicking off on June 4 with a Green Festival, offers a wide range of offerings, including certified naturally grown fruits and vegetables, pasture-raised pork, lamb and chicken, fresh eggs, local honey products, fresh cut flowers, baked goods, and hand-crafted jewelry, candles, soaps and gifts.

“We are very excited about this grant,” said Josephine Noone, Borough Councilwoman and a coordinator of the Green Team and the farmers’ market. “The grant will help us promote the farmers’ market more effectively with increased advertising and promotion.  It will also allow us to include more musical entertainment and other special attractions during the season.

“We are really looking forward to a terrific farmers’ market this year,” added Noone. “We have an excellent variety of vendors. We welcome back our regular customers and look forward to seeing a lot of new faces. Our market will bring more foot traffic to the downtown area and increase sales for local businesses, which is a big part of why we have the farmers’ market.”

In addition to the Sustainable Jersey grant, the farmers’ market also is supported by Smith Tractor, the Washington Diner, and St. Luke’s Warren Campus.

“These [Sustainable Jersey] grants support green teams and municipalities working to bring innovative sustainability projects forward that will shape the future of their residents for years to come,” said Donna Drewes, who co-directs Sustainable Jersey with Randall Solomon. She extended her congratulations to all of the towns that received grants. “The grants we’re awarding today will also help build capacity as municipalities move sustainability programs forward.”

Various grants were distributed by the PSEG Foundation to fund a variety of projects across the state, including reclaiming paved surfaces for community gardens, protecting community tree cover, water conservation, green infrastructure, natural resources protection, park revitalization, promoting healthy lifestyles and green team capacity building.