7-03-2024 3:00pm

Jersey Shore Goers will Receive Fresh and Free Blueberries from Jersey Fresh

Donnella Tilery Editor

(TRENTON) – The New Jersey Department of Agriculture will highlight National Blueberry Day on Monday, July 8, 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 blueberries to beachgoers.

“We are excited that visitors to the Jersey Shore have this opportunity to sample Jersey Fresh blueberries during National Blueberry Day from our farmers here in the Garden State,” NJDA Secretary Ed Wengryn said., “This event has been a very popular since starting it in 2021 and we anticipate there will be high demand for delicious Jersy Fresh blueberries.”

Blueberries will be available beginning at 11:30 a.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 Rita’s Water Ice in Atlantic City, and along the boardwalk in Seaside Heights.

Blueberries were the No. 1 crop in New Jersey for 2023 with a production value of $92.1 million, according to the USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service. New Jersey annually ranks in the top seven in the U.S. in the production of blueberries. Farmers in the Garden State harvested 50 million pounds of blueberries on 10,800 acres last year.

The National Blueberry Day promotion is taking place in conjunction with the New Jersey Blueberry Industry Advisory Council.

The blueberry season for New Jersey lasts through the end of July. During the height of the blueberry season, production can be as high as 250,000-300,000 crates per day. Eating blueberries is beneficial to health as they are low in calories and high in nutrients. Go to www.FindJerseyFresh.com to see where Jersey Fresh blueberries are available locally and to find recipes that include great-tasting Jersey Fresh blueberries.

The cultivated blueberry was first grown in New Jersey in 1916 by Elizabeth Coleman White in Burlington County.