Reflections on Our History with New Morning
We have shopped at New Morning for 20 plus years. I cannot recall what led us to shop there since we live in Woodbridge, some distance from Woodbury. Perhaps the store was mentioned in a list of health food stores. One fact that we and our son do clearly remember is that we found a brochure in the store that led us to Clark Farm and its CSA program. In addition to purchases at the store, we and our son participated for several years in John Clark’s CSA at Flander’s Nature Center. This experience led us all to learn more about organic farming which affected us and our son; he developed skills in growing and raising plants from seeds, including tomatoes that grew to about 8’ in height. This experience also led my husband, David and me to be prime movers in starting an organic farm in Woodbridge, Massaro Farm on town owned land.
During this early period, I recall shopping at New Morning, especially Bantam bread, vitamins, and some produce and meat. I still remember the layout of that store. When that store moved, it took us some time to locate it and to resume shopping there. We did shop most often when we were traveling to the Berkshires on the way to our vacation cottage. Since we had continued to visit Flanders Nature Center even when we no longer were involved in Clark Farm (we had joined a community organic garden, which was closer), we did shop some at New Morning during those trips.
For the last ten years, our fondness for the store has increased further and led to more frequent trips there. We are impressed by the fact that a predominance of the produce is organic and some is sourced from local farms. Support of local organic farms has become an important value for us, in addition to preserving farmland. We have also found products that are not available elsewhere including organic milk in glass returnable bottles and bakery items using mostly organic ingredients.
A further important factor for us is the use of compostable produce bags so plastic is reduced.
In early 2020, we learned about the curbside service. which has been very helpful to us to stay safe and well during the pandemic. We also appreciate that the service is so well coordinated with a dedicated phone line and wonderful friendly and welcoming staff. We learned about the “tip” projects and the community outreach there which is special. We can also minimize the packaging that comes with food shipped to our home. We can drive up and receive the paper bags and move some to our cooler—works very well, especially with ice cream and meat. We often tie this in with a hike at Flanders or other nearby areas. Most recently, we have found the grill a special source of healthy wraps and sandwiches.
We have not expected to know many people that frequent the store although we have mentioned it to some. We were surprised, however, when someone from a non-profit that we know and lives in Roxbury said he was calling us from the parking lot there . Our daughter from Woodstock, CT also met us recently and we each picked up orders and then had a nice picnic in Hollow Park and a walk.
We send our best wishes and a sincere thank you to the founders and staff of such a wonderful source of food and community, as you celebrate 50 years.
Written by Virginia (Jinny) and David Schneider
We are celebrating 50 years and we want to hear from you! Share your stories and best New Morning Market memories with us. Tell us how we have been a part of your lives over the years, the small moments, the big ones and everything in between. Your everyday moments are our milestones! We’ll be highlighting the memories throughout the year as we celebrate the big 5-0!
If we feature your memory, you’ll receive a special commemorative 50th Anniversary tote.
Share your memories with us at sharethegoodness@newmorn.com
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