Karen Maugeri Shares Her Passion For Local Jersey Produce in Her Farm Market and Her Videos

“Hi guys! It’s Karen!”

If that greeting sounds familiar to you, you’re not alone.

That introduction is how Karen Maugeri begins the many videos she uses on social media to promote her family’s farm market, and the Jersey-grown produce they sell there. Those videos are often seen by thousands, and on occasion, Maugeri can get a little fired up when talking about local farms.

“Once in a while I do that,” Maugeri said. “I try to be good, but sometimes I can’t help it.”

One video in particular a couple years back went crazy viral online. 

“I was just doing it for my customers, and that thing was global!” she said. “People from Europe were commenting on it. I could not believe the reaction!”

In the video, Maugeri visited a local grocery store and expressed her dismay at finding the produce there was from Florida during the height of Jersey’s growing season.

“I went into one of the local supermarkets, I think it was 4th of July weekend, and I did one about the corn and tomatoes,” she said. “They were in season and I made this video about supporting your local farmers.”

As with all things on the internet, the video caused a clash of opinions. Most comments were supportive of Maugeri but some took issue with her stance.

“I wasn’t trying to bash Florida,” she said. “It’s just that it’s Jersey, you know? Come on. Support the farmers in the state!”

Most of the time though, the video content is tamer. She uses them to let their followers know what’s in season and what’s new at the market.

Maugeri said one of the first videos she filmed showed her sister-in-law Joanne Maugeri making her “Jo-Jo’s Salsa” recipe, which has become a favorite at the market.

The two sisters-in-law ran the market up until 2020, when Joanne retired. Since then, Karen has been running the farm’s retail operation herself.

The Maugeri farm operation, which has been in the family for nearly 100 years, spans about 600 acres, much of which is rented from other families who no longer farm the land in Woolwich Township. Karen’s husband Joe and his brother Sam are now the third generation of Maugeri’s to run the operation.

The farm grows a wide range of crops, including asparagus, zucchini, eggplant, corn, and peaches, as well as several varieties of tomatoes, peppers and melons.

Over the majority of their history they were strictly a wholesale operation, but in the past 15-20 years they’ve turned some of their attention to retail and agri-tourism through their farm stand on Oldmans Creek Road.

But around 2007, Karen Maugeri said her husband Joe started offering hay rides on the farm, where they set up a small stand to sell their produce direct to customers at the end of the farm’s driveway.

Pretty soon, she said, he got the idea to expand their retail sales even further.

“Now mind you, I was raising two young children at the time, and I said to my husband, ‘listen, you guys run it, I don’t want any parts of it,’” she said.

But as that summer wore on and the farming brothers found themselves in the heat of their busiest time of year, Maugeri said she soon began receiving phone calls from her husband, daily.

“He’s calling me up: ‘Karen, I hate to bother you, but listen, I need you to restock the watermelons. I need you to restock the corn,’” she recalled.

Ever the dutiful farmer’s wife, she said she begrudgingly obliged.

“‘OK honey, no problem,’” she said she would answer.

But soon she found herself enjoying the work, and now she couldn’t imagine it any other way.

“This led to it becoming my baby,” she said. “And then from there it kind of grew.” 

And it continues to grow every year. Maugeri said that after a few years with a cart and a tent set-up, the family put up the pole barn and started the market as it currently operates in 2011.

They soon added baked goods and more recently an ice cream stand.

They now also sell locally prepared foods like sauces and jellies along with local meats, cheeses and  wines.

At the moment, Maugeri said she doesn’t have any plans for major new additions to the market, or her online content creation. Instead, she said she’ll just keep her focus on what she’s always cared about.

“I’m always just reminding people that in the season, visit your local farm market,” she said. “That’s my big thing, you’ve got to support your local farmers as much as you can.”

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Follow Maugeri’s Farm on Facebook and Instagram, and stop by for their Hello Summer Kick Off Event Sat., June 1`.