credit: Getty Images/LauriPatterson

Farm-Fresh Thanksgiving Turkey

As you gather around the dinner table this Thanksgiving, you can wow your guests by serving up dishes made with locally sourced, all-natural “Jersey Fresh” ingredients directly from Garden State fields. Throughout New Jersey, you’ll also find an array of farms offering fresh turkey, as well as produce, pies and more. Below are some must-stop shops for your main dish.

Skylands Region 

In Mount Olive, stop by the year-round store at Ashley Farms, a fourth-generation family farm where you can pick up a turkey that was raised right in their pastures and fed freshly ground corn and soybean feed made on-site. The farm store also offers just-baked pies in a variety of flavors, including apple caramel walnut, pumpkin and cherry—even some no-sugar fruit pies. Lima Family Farms in Hillsborough also offers a year-round store where you can pick up pasture-raised turkey as well as fresh, in-season produce such as onions, potatoes, winter squash and more.
 
Gateway Region 

At Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff, get your free-roaming, preservative-free, hormone-free, all-natural turkey, and be sure to pick up some farm-fresh eggs while you’re there for weekend breakfasts. Dey Farm at Oliveira Acres in Cranbury offers turkeys (just in time for Thanksgiving), farm-fresh eggs and jars of golden honey for your holiday table. 


Delaware River Region 

DiPaola Turkey Farm has been providing fresh, local products since 1948. Stop by their farm store in Hamilton to pick up your turkey, and while you’re there, stock up on other turkey-based specialties, from breakfast patties to Italian sausage. Beloved for their “poultry, pies and prepared foods,” Griggstown Farm in Princeton is a one-stop shop for all kinds of Thanksgiving delights: turkey, side dishes, desserts and more.
 
Shore Region 

Stock up on all-things-turkey at Hincks Turkey Farm in Manasquan, where fresh turkeys, turkey pot pie, turkey meat loaf, turkey chili and much more are all available. Want to serve up something truly unique for your Thanksgiving dinner? This local farm also offers Turducken Breast—a boneless chicken breast inside a boneless duck breast inside a boneless turkey breast with jambalaya stuffing between each layer.

 
Greater Atlantic City Region 

You don’t have to go all the way to a farm to buy a locally raised, farm-fresh turkey. Bonterra Market in Egg Harbor Township carries an array of locally grown, seasonal, organic products. Pick up everything you need for your holiday feast, from gourmet cheeses and organic vegetables to fresh turkey.
 
Southern Shore Region 

At Green Street Market in Rio Grande, place your orders for organic Thanksgiving side dishes and pick up an organic turkey. This healthy market also carries a large selection of organic and locally grown produce, perfect for stocking up on everything you could need for the holidays. The market at Beach Plum Farm in Cape May offers turkeys on a limited, first-come, first-served basis.
 

Know before you go: Most fresh poultry suppliers require customers to pre-order their Thanksgiving turkey—so be sure to call or visit your favorite farm’s official website in advance of the holiday before all the birds are gobbled up.