Farmer Melick's Asparagus

Hunter Stagg, SAGE's chef/manager at The Peck School in Morristown, NJ,  recently received his first delivery of spring bounty from a local farmer named Peter Melick. Stagg approached Melick several years ago about supplying produce to Peck, and the two became friends. Melick recently phoned Stagg and offered him some of the first picks of his Jersey asparagus. Stagg put it into a salad and served it to Peck students and staff. The fresh taste was "out of this world," he said. Peter Melick operates his 300-acre family farm, which is about 19 miles from Peck, and represents the 10th generation to cultivate the property. He was named New Jersey's Outstanding Young Farmer in 2007. Melick's Town Farm has been providing fresh vegetables to Jersey residents since 1872, and to the Peck community for about three years.