(OAKLAND) – The New Jersey Department of Agriculture today presented Dogwood Hill Elementary School in the Oakland School District in Bergen County with the “Best in New Jersey Farm to School Award” during a visit to school’s Farm to School field day and the cafeteria. The presentation took place during the celebration of the 14^th annual Jersey Fresh Farm to School Week and Second Annual Ag Literacy Week being held September 23-27.

“Dogwood Hill Elementary School has demonstrated a true commitment to making Farm to School a regular part of their curriculum,” NJDA Secretary Ed Wengryn said. “They work with nearby growers to ensure locally grown food is part of the menu when it is in season, and highlight area farmers with their farmstand in the cafeteria, which is great for students to learn where their food comes from.”

Throughout the year the school has incorporated local produce into its menus each month, highlighting recipes and promotions; featuring a farm stand in the cafeteria with locally grown produce; celebrating Farm to School Week and National Farm to School Month with lessons such as build your own salad day using all the colors of the rainbow; using the tower garden for educational purposes, including the cafeteria salad bar; and taking a field trip to the Health Barn in Ridgewood to learn about composting and planting.

“The Farm to School initiative started with our PTO donating a tower garden to the school,” said Dogwood Hill Principal Sean Bowe. “Through the collaboration of Kelly Bosgra, student council advisor, our student council, and Pomptonian (Food Service), the Farm to School experience has grown into a wonderful learning opportunity for the entire school community. The events implemented over the last year provided our students with real world experience and further understanding of why New Jersey is called the Garden State.”

New Jersey schools that entered the Farm to School Recognition Program for the current school year were required to show evidence of working with farmers and the community to ensure students have access to healthy Jersey Fresh fruits and vegetables in their school cafeterias and classrooms. School gardens are an integral part of Farm to School activities and provide hands-on education for students to connect to the state’s agricultural history and learn healthy, lifelong eating habits.

Joining the Oakland District as Farm to School Recognition Program Schools are:

• Buena Regional School District
• Union City School District
• Thomas Dudley School
• Nutley School District
• Union Township School District
• Dover High School District
• Woodbridge School District
• Cranbury School District
• Rahway School District
• Highland Park School District
• Linden School School District
• Bridgeton School District

Schools will receive Jersey Fresh Farm to School promotional material kits including a Jersey Fresh Farm to School banner, aprons, taste test stickers, Jersey Tastes posters and seasonality charts.

Jersey Fresh Farm to School Week was designated as the last week of each September by a law signed in 2010. During this week, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture showcases schools that connect with New Jersey farmers to purchase local produce for school meals to increase student consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Farm to School activities can include, but are not exclusive to:

• Nutrition education, including taste tests with produce purchased from local farms.
• Harvest meals serving locally sourced products from New Jersey farms.
• Farm to School curricular tie-ins that connect the cafeteria to the classroom or school garden.
• Visits to or from local farms that teach students how food is grown.
• School garden education that ties directly into what is already being taught in the classroom.

Jersey Fresh Farm to School Week celebrates the partnerships being built between state farmers and schools which encourage schools to purchase produce from local farmers to incorporate into meals.

The influence of the Farm to School Program has led to 500 schools purchasing local. More than 350 of the districts buying local have implemented cafeteria programs using Harvest of the Month promotional material to highlight the nutritional value of local items.  More than 250 districts use a curriculum that ties cafeteria meals to healthy eating education and/or field trips to farms.

https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/news/press/2024/approved/press240927.html

Jeffrey Kanige

The challenges facing women in the business world are well documented. Persistent stereotypes lead to invidious discrimination. The old-boy network protects its members. Access to capital can be limited. Competing demands often create self-doubt.

All are troubling and should be eliminated. While progress has been made on that front, succeeding as a business owner remains more difficult for women.

And yet, so many make it work. Credit their energy, talent, intelligence and perseverance – the qualities shared by most successful business leaders. It should be no surprise that those qualities will be evident in half the population.

With this issue, NJBIZ recognizes and celebrates New Jersey women who demonstrate those qualities and put them to use in building prosperous companies. The businesses profiled in these pages hail from a wide variety of industries – manufacturing, construction, health care, public relations and marketing, accounting, law, architecture and many more. The story of successful women-owned businesses is the story of economic growth in the Garden State.

So please join us in congratulating the businesses we honor here. Some started from scratch and built thriving companies; others took over going concerns and made them better. All of them possess the drive and ability to succeed in a world still structured to hold them back. As you read the profiles, reflect on that fact and what it took to earn a place on this list. Let us know what you think of our choices – and whether we missed anyone who deserves the same sort of recognition.

All of our honorees are listed in alphabetical order in the sections below. Enjoy!

Pomptonian Food Service

Pomptonian Food Service provides high-quality nutritious meals for hundreds of New Jersey school districts and employs over 2,000 workers, making it one of the largest, privately owned companies in the state. The 65-year-old family-run business is now helmed by its third generation – CEO Candy Vidovich and her husband, Mark, who serves as president.

Founded in 1959 as a restaurant in Cedar Grove, the business became involved in schools when the local district asked for temporary help running one of its school cafeterias. By 1970, the company was managing four cafeterias and sold its restaurant to focus entirely on quality school service.

Over the years, the company has branched off into different areas of food service, including catering, corporate dining and restaurants, but has always made sure to keep schools as a focus area. As a result, Pomptonian has received numerous accolades from organizations like the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials and trade publications such as Food Management.

Vidovich – named as one of NJBIZ’s Best 50 Women in Business in 2021 – has experience in all aspects of the company. Currently, she is working on menu development and promoting nutrition and collaborating with nutrition advisory committees to develop award-winning offerings and innovative service concepts. Vidovich also spearheaded an initiative that dramatically increased the number of students choosing fresh fruit and vegetables with their meals.

E – P | NJBIZ In The Lead 2024: Women-Owned Businesses

Pomptonian was recognized by honorable mention for the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials’ (NJASBO) School Business Partnership Award for nutrition innovations.

Pomptonian’s menus have long been recognized for high quality, resulting in Pomptonian’s holding the most nutrition awards in New Jersey, including the 2015-2016 Associate Business Member Partner of the Year award. The award was presented at the NJASBO conference.

The award is presented to an associate business partner serving New Jersey school districts in recognition of conduct above and beyond on behalf of a school district as demonstrated by specific actions during the school year. The nomination, which came from multiple school districts, was in recognition of efforts to create and promote nutrition innovations.

NJBIZ Business of the Year 2017 Winners
Hundreds of attendees cheered as NJBIZ announced each winner (and nominees) of its Business of the Year awards for 2017.

The nominations alone were worth celebrating, as the crème de la crème of New Jersey business were honored at an intimate gathering at The Palace at Somerset Park in Somerset.

The Business of Year was divided into three categories, based on the number of employees: small companies with up to 50 employees, medium-sized companies with 51 to 100 employees and large companies with more than 100 employees.

Business of the Year (101+ employees) – WINNER
Summit Health Management

Business of the Year (101+ employees) – HONOREES
Delta Dental of New Jersey
Hollister Construction Services, LLC
McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP
Newell Brands
Pomptonian Food Service
Yorktel

http://www.njbiz.com/article/20171205/NJBIZ01/312059999/njbiz-names-business-of-the-year-2017-winnersmployees.

Pomptonian Food Service is proud to frequent the Food Service Director Magazine/Niche survey results ranking School Districts with the Best Food in New Jersey and America.

The Niche National Ratings was based on a survey of students and parents currently or recently attending school in the district, evaluating the service and offering their opinions about the quality and variety of food.

Pomptonian focuses on high quality nutritious meals, Mark Vidovich, President of Pomptonian stated, “We are pleased to see 26 of our client districts served made the 2016 New Jersey Top 100 list. The Pride and professionalism of our team is our secret to success.”