By Julie Ross
Many Long Valley area residents were disappointed when they learned that the Long Valley Green Market, a summertime staple at the bottom of Schooley’s Mountain Road for the past six years, would not be returning for the 2018 season.
But all may not be lost: The Washington Township Ad Hoc Economic Committee and the Washington Township Green Team still hope to introduce the new Market at Long Valley sometime this summer, providing that additional local vendors sign up to sell goods and produce there. If this happens, the market will be held in a field that lies within the East Mill Road Shopping Center on East Mill Road,
between the Long Valley First Aid Squad building and the Long Valley Pharmacy.
The possibility of replacing the now-defunct Long Valley Green Market with a similar source of local goods had been a topic of discussion since the spring of 2018. Members of the Ad Hoc Economic Development Committee and the Washington Township Green Team, which steers sustainability efforts in the area, met to discuss the development of a new venue in a different, more viable location.
Both Mayor Bill Roehrich and Committeeman Ken Short, economic committee liaison to the Township Committee, endorsed the idea.
The committee had originally set an opening date of July 5 for the market, after working throughout the month of June to secure the location and finalize other plans for the venue. This included obtaining approval from both the Long Valley First Aid Squad and Mickey Singh, owner of the Long Valley Pharmacy and the
East Mill Road Shopping Center itself.
Organizers did anticipate some difficulty attracting established vendors to the new market because many prospective sellers had already committed to their spring and summer schedules and signed contracts with other markets by the time the plans were finalized, according to Committee Chair Tyler Oborn. However, they also
hoped the planned time slot—Thursdays, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.—might help to attract some vendors since most markets of this type are held on weekends, and that their decision to “not define the market by the name and not call it the ‘Green Market’ or the ‘Farmers Market’” would be a drawing card, according to Oborn.
But they eventually opted to wait for more vendors that offer locally made goods and produce to join the ranks before moving forward with the opening.

Residents interested in visiting the Market at Long Valley should watch for opening information at www.wtmorris.org. Once open, the market will operate every Thursday, from late afternoon to early evening, through October 11.
Meanwhile, vendors and purveyors that wish to register to sell their wares at the market this year can do so by visiting www.wtmorris.org and completing a questionnaire. A copy of the prospective vendor’s Certificate of Insurance, along with a completed Hold Harmless agreement (also available on the website) and a check made payable to Washington Township 2018 LV Market (with “2018 LV
Market” written on the memo line) should then be mailed to: Market at Long Valley, Washington Township, 43 Schooley’s Mountain Road, Long Valley, N.J., 07853. The cost to participate in the market is $15 per week.