Local farmer pivots farm business to create firepit starters after economic toll from COVID-19 ×
Tama Matsuoka Wong (center) of Meadows & More harvests Juniper to make Wild Cedar Firestarters.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LISA WOLFF
Local tenant farmer Tama Matsuoka Wong has partnered with the Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space (FoHVOS) to sell wild cedar firestarters in order to maintain her farm assessment, when her business of supply restaurants with speciality ingredients took a hit due to COVID-19.
Prior to the pandemic, Wong farmed and foraged at the Marshall’s Corner (formerly known as Thompson) Preserve. Employing sustainable practices, Wong harvested and sold unique organic plants as specialty ingredients to high end restaurants in New York City. When the pandemic hit, Tama lost her customers overnight as restaurants shut down, according to a prepared statement.