First Lady Tammy Murphy Joins Fulfill to Rescue Blueberry Bounty for Local Families
From Farm to Food Bank: Local Volunteers and Leaders Work Together to Combat Hunger
Lacey, NJ – New Jersey’s First Lady Tammy Murphy rolled up her sleeves alongside staff and volunteers from Fulfill to help harvest a bumper crop of organic blueberries, ensuring that thousands of pounds of fresh fruit are delivered to families facing food insecurity in Monmouth and Ocean Counties.
This collaborative effort began when Tiffany Bohlin, owner of Blue Forests Farm in Lacey, discovered one of her blueberry plots was producing an unexpected abundant harvest that risked going to waste. She immediately saw an opportunity to support the community by partnering with Fulfill FoodBank so that this beautiful produce would reach those in need.
“Blue Forests is proud to support Fulfill in the 2025 growing season.” says Bohlin, a Monmouth County native. “This innovative partnership allowed what would have been a year of improving plant health into a wonderful opportunity to share our regenerative organic blueberries with the residents of Monmouth and Ocean County. We truly appreciate this opportunity to donate Blue Forests fresh Blueberries through Fulfill!”
Eager to preserve this nutritious fruit and put it to good use, Fulfill mobilized a team of volunteers to rescue the blueberries. Since July 1, volunteers have been arriving each morning to pick, sort, and package the fruit, a labor of love that quickly turned into a community-wide effort.
“More than 100,000 of our Ocean and Monmouth County neighbors rely on a food pantry or soup kitchen for the food they need – twice as many as before the pandemic. Unfortunately, the most nutritious food is often both the hardest to afford and the least likely to be donated,” said Triada Stampas, President and CEO of Fulfill. “That’s what makes an opportunity like this so special: donations of ripe, in-season fruit at this scale are rare. Thanks to Blue Forests Farm, and the support of our dedicated volunteers, this bounty of beautiful, fresh blueberries is making it to local families who need them. On behalf of all of us at Fulfill, I am grateful for the generosity and teamwork making this possible.”
The First Lady’s participation underscores her ongoing commitment to addressing food insecurity across the state. Through her Nurture NJ initiative and advocacy work, she continues to champion access to nutritious food for all New Jersey families.
“No resident of the Garden State should go without access to fresh, nutritious food,” said First Lady Tammy Murphy. “Ensuring New Jersey communities have the resources they need to eat healthfully is critically important, and I am so grateful for the work that Fulfill – alongside some incredible NJ farm owners – are doing to combat food insecurity. It was really wonderful to participate in this blueberry harvest and join with these outstanding organizations as we work to end hunger here in New Jersey.”
Community partners also stepped in to support the harvest effort. Jersey Central Power & Light, through its Women in Leadership team, has contributed dozens of volunteers to the farm each week.
“Electricity is the lifeblood of our communities but Fulfill provides one of the most essential needs for our local residents: food security,” said Doug Mokoid, President of FirstEnergy, New Jersey. “I’m proud of JCP&L’s Women in Leadership members who are using their time to volunteer with the amazing people at Fulfill to help ensure that this year’s blueberry crop doesn’t go to waste and can help provide healthy nutrition to those in need.”
Each day, the harvested blueberries are transported back to Fulfill’s warehouse, where they are quickly distributed through the organization’s network of local pantries, soup kitchens, and mobile food distribution sites.
Thanks to Bohlin’s generosity and the dedication of so many hands, up to 20,000 pounds of fresh, organic blueberries will be saved from waste and instead bring nourishment and joy to local families who need it most.
Photo: L-R; Susan Kyrillos, Board Chair of Fulfill; Doug Mokoid, President of FirstEnergy, New Jersey, Tiffany Bohlin, Owner, Blue Forests Farm; Tammy Murphy, First Lady of New Jersey; Triada Stampas, President & CEO of Fulfill.
