The name Cheesequake State Park makes me giggle. Okay, not the state park part, but the Cheesequake part. In my brain I always think Cheesecake…come on, admit it…so do you. Anyway, I once heard on the radio that the Cheesequake rest stop on the parkway is supposed to be the busiest there is on the parkway. Let’s head off the parkway now, and head to the park….

I don’t know about you, but last weekend the 70 degree weather had me longing for spring and spending more time outside. I’m not much of a winter girl and wasn’t thrilled when we got 10 inches of snow dumped on us!

The Cheesequake State Park is a great place to enjoy the nicer weather of spring. You’ll find a 1,600 acre state park that not only offers a nature center but areas for boating, picnics, fishing, hiking and so much more. If you’d like to get more information on their attractions such as camping, swimming, nature trails or more, you can reach them at 732-566-2161. It’s located in Matawan.

Do you know about Rutgers Gardens? You’ll find a 50 acre arboretum and public gardens up in New Brunswick. If you love nature at it’s best it features everything from annuals to shrubs and more. You’ll need an appointment for a tour. If you’d like more information about Rutgers Gardens- you can check out their website at www.cook.rutgers.edu.

The Community FoodBank of New Jersey is struggling. This year, there’s been an increase as high as 30 percent in a need for food. WIth the economy, and people losing jobs, more and more people are turning to the food bank. The problem is, the foodbank is facing a shortage. The winter time is especially rough, because between people needing food, people are struggling to pay for their rising heating costs. The Community FoodBankof New Jersey needs help.

Over 100 New Jersey bloggers are working to bring awareness to this shortage of food. Let’s make a difference, and help support the foodbank. This is a state wide crisis, so that means the foodbanks in your counties need your help.

Did you know New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen is also helping in the fight against hunger by lending his voice to the cause. It’s a statewide issue, and we need to come together to help our own.

Imagine the foodbank having to ration food, or turn people away because there’s not enough food to go around. It’s a grim and scary thought.

If you’re able to help the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, please reach out and help. Even if you can’t give money or food, spread the awareness, and reblog about this, reaching out to others who may be able to help. Food is a basic need, and if the shelves go bare at the Community Foodbank of New Jersey, that means there will be people in New Jersey going hungry, and that’s just not okay. The foodbank needs the public to step up and help them keep food on their shelves.

If you can help: www.njfoodbank.org or 908-355-FOOD (3663)

The Community Foodbank of New Jersey (CFBNJ) distributes food and grocery items, helping charities in need. Did you know that since their incorporation in they’ve distributed 300 million pounds of food and groceries. Please help them in their time of need, so they can continue helping those in need. They are a distributor of food, so what that means is they accept large quantity donations. Smaller donations should be brought to your local shelter or food pantry. The Community FoodBank of New Jersey also accepts monetary donations, which they use to buy very large food purhcases. If you have any questions, you can contact them at 908-355-FOOD (3663).

This year in New Jersey, more than 250,000 new people will be be asking for help. With this increased demand, comes more need for increased donations, but unfortunately, since so many families are struggling right now, donations are actually on the decline. That means not enough food to go around. Empty shelves don’t feed people.

“At the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), requests for food have gone up 30 percent, but donations are down by 25 percent.” - CFBNJ

The Community Foodbank of New Jersey is the state’s key distributor of food to local banks. What happens when there’s not enough food to go around? People go hungry…right here in New Jersey.

Please reach out and help: www.njfoodbank.org or 908-355-FOOD (3663)

Here’s how you can help:

You can either make a monetary donation. To do that, you can go to their website at www.njfoodbank.org.

If you have food that you can donate, please bring it to your local food shelter…you can even organize a food drive through work, maybe your church or another organization you belong to. (http://www.sefan.org) -for locations

“Check Out Hunger” are coupons you can get at the grocery store. When you’re paying for your groceries, include a donation to the food bank. You can usually find these right near the register.

Here are a few statistics on hunger:

* The number of families coming to churches and food banks trying to get help to feed their families has increased approximately 20 percent. - National Anti-Hunger Organizations, 2008 Blueprint to End Hunger

* One out of every five New Jersey families does not earn enough to afford the basic necessities – housing, food and child care – although 85 percent of these households have at least one family member who is working. – Poverty Research Institute, June 2008

Please take a moment to watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXH_aBJKcE4

What can you do to make a difference?

Participating Bloggers for “We Can’t Let This Bank Fail” campaign

1)JerseyBites.com

2) RedBankGreen.com

3) Jersey Girl Cooks.

4) Simply Sable

5) John and Lisa are eating in South Jersey

6) Padma’s Kitchen

7) Chefdruck

8.) Life Lightly Salted

9) My Italian Grandmother

10) Cook Appeal

11) Crotchety Old Man Yells at Cars

12) Mommy Vents

13) This Full House

14) Paper Bridges

15) Motherhood Avenue

16) The Kamienski Chronicles

17) Down the Shore with Jen

18) Fits and Giggles

19) House Hubbies Home Cooking

20) Nourish Ourselves

21) Partybluprints.com

22) Tommyeats.com

23) Off the broiler

24) Mrs. Mo’s New Jersey Baby

25) IamNotaChef.com

26) SimplyBeer.com

27) HistoryGeek.com

28) Savy Source Newark

29) Momlogic New Jersey

30) SurvivingNJ.com/blog

31) SurvivingNJ.blogspot.com

32) JerseyGirlGuide.com

33) Best of Roxy

34) Citizen Mom.net

35) Lynetteradio.com

36) Jersey Beat

37) Pop Vulture Phil

38) JerseySmarts.com

39) LongBeachIslandSummers.com

40) WildwoodSummers.com

41) Mike Halfacres Blog

42) Somerset08873

43) Family, Friends and Food

44) KateSpot.com

45) NewJerseyMomsBlog.com

46) JCRigister.com

47) New Jersey Real Estate Report

48) Riverviewobserver.com

49)More Monmouth Musings

50) Man of Infirmity

51) Another Delco Guy in South Jersey

52) SweetNicks.com

53) Average Noone

54) Cleary’s Notebook

55) Welcome to my Planet

56) The Center of New Jersey Life

57) Sharon’s Food Blog

58) Morristown, Chatham, Summit, and Madison NJ Real Estate

59) Midtown Direct Real Estate News

60) New Jersey Real Estate

61) BlowUpRadio.com

62) LazlosDen.com

63) The Ridgewood Blog

64) Book a Week with Jen

65) Banannie

66) Cartoongoddess.com

67) Matawan Advocate

68) Take Back the Kitchen

69) The Joy of Toast

70) Route 55

71) Montclair Kids.com

72) SaveJersey

73) Stompbox

74) Joe the Blogger

75) Environmental Republican

76) Stacey Snacks

77) Subversive Garden

78) New Jersey Pathfinder

79) Cooking With Friends Blog

80) Triple Venti

81) Read All About It

82) Rich Lee on Media

83) Likelihood of Success

84) Cape Cuisine

85) The Business At Hand

86) NewJerseyTaxRevolution

87) Figmentations

88) MiddletownMike

89) Caviar and Codfish

90) A Day in the Life

91) Mack’s Journey Through Life

92) Alice’s Restaurant

93) Tiger Hawk

94)Politics Patrol, The Bob Ingle Blog

95) The Food Chain

96) Henson’s Hell

97) Cranbury Conservative

98) Baristanet

99) New Jersey: Politics Unusual

100) Jersey Shore Blog

101) Plainfield Today

North Jersey Pumpkin Farms are all over the place! It should be a snap to find one local for all your pumpkin shopping needs! Can you believe October is only a week away? Seriously, when did that happen? I’m still in beach mode, but now I have to shop for Halloween! If you love to go out an pick your own pumpkin, have I got a list for you!

Here are a few North Jersey Pumpkin Farms to get you started:

Abma’s Farm
Lawlins Rd, Wyckoff, NJ

Ashley Farms
Hillside Ave, Flanders, NJ

Conklin Farm
Vreeland & River Rds, Montville, NJ

Country Fresh Farms
W Asbury-Anderson Rd, Hampton, NJ

Denville Farms
Boonton Rd, Denville, NJ

Everett’s Farm
Beekman Ln, Hillsborough, NJ

Grochowicz Farm Market
Route 31 South, Glen Gardner, NJ

Habiak Farms
Deans Rhodes Hall, South Brunswick, NJ

Hamilton Farms
Old Denville Rd, Boonton, NJ

Heaven Hill Farm
Route 94, Vernon, NJ

Hillsboro Farm
Hillsoborough Rd, Hillsborough, NJ

Ideal Farm
Route 15, Lafayette, NJ

Kattermann Farms
Route 23 South, Sussex, NJ

Lines Farm
Eyland Ave, Succasunna, NJ

Ort Farms
Bartley Rd, Long Valley, NJ

Matarazzo Farms
Route 519, Belvidere, NJ

Menzel Brothers Farm
Route 34, Holmdel, NJ

Parks Farms
Route 34, Chester NJ

River Lea Farm Market
South Branch Rd, Branchburg, NJ

Slope Brooke Farms
Heyers Mill Rd, Colts Neck, NJ

Stattels Brookrest Farm
Route 520, Marlboro, NJ

Stony Hill Farm Market
North Rd, Chester, NJ

Sun High Orchard
Canfield Ave, Randolph, NJ

Sunny Acres Pumpkin Patch
Burlington Path Rd, Cream Ridge, NJ

Suydam Farms
Route 27, Somerset, NJ

Union Hill Farms
Cooper Rd, Denville, NJ

Valley Brook Farm
Route 22 East, Lebanon, NJ

You can find more fun places to go in New Jersey with the New Jersey Fun Finder.