Farmer George: His work at MOWMC
BY AYLIN ISMAYILOVA
Meals on Wheels of Mercer County (MOWMC) delivers a hot meal and a cold bag - Monday through Friday - to its 400 community neighbors. There's an additional special treat that everyone looks forward to in the summer. From June to August, MOWMC participants will be receiving weekly produce bags, containing fresh fruits and vegetables.
George Asprocolas, of Asprocolas Acres, has been involved with the state's WIC and Seniors Farmers' Market Nutrition Program since 2000. He later expanded his efforts by partnering with MOWMC.
Before launching the weekly produce program, MOWMC worked closely with George for many years to provide nutritious, fresh produce to seniors who were homebound. However, at the time, access was limited to those who met specific county eligibility requirements.
In 2020, following a grant award that allowed for broader access, MOWMC launched its own produce program with no eligibility restrictions. This opened the door for all participants to enjoy locally grown fruits and vegetables. The partnership with George deepened, and he was proud to continue supporting the aging population of Mercer County.
Who is "Farmer George?"
Farmer George wasn’t always a farmer. He initially studied Industrial Education at East Stroudsburg University with plans to become a teacher, but soon realized that the classroom wasn’t the right fit for him. After moving to Millstone Township, he quickly fell in love with farming, and the rest is history.
"I did not have a family history of farming, like a lot of guys do down here. So I had to learn everything as I went along," George said.
With his educational background, Farmer George naturally sought out opportunities to deepen his knowledge and master his craft. Over the past 30 years, he has attended conventions in Atlantic City, sat in on lectures at Rutgers University, and participated in the Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Convention in Hershey, PA, and he plans to keep learning for years to come.
"From my background - going to college and learning a lot of things - I just know that if you want to do something, you have to learn what to do," he explained.
In the farming community, he would pick the brains of other farmers to learn the tricks of the trade, which he noted was difficult at first. Not having the background in farming and being new to the area, it took time to gain recognition amongst his peers. Now, being the highest redeemer of the WIC and Seniors checks in the state, the farmers refer to him as "Mr. WIC."
"Now I got the respect of a lot of them because I didn't just come in and get out and be done," Farmer George said. "I'm still here, I'm still doing it."
From the Farm to the Produce Bags...
Every meal recipient at MOWMC receives a weekly produce bag, which Farmer George assembles based on the goods at his farmers' market stands.
To fill the produce bags, Farmer George carefully considers the value of each item he includes. For example, grapes, typically sold in bunches are more costly than some other produce, so he adjusts quantities accordingly. The contents of the bags vary from week to week, based on the value of the produce selected. He also keeps in mind practical constraints: the bags must not be too bulky for Rider University to store or too heavy for volunteers to carry during deliveries.
"We tried to rotate a lot of stuff last year," Farmer George said. "They really just want to have the hand to mouth kind of things." Since most meal recipients cannot cook for themselves, this was a special consideration for MOWMC.
Mostly containing fruits, the produce bags include crops such as grapes, peaches, nectarines, apples, pears, oranges, strawberries and blueberries (depending on the season and availability).
The vegetables which Farmer George includes are cucumbers, zucchini, squash, peppers - ingredients that could easily be thrown into a salad or that don't require much preparation. MOWMC often included a simple recipe for using the items in the bag.
Over the years, the produce bag program has continued to evolve. Since MOWMC volunteers deliver fresh fruits and vegetables alongside regularly scheduled meals, staff quickly learned which items were most enjoyed, and which were less popular with participants.
In a Produce Survey conducted in 2024 by MOWMC, about 84% of the participants felt that the additional produce was ample for their diets, and 85% were satisfied with the variety of the products.
"I love it very much," a participant responded in the survey. "If it wasn't for you (MOWMC) I would not have any. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."