Phyllis Cooper has trekked to more than her share of farmers markets in search of fresh produce: the Trenton Farmers Market in Lawrence, across the river to Morrisville, Pa., and even the Columbus Farmers Market in Burlington County… Under another tent, Michelle Brill, family and consumer health sciences educator for Rutgers Cooperative Extension was sauteing spinach and handing out samples. Each week, she’ll coordinate with the farmers to bring shoppers simple, seasonal recipes… “The residents around here can’t get to what you see over there at the farms, so we bring it to them,” she said. “And the fact that we’ll be here for months at a time, it’s not a one-shot deal. … Hopefully that will create the behavior change that you’re looking for that will really improve health.”

After a homegrown, homebred strawberry was developed by scientists at Rutgers and unveiled in May, one local company has found a new way for New Jersey residents to enjoy the Rutgers berry: during happy hour. The Carton Brewing Company, located in Atlantic Highlands, debuted the Rutgers Scarlet strawberry-infused beer for a taste test to customers Thursday… “You smell it more than you really taste it, but you really can taste the difference,” said Mike Rooney, a Middletown resident who said he visits Carton Brewing Company weekly… Rutgers scientists worked on creating the Rutgers Scarlet strawberry- which is bred to specifically grow in this state- for about 10 years, and introduced the it in May. Through traditional breeding, the researchers crossed two strawberry varieties to bring together compounds to make the new berry, said Bill Hlubik of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

What’s new, what’s changed and … strawberry shortcake- all at Jersey eateries… The delicious, briny New Jersey oysters on the half shell, featured at places such as the Raw Bar at The Lobster House in Cape May, didn’t have far to travel. Thanks to Rutgers University’s Aquaculture Innovation Center in Cape May, healthy crops of baby oyster seeds are being sold to nine oyster farms on the Delaware Bay, places such as Sweet Amalia Oyster Farm, Betsy’s Cape Shore Salts and Dias Creek Oyster Company. Unlike “wild” oysters, usually shucked for canning, these plump and meaty bivalves wind up at high-end seafood restaurants. How tasty are these oysters? Ask Andrew Zimmern- who sampled them, and the food they eat- last summer on his Travel Channel show, “Bizarre Foods America.” The Lobster House is located at 906 Schellengers Landing Road; (609) 884-8296; thelobsterhouse.com