Success Stories
Find Stories
Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.
Search Results: 16 Stories
![goats at gorgeous goat creamery.](/sites/default/files/styles/success_stories_thumbnail/public/20240417-USDA-RD-NJ-DMV-0058.png?itok=aSCtn2GI)
Gorgeous Goats: Turning Grazing into Gold
Hidden in the middle of a lush forest and accessible by only a single, winding drive is Stewgler Farm & Forest, home to the whimsically named Gorgeous Goat Creamery, where more than 70 gregarious Alpine dairy goats own the spotlight thanks to the ingenuity and dedication of… [Read More]
![Pictured: Water Tower in National Park, NJ.](/sites/default/files/styles/success_stories_thumbnail/public/20240220-USDA-RD-NJ-DMV-0075.jpg?itok=PB1nOZmr)
Joy and Earth in National Park
Nestled within the southwest corner of New Jersey lies the Borough of National Park, a small town with a big spirit. The close-knit community isn’t just a spot on the map that sounds like a hiking destination -- it's hometown to over 3,000 rural residents whose bonds run deep,… [Read More]
![Group photo of Frenchtown, NJ, community with RD NJ staff at a groundbreaking event.](/sites/default/files/styles/success_stories_thumbnail/public/20231213-USDA-RD-NJ-DMV-0099.png?itok=teRYAQum)
Invasions and Investments Keep Jersey Town Afloat
For the last 20 years, one small New Jersey town nestled along the bank of the Delaware River spends an entire weekend preparing for something you’d pull out of an adventure book – an all-out Viking invasion.
Hundreds of locals line the water’s edge as the river’s current… [Read More]
![Dorothy VFC EMT poses with funded stretcher](/sites/default/files/styles/success_stories_thumbnail/public/20231020-USDA-RD-DMV-0025.png?itok=4PIrHV-l)
Stretched Thin: Volunteer First Responders get USDA Lift
The remote town of Dorothy, New Jersey, is made up of about 1,300 residents. It’s small, surrounded by miles of pineland, and traversed only by two-lane roads. It’s the kind of place where having a friendly neighbor could go a long way if you found yourself in a pinch.
Lifetime… [Read More]
![Image of Ginsberg family at Moonshot Farm](/sites/default/files/styles/success_stories_thumbnail/public/Moonshot-Farms-Family-v2.jpg?itok=go-V9phm)
Geothermal Technology Helps Couple Make Year-Round Cut Flower Farm a Reality
Taking their chance on a lifelong dream, former urban dwellers Rebecca and Mark Ginsberg traded their conventional city lifestyle for rural living, establishing a cut flower farm. For the New Jersey couple it felt like a moonshot, but they believed they could do it.
Initially,… [Read More]
![Unionville Vineyards GM John Cifelli crushes grapes for wine](/sites/default/files/styles/success_stories_thumbnail/public/20230913-USDA-RD-DMV-0301.jpg?itok=FafhwSqu)
‘Sustainability should hurt’: Making wine without the whine
The drive up to Unionville Vineyards in Ringoes, New Jersey can be a tricky one. Patches of forest and sprawling farmland bound winding roads that lead to a natural, inclined driveway up to a rustic tasting room. In the summer, it’s hard to find a more picturesque setting. In… [Read More]
![Senior in NJ talks about food pantry](/sites/default/files/styles/success_stories_thumbnail/public/Joan-Lombardi.png?itok=hdDh2dEu)
The Greatest Thing in the World: Senior Praises USDA Rural Development Funded Food Pantry
Originally from Pennsylvania, she’s a self-proclaimed “Jersey girl” who says she can’t help herself when it comes to helping others.
“I like to tell the people around here what they should and shouldn’t be doing,” laughed Joan Lombardi, a resident at Kapp Senior Residences in… [Read More]
![Rural Development Staff Stand with the Homeowner](/sites/default/files/styles/success_stories_thumbnail/public/NJ-Home-Repair-Edgewater-Park.jpeg?itok=Mk_W_dsv)
Never Ones to Ask for Help, Couple Gets Needed Home Repairs through USDA Rural Development
Edmund and Mildred “Lorrie” Smith, at 80 years old found they urgently needed modifications to their bathroom as Edmund’s health worsened.
The couple, married for 62 years and the proud parents of three children, four grandchildren and three great grandchildren found… [Read More]
![A pretty white home with blue shutters and hanging plants](/sites/default/files/styles/success_stories_thumbnail/public/Delozier-NJ.jpg?itok=18mYoHkC)
More Than Just Home Repair- Refinance Helps Atlantic County Senior Maintain Independent Living
Ms. Barbara Delozier is a single senior living in Atlantic County, New Jersey. Like a lot of seniors on fixed incomes, Ms. Delozier finds it hard to make ends meet and manage cost of homeownership. Barbara has lived in her home for over a decade. Her home, built in 1965, needed… [Read More]
Pagination