Help us save our farm animals!

Kristin Lauria is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

John and Joan’s Road Stand has been a fixture in Piscataway for over 60 years. My grandparents, Joan and John Lauria, started selling their fresh produce grown right here in Piscataway on their own land and nearby properties around 1958, soon after they became so busy that they built the Road Stand on their property and began bringing in additional produce and seasonal items from other local farms. Although John, a lifelong Piscataway resident, farmer, and Korean War Vet has been deceased for almost 25 years, the business remains in the family with four generations of the Lauria family including Joan who at 85 still lives on the property and remains a big part of the Road Stand. We enjoy giving our customers the “farm” experience in the middle of what once was a town full of many farms. We enjoy the smiles on everyone’s face when they see our farm animals and love being able to provide fresh eggs from our chickens. Most importantly the animals are part of our family. Our goats Hunter, Ranger, and Alvin are brothers and have only known our home. We have raised most of our chickens since they were hatched and grow attached to them as they grow and have even named many throughout the years. We are now faced with a zoning challenge that may directly impact our ability to keep our animals as part of our John and Joan’s family. The thought of having to separate our animals would be devastating not only us, but for them. Where would they go? Would they remain together?

About one year ago, we received a letter from Piscataway Township Zoning demanding that we remove our goats and chickens. Unfortunately, although we have been here for over 60 years and the properties have been farmland for many years prior to the adoption of the Township Zoning Code, we are not technically “grandfathered in” as an agricultural operation, as we had thought. This took our family by complete surprise and has also caused a great deal of emotional and financial stress. We as well as many of our customers love our animals and want to keep them as part of our John and Joan’s family. We have been making our best effort to go about this process with as little cost as possible, as we are a small business and have very limited resources; however, after our request was reviewed by an out of town professional land use planner hired by the Township, we discovered that it would be in our best interest to apply for a land use variance which will allow us the best chance to keep our farm animals.

Unfortunately, this is something that will be much more costly than the original route that we had planned. We have paid application fees, attorney fees, in addition to covering escrow requirements that must be replenished as used, and will now be faced with additional planning fees, court costs etc. While this process will not guarantee that we will be able to keep our animals, this will give us the best chance to keep them and we do feel that we have a very good chance at doing so as the township has been very supportive of our business.

We understand that like our family, many are financially strapped with little to spare; however, if there is any way that you can help, we would truly appreciate it. Our family is truly blessed by the support of our customers both in and out of town, both past and present. We are very lucky to be able to continue the Road Stand for so many years and can’t wait to see everyone in the spring.

John and Joan's Road Stand