Here's the link to a story about this project. Campbell's came and made soup with the kids with some of the tomatoes grown in this program.
The Library Seed Bank is excited to partner with The Center for Environmental Transformation (CFET) a wonderful nonprofit organization in Camden, New Jersey, to grow selections of the heirloom tomatoes that were developed for Campbell's Soup's use in the early part of the 20th century. The JTD, Rutgers, and Campbell's 146 will be grown as part of this project, as well as the Marglobe, which was crossbred with the JTD to produce the Rutgers. JTD stands for John Thompson Dorrance who discovered the formula for condensed soup in 1897 and served as Campbell’s president from 1914-1930. These tomatoes were grown specifically for Campbells by the turn of the century farmers in Southern New Jersey and were instrumental in the development of the iconic Campbell's Tomato Soup, which was immortalized by Andy Warhol, and when eaten with a grilled cheese, is a classic American comfort food.
CFET will use these heirloom tomatoes as a tool for education in the local community to teach about New Jersey agricultural history, plant breeding, seed saving, and food security. This project captures the zeitgeist of today’s local food movement while also telling the story of the resiliency of the great city of Camden as it moves forward with a progressive, modern, and sustainable food project. The story comes full circle now with Campbell's recent announcement supporting the labeling of GMO ingredients.
The tomatoes being grown in this project are part of Library Seed Bank's Authentic Jersey Tomato Seed Collection.