A time for action: Make your voice heard on food systems legislation
Thumbnail photo: Raised bed garden (Photo courtesy of Mandy Coriston)
In our ongoing coverage of New Jersey’s food systems, Senior Reporter Mandy Coriston examines two pieces of state legislation that could impact how New Jerseyans grow and access fresh, locally-grown food.
Infographic: Mandy Coriston for Public Square Amplified.
Trenton – The state legislature is rapidly approaching its summer recess, and in the wings are two key pieces of legislation surrounding local food purchasing for schools and expanding land access for urban agriculture. The time for action is now, and here is an overview of two critical food systems bills and how to contact policymakers to make your voice heard.
New Jersey Legislature Bill A3742/S1637
If passed, Bill A3742/S1637 would require the New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture to establish a Farm to School Local Food Procurement Grant Program. This program would reimburse school districts for the expenses incurred by purchasing locally grown and produced foods for student meals and would appropriate $4.5 million in state funds.
Why is this bill so important?
In April, the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) delivered New Jersey schools and food producers a severe blow with the cancellation of more than $16 million for the Local Food for Schools program, an agreement managed by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS).
The federal fund stoppage, which also included yanking an additional $9.9 million in Local Food Purchase Assistance funds, left 46 farmers, including 32 who fall under the USDA definition of ‘historically underserved,’ without an income stream they’d come to rely on — as well as taking fresh, nutritious food out of the mouths of New Jersey schoolchildren. While a $4.5 million state grant fund won’t fully breach the chasm left by the loss of the USDA funding, it will present a stopgap and lay the foundation for growing a state-based funding program.
Infographic: Mandy Coriston for Public Square Amplified
What’s the bill’s current status?
The Assembly version of the legislation, Bill A3742, was voted and reported out of the Commerce, Economic Development, and Agriculture Committee on Thursday, June 12. Its next stop is the Assembly Appropriations Committee, where it will need to be passed to reach the Assembly floor.
What’s the best way to show support for the bill?
Anyone interested in advocating for Bill A3742/S1637 should contact their Assemblypersons’ office, as well as the offices of the members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The message is clear: this funding is critical for paying local farmers a fair market price to supply New Jersey’s schoolchildren with fresh, healthy food. Even if A3742 cannot be pushed through before the end of this legislative session, a swell of support now can keep the bill’s momentum going into the fall calendar.
New Jersey Legislature Bill A5627/S4350
The movement and eventual passage of Bill A5627/S4350 would be a huge win for urban agriculture in New Jersey. It’s a lengthy, heavily detailed piece of legislation that, at its core, authorizes the Garden State Preservation Trust (GSPT) to acquire urban land solely for agricultural and horticultural use. The funding for the program would come from Corporate Business Tax (CBT) monies, via a $25 million ‘seed fund’ in the first fiscal year after passage, and then annually by reallocating 5 percent of the CBT revenues previously slated for the State Agricultural Development Committee’s share of preservation funds.
Why is this bill so important?
Bill A5627/S4350 opens up exciting new possibilities for not only land access for urban agriculturalists and community gardens, but also to reclaim space for green infrastructure and urban reforestation to mitigate heat islands and support a healthier urban ecosystem. Under the legislation, the GSPT would be required to develop a program for instituting processes for landowners to sell land to the trust and for urban agriculturalists to lease land from the trust.
Some other provisions of the bill include:
A focus on purchasing small plots, such as easements, to preserve green spaces, as well as small parcels suitable for agriculture,
Development of an Urban Agriculture and Horticulture Stewardship Grant Program to fund qualified applicants for projects that improve soil, increase climate resiliency, and control erosion, among other regenerative practices, and
Allowing counties and towns to use their open space funds to acquire suitable agricultural lands in urban-designated areas.
These establishments make way for increased access to urban horticultural and agricultural space. This, in turn, will improve access to fresh, local food, positively impacting public health, stimulating the local food economy, and increasing food sovereignty.
Infographic: Mandy Coriston for Public Square Amplified
What’s the bill’s current status?
The Senate version of the bill, S4350, which is sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Shirley K. Turner (D-15), was favorably voted out of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Monday, June 9. The legislation now moves to the Senate, where it may be heard before the end of the spring session. The Assembly version of the bill, A5627, was referred to the Assembly Commerce, Economic Development, and Agriculture Committee on May 8, but was not heard in that committee before their meeting schedule concluded on June 12.
What’s the best way to show support for the bill?
Advocates for Bill A5627/S4350 should contact both their Senate and Assembly representatives to express their support. Although the legislation must still travel through both houses and Assembly committee, putting energy behind the bill now will ensure it stays moving even after the summer recess.
For more information on these or any other bills in the New Jersey Legislature, or to find your representative’s home office contact information, visit https://www.njleg.state.nj.us.
