The NJ plan to bridge the gap between small farms and school lunchrooms

Graphic: Senate Bill 1637 for Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program. Source: https://www.njleg.gov/bill-search/2024/S1637/bill-text?f=S2000&n=1637_S1&

Trenton, NJ - New Jersey prides itself as the “Garden State.” Yet the paradox is stark: while family farms harvest peaches, tomatoes, kale, and corn, schoolchildren in lower-income districts still miss out on the local gifts of the Garden State at lunchtime. Simultaneously, small and mid-sized growers say they need steadier, closer-to-home buyers to make ends meet. 

To amend this, a proposal in Trenton, Senate Bill S1637, the companion to Assembly Bill A3742, which cleared the fullAssembly on June 30, now sits in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee without an appropriation in the FY26 budget. It aims to fix both problems at once, using state dollars to push local food into school cafeterias and give local farmers a dependable market.

Food inequity in New Jersey can be highlighted by data estimates that in 2022, almost 262,000 children lived in food-insecure households. Those numbers jumped alongside inflation as pandemic support unwound. In turn, for many school-age children, the lunch line is often the surest path to a fresh and healthy meal. 

“In my school, the fruits and vegetables were all usually the best part of the lunch, but even then, they didn’t always look fresh or inviting.” said Jennah Cherry-Romain, a recent (2025) graduate of Malcom X Shabazz High School in Newark. 

“I think this new farm-to-school program is a great idea because fresher, locally grown produce could make those healthy options even better and more appealing. If we’d had that back then, I probably would have eaten them more often, and it could have encouraged better eating habits for a lot of students.”

The state already subsidizes reduced-price meals to make them free for families just above the federal cutoff, a change that expanded eligibility for tens of thousands of students. But, cost and procurement rules still tilt buying decisions toward big, out-of-state distributors. 

In pockets of the state officially classified as food desert communities by the Economic Development Authority (ex: parts of Newark, Camden, Trenton, Jersey City) getting fresher food to kids is both a nutrition and an equity issue. 

Jeanine Cava, co-founder of the New Jersey Food Democracy Collaborative, testified in June that the bill is, “a common-sense investment in the health of our children, the viability of our farmers, and the strength of our local economy.” 

She noted that New Jersey recently lost a critical tool when the USDA cut over $26 million in local food funding, including money meant for historically underserved and first-generation farmers to build their capacity for wholesale and institutional purchasing.

“S1637 gives us the chance to reclaim that momentum,” she told lawmakers.

S1637 would create a Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program in the Department of Agriculture with a proposed $4.5 million in funding. Specifically, $4 million for grants to districts and $500,000 for startup administration.

Instead of a long grant application, districts would file a simple attestation and a local procurement plan; awards would be distributed on an equitable, pro rata basis, with upward adjustments for districts serving students who would most benefit, those operating in designated food deserts, and those that commit to buying from small, mid-sized, or “socially disadvantaged” New Jersey farmers. 

Grants are tiered by district size—from at least $10,000 for small districts to a $250,000 cap for the largest. Notably, the law limits this money to minimally processed New Jersey-grown items (e.g., produce, grains, legumes, meat, and seafood). 

James Klett of Fairgrown Farm underscored the practical importance of the funding, noting that, “schools are exceedingly challenging to work with… most cafeterias are managed by third-party food service providers, who are non-centralized to purchase from local farms. Funding like this bill, specific to New Jersey, requires them to do so.” 

He added, “by getting more food into the cafeteria, we are able to connect with families and educate the public on the importance of New Jersey-grown while exposing kids to healthy food.” 

Klett emphasized that the bill is also about survival for farmers, “New Jersey has a robust agricultural industry, but we struggle because the cost of production is so high. Keeping school spending inside of the state helps support the local economy, keep farming viable, and allow us to have local food production, which is at risk if we do not provide funding.”

Cava highlighted that every $1 spent on local foods in schools generates between $1.40 and $2.80 in local economic activity, citing research on the strong return for public investment. Farm to School programs, she added, “lead to real dietary improvements, with students eating 37% more vegetables and 11% more fruit when schools purchase, promote, and serve local food.” 

She argued that by keeping food grown in New Jersey on New Jersey plates, the state can strengthen supply chains, reduce food miles, and offer a climate-smart, resilient solution for its food system. Students seem to echo her sentiment.

“I think this new farm-to-school program is a great idea because fresher, locally grown produce could make those healthy options even better and more appealing” said Cherry-Romain. “If we’d had that back then, I probably would have eaten them more often, and it could have encouraged better eating habits for a lot of students.”

The politics, for now, are favorable. A3742 passed the Assembly with broad bipartisan support and now moves to the Senate, where its identical bill (S1637) has already been shaped in committee. If it becomes law, the Department of Agriculture would publish a funding formula and begin annual, pro-rata disbursements. Schools could begin planning menus knowing a state backstop will help cover the extra expenditures that come with local food. 

“The purpose of this bill,” Cava said, “is to create a state program to continue a successful federal program that has been recently canceled… and make it even better and stronger by incorporating the lessons learned.”