Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Directs Department of Agriculture to establish "Farm to Food Bank Pilot Program."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing the "Farm to Food Bank Pilot Program," and supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Agriculture shall establish, in consultation with the Department of Health, the "Farm to Food Bank Pilot Program" for farmers to contract with food banks for the timely distribution of produce and other agricultural food products. The program shall operate for three years after the effective date of this act and shall terminate 90 days after the submission of the report to the Governor and Legislature pursuant to subsection f. of this section, except that any farmer and food bank shall continue to honor the terms and conditions of a contract in effect after the termination date until the conclusion of the contract.
b. The participating farmer and food bank may negotiate and set the terms and the conditions of the contract, including, but not limited to, the type of produce or other agricultural food product to be provided by the farmer to the food bank and how the produce or other agricultural food product shall be transported from the farmer to the food bank.
c. Under the pilot program, the department shall:
(1) provide, within the limits of monies appropriated for such purposes, a grant for all or part of a farmer's cost of producing the produce or other agricultural food product, up to a reasonable market price for the produce or other agricultural food product contracted for by the food bank, as determined by the department; and
(2) establish guidelines for the award of grants made under the pilot program including eligibility criteria and application and reporting requirements for grant recipients.
d. The Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Health, shall provide information to farmers and food banks in the State concerning rules, regulations, or health and safety guidelines for the purchase and distribution of food. The Department of Agriculture shall ensure that the program is operated in compliance with any such rules, regulations, and guidelines.
e. The Secretary of Agriculture shall include with the annual budget request for the Department of Agriculture a request for funds sufficient to implement the program and provide for grants to farmers pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection c. of this section.
f. No later than three years after the effective date of this act, the Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the farmers and food banks participating in the pilot program, shall submit a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature, providing information concerning the implementation of the program and the department's recommendations for continuing the program and any revisions thereto. The report shall identify grant recipients, the amount of each grant awarded, the contractual arrangements of the farmer and food bank, and any input from farmers or food banks concerning the implementation of the program that the department finds useful for evaluating the successes or failures of the program.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The bill directs the Department of Agriculture (DOA) to establish, in consultation with the Department of Health, the "Farm to Food Bank Pilot Program" for farmers to contract with food banks for the timely distribution of produce and other agricultural food products. The program would operate for three years after the bill is enacted into law, terminating 90 days after the submission of the report to the Governor and Legislature required under the bill, except that the bill provides that farmers and food banks would continue to honor the terms and conditions of any contract in effect after the termination date until the conclusion of the contract.
The bill authorizes the DOA, within the limits of appropriations for the program, to provide a farmer with a grant to cover all or part of the farmer's production costs, up to a reasonable market price for the produce or agricultural food product, as determined by the DOA. The bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to request annually, as part of the DOA's budget proposal, an appropriation as may be necessary to fund the program and provide grants to farmers under the program.