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Committee releases bill to reimburse schools for local food purchases, citing freeze losses for specialty crops
Summary
The Assembly Agriculture Committee released A-1492 to create a $4.5 million Farm-to-School procurement reimbursement grant; farmers and nutrition directors testified that federal pandemic-era buying programs ended and state support is needed to sustain school purchases of local meat, produce and dairy.
The Assembly Agriculture Committee voted to release Assembly Bill 1492, which would create a Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program and appropriate $4.5 million to reimburse school districts for costs of sourcing and procuring local foods.
Supporters told the committee the funding addresses a gap left when federal pandemic-era assistance ended. "This funding is so critical," said Toni Bowman, director of nutrition at Plumbtonian Food Service, testifying on behalf of the School Nutrition Association in New Jersey, adding that while federal programs cover some commodities and produce, "there is no funding for us to directly purchase local foods in our schools." Bowman said local purchasing reinvests dollars into New Jersey agriculture and strengthens supply chains.
Small and mid-sized farmers described direct benefits. "We do 4 cows, 3 pigs, 200 chickens every week," said Jamal Cadre of Lima Family Farms, describing past sales of ground beef to local schools through a federally funded program that has since ended. Farmer Ashley Asdell, owner of Rhyomede Farm in Chester, said the state program would help newer, weather-dependent "U-pick" and small-scale operations establish consistent income streams.
Committee members framed the measure as a continuation at state scale of temporary federal Local Food Purchase Assistance programs launched in 2021–22. Assemblyman Sawicki and other sponsors said the state can sustain much smaller but meaningful support for procurement. After brief questions from members, the committee moved and voted to release the bill for further legislative consideration.
The bill was read into the record as proposing a $4,500,000 appropriation; the committee recorded supportive testimony from farmers, the New Jersey Food Democracy Collaborative and school nutrition stakeholders. The committee released the bill without committee amendments.
The committee’s next steps are routine: the bill will proceed through the legislative process for further hearings and floor consideration.
