Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee Statement, No. 2320 (February 22, 2024)

Summary

Statement of the Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee to the Assembly, State of New Jersey, dated February 22, 2024, reporting Assembly Bill No. 2320 favorably. The bill would require the Department of Agriculture (DOA) to publicize and promote community supported agriculture in the State, including a dedicated webpage and promotional labels for farmers. It would require the DOA to establish and annually observe Community Supported Agriculture Week, during the last full week in February. Through the existing Farm to School Program, the DOA would encourage schools to obtain locally grown products for school meals by subscribing to a community supported agriculture program. The Secretary of Agriculture could solicit and receive funds for the promotion.

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ASSEMBLY COMMERCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND
           AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE

                           STATEMENT TO

                      ASSEMBLY, No. 2320

       STATE OF NEW JERSEY
                          DATED: FEBRUARY 22, 2024

           The Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and
      Agriculture Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 2320.
           This bill would require the Department of Agriculture (DOA) to
      take certain actions to publicize and promote community supported
      agriculture in the State. “Community supported agriculture” is a
      method of on-the-farm direct sales and marketing in which the retail
      sale, to a consumer, of a share of the agricultural output of a
      commercial farm is effectuated through a paid subscription service.
      “Community supported agriculture program” or “CSA program” is
      defined by the bill to mean a farm product retail sales and marketing
      program in which participating consumers agree to pay a seasonal or
      annual subscription fee to a farm in exchange for the consumers’
      regular and ongoing receipt of weekly shares of the farm’s seasonal
      agricultural output.
           The bill would provide, in particular, that within 180 days after the
      bill’s effective date, the Secretary of Agriculture is to develop and
      implement a publicity and marketing program to promote community
      supported agriculture in the State. As part of the program, the
      department would be required to:
           (1) establish and regularly update, on its Internet website, a
      webpage that is dedicated to community supported agriculture;
           (2) use all available means to advertise and publicize: the
      availability of, and the benefits of participating in, community
      supported agriculture in the State; the names and locations of farms
      that participate in CSA programs; and the availability of the
      community supported agriculture webpage, established pursuant to the
      bill; and
           (3) develop, print, and distribute distinct promotional and
      marketing labels that may be used by farmers to identify agricultural
      products that are being marketed and sold through community
      supported agriculture.
           Nothing in the bill would prohibit the operator of a farm, after first
      consulting with the DOA, from creating the farm’s own promotional
      labels and using those labels to identify agricultural products that are
      being marketed and sold by the farm through community supported
      agriculture.
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    The bill would also require the DOA to establish and annually
observe a week of promotional events to be known as “Community
Supported Agriculture Week.”
    “Community Supported Agriculture Week” would be intended to
highlight and promote the value and importance of community
supported agriculture, both as a means by which farming operations
can better ensure their ongoing productivity, success, and financial
stability, and as a means by which individuals, families, and
businesses in the State can obtain fresh, seasonal, and easily accessible
farm-to-table foods, throughout the year. The week would be
celebrated on an annual basis, throughout the State, during the last full
week in February, and would be observed through the holding of
relevant promotional events.
    The bill would further require the DOA, through the State’s
existing “Farm to School Program,” to encourage schools in the State
to obtain fresh, locally grown or produced agricultural products for
school meals by subscribing to, and becoming participants in, a
community supported agriculture program, and to work in cooperation
with the Department of Education to ensure that school curriculum
addresses the value and importance of community supported
agriculture. In addition, the bill would require the State’s existing
“Farm to School” website to: (1) provide opportunities for the
execution of community supported agriculture subscription agreements
between and among farmers, distributors, and schools or school
districts; (2) facilitate the development and refinement of promotional
events in association with “Community Supported Agriculture Week”;
and (3) include a copy of any community supported agriculture
subscription agreement that has been entered into and successfully
implemented by any school or school district in the State.
    The bill would also require the existing State website that serves as
a clearinghouse for farmers, and that currently provides a list of
schools, school districts, and food banks that have a need for produce
or dairy products, to additionally provide a list of schools, school
districts, and food banks that are interested in participating as
subscribers in a community supported agriculture program.
    The bill authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to solicit and
receive funds, either as direct contributions, or from the sale of labels
or the right to use labels authorized by the DOA, or from any other
source, for the purposes of advertising and promoting the value and
importance of community supported agriculture in the State, as
provided by the bill. Any monies received for the purposes of the bill
are to be deposited in the State’s existing “New Jersey Farm Products
Publicity Fund.” The bill would clarify that, in addition to the existing
purposes for which monies in the “New Jersey Farm Products
Publicity Fund” may be used, such monies may be used to publicize
the value and importance of community supported agriculture; to
cover the expenses of printing and distributing labels used in
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identifying products being marketed and sold through community
supported agriculture; and to cover any other expenses that are
incident to the implementation of this bill.
    This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 2024-2025 session
pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes
required by technical review, which has been performed.


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