Cinnaminson Students Helped Cranberry Juice Become NJ's Official Juice

CINNAMINSON, NJ — New Jersey now has an official state juice, thanks in part to Cinnaminson students' efforts.

Last May, students from Eleanor Rush Intermediate School visited the State Legislature to advocate for a bill to designate the drink as New Jersey's official juice. Their efforts paid off, as Acting Governor Nicholas Scutari signed the measure into law Monday.

The students were part of Erin Zarzycki's fourth-grade class.

"Congratulations to them for their advocacy and their understanding of a process to get a law passed," Scutari said.

Scutari, the State Senate president, became acting governor in the wake of Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver's death on Aug. 1. Oliver had assumed the role during Gov. Phil Murphy's vacation.

As the legislation notes, cranberries have a storied history in the region. The Lenni Lenape people of what is now South Jersey had harvested wild cranberries and used the fruit in a variety of remedies, foods and beverages.

The New Jersey Pinelands is one of the few places where cranberries grow naturally, according to the state. Cranberry farming in the state began in 1835 in a bog near Burrs Mills in Burlington County.

In 1912, New Jersey's Elizabeth Lee was one of the first to create jellied cranberry sauce. Lee later joined forces with other farmers to start the company known as Ocean Spray.

Before the bill passed, New Jersey didn't have an official juice.