New Jersey Fights Back Against Hunger at Home

TRENTON - Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a package of bills aimed to fighting hunger in New Jersey this Thursday. The bills, which were designed to address the state’s hunger crisis, will work to reduce food waste while improving the access of nutrition-starved communities to fresh and affordable produce.

“Every day, people in New Jersey go hungry while, at the same time, perfectly adequate food gets thrown in the trash,” said Senator Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch), the sponsor of two pieces of legislation approved as part of this package. “This should be unacceptable by any standard and I hope that today is at least a small step in closing the gap between the abundance of food we have and the people who need it most.”

One bill (A-4707) directs the Department of Agriculture to establish a public awareness campaign for food waste. The bill, which was sponsored by Assemblywoman Joann Downey (D-Freehold), aims to educate consumers on strategies to reduce wasteful shopping, including the benefits of creating a shopping list, the benefits of freezing meat close to its expiration date, and the meaning of date label definitions such as “use by,” “sell by,” and “best by.”

A second bill (AJR-172), sponsored by Gopal and Downey, designates the Thursday of the third week of September of each year as "Food Waste Prevention Day" in New Jersey.

“Each year in the United States, approximately 160 billion pounds of food end up as food waste, while about 12 percent of households lack consistent access to adequate food,” said Downey. “This is unacceptable. By dedicating a day to our country’s food waste epidemic and educating the public on this critical issue, we can reduce the financial, environmental and social impacts of food waste, and make sure that good food ends up with people who need it rather than in the trash.”

Through food donation programs, including gleaning - the practice of collecting leftover crops from farmers’ fields after the harvest is complete - farms are also able to contribute to the fight against hunger. To support their efforts, a new law (A-4708) introduced by Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling (D-Neptune) will establish a Farm Liaison in New Jersey’s Department of Agriculture.

“The responsibilities of farmers are so vast that they often lack the time or resources to learn about every program offered by the Department of Agriculture, which include taxation programs, food donations, anti-hunger initiatives, as well as other programs,” said Houghtaling. “By creating a Farm Liaison who can assist and encourage farmers to enroll in these programs, we will expand access to food for hungry people across New Jersey, as well as ease some of the financial and physical burdens for our state’s farmers.”

A full list of bills signed into law as part of this package is as follows:

• A4702 “Hunger-Free Campus Act” (Wimberly, Jasey, Mukherji/Cunningham, Ruiz) — Requires Secretary of Higher Education to establish grant program to address food insecurity among students enrolled in public institutions of higher education; appropriates $1 million.
• A4704 (Taliaferro, Murphy, Verrelli/Ruiz, Cunningham) — Directs Department of Agriculture to establish food desert produce pilot program.
• A4708 (Houghtaling, Andrzejczak/Space, Gopal, Kean) — Establishes Farm Liaison in Department of Agriculture.
• A4703 (Lopez, Holley, Kennedy/Beach, Cruz-Perez) — Requires Chief Technology Officer to establish “Anti-Hunger Link” for all State websites, providing information on emergency food services.
• A4705 (Carter, Benson, Mejia/Smith, Codey) — Establishes New Jersey Food Waste Task Force to make recommendations concerning food waste in New Jersey.
• A4707 (Tucker, Downey, Calabrese/Smtih, Singelton) — Directs Department of Agriculture to establish public awareness campaign for food waste.
• AJR172 (Downey, Johnson, Holley/Gopal) — Designates Thursday of third week of September of each year as “Food Waste Prevention Day” in New Jersey.
• AJR60 (DeAngelo, Lopez, Chiaravalloti/Ruiz, Cunningham) —Designates November of each year as “Food Pantry Donation Month” in New Jersey.
• AJR174 (Mejia, Benson, Quijano, Lopez/Cryan, Greenstein) — Urges large food retailers in State to reduce food waste.
• AJR175 (Chiaravalloti, Spearman, Mosequra/Diegnan, Singelton) — Urges Chief Innovation Officer to prioritize enhancement of NJOneApp to include all State anti-hunger programs.