Requires Secretary of Agriculture to establish Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program to reimburse school districts for costs expended in sourcing and procuring local foods for students; appropriates $4,500,000.

A1492 TR

ASSEMBLY, No. 1492

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ROY FREIMAN

District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)

Assemblywoman TENNILLE R. MCCOY

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

Assemblywoman MITCHELLE DRULIS

District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Sauickie, Assemblywoman Dunn, Assemblyman
Miller, Assemblywomen Katz, Haider, Morales, Assemblymen Spearman, Karabinchak,
Assemblywomen Peterpaul, Murphy, Assemblyman Bailey, Assemblywoman Swain,
Assemblyman Tully, Assemblywomen Sweeney, Speight, Quijano, Simmons, Donlon,
Assemblyman Singh and Assemblywoman Carter

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires Secretary of Agriculture to establish Farm
to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program to reimburse
school districts for costs expended in sourcing and procuring local foods for
students; appropriates $4,500,000.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As reported by the Assembly Agriculture and Natural
Resources Committee with technical review.

��

An Act
concerning the procurement of local food products by
school districts, supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes, and making an
appropriation.�

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� As used in this act:

���� �Baseline levels� or
�baselines� means the baseline levels identified by a school district pursuant
to paragraph (5) of subsection c. of section 2 of this act.

���� �Department� means the
Department of Agriculture.

���� �Eligible costs� means the
actual, documented costs, which are reimbursable with program grant funds, as
provided by subsection f. of section 2 of this act, and which are expended by
an eligible school district, by a participating partner school, or by a school
food authority operating in the district, in order to implement or undertake
the expanded or modified local food procurement policies, practices, standards,
processes, systems, or activities described in the district�s proposed local
food procurement plan, submitted pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection c. of
section 2 of this act.

���� �Eligible school district� or
�eligible district� means a school district in which all participating partner
schools provide subsidized school meals to students who are eligible therefor,
and which school district timely submits an attestation form, pursuant to
subsection c. of section 2 of this act and in accordance with any relevant
attestation deadlines established by the secretary for the program year, as
necessary to obtain a pro rata share of reimbursement grant funding annually
appropriated, deposited into the Farm to School Local Food Procurement
Reimbursement Fund, and dedicated for program purposes.

���� �Expanded or modified local
food procurement policies, standards, processes, systems, or activities� means
those policies, standards, processes, systems, or activities, described in an
attestation form submitted pursuant to subsection c. of section 2 of this act,
which are being newly implemented or undertaken, in an eligible school district
or in partner schools therein, specifically in order to increase, above current
levels, the total number or type of local foods being procured for students in
the district, the meal periods during which such local foods are served to
students in the district, or the total number or type of students in the
district who are being provided with access to such local foods, during either
the school year or the summer months, or both.

���� �Federal School Breakfast
Program� means the same as that term is defined in section 1 of P.L.2022, c.104
(C.18A:33-3.2).

���� �Ineligible costs� means any
costs that do not constitute eligible costs for the purposes of the Farm to
School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program, including, but not
limited to, any costs incurred, by a school or school district, in the sourcing
or purchasing of fluid dairy milk, or in association with the district�s
ordinary, unexpanded sourcing and procurement of local food products at or
below the baseline levels identified in the� attestation form submitted
pursuant to subsection c. of section 2 of this act.

���� �Local food� or �local food
product� means any raw, whole, or minimally processed fruit, vegetable, herb,
meat, seafood, legume, or grain that is 100 percent grown, raised, or caught in
the State or in State waters, regardless of the where the distributor of such
food is located.� �Local food� or �local food product� includes New Jersey
canned tomatoes, but does not include fluid dairy milk.

���� �Local Food for Schools
Cooperative Agreement Program� means the federal program, established and
administered by the Agricultural Management Service in the United States
Department of Agriculture, pursuant to which the Agricultural Management
Service is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements, with individual
states, in order to provide such states with federal financial assistance, as
necessary to enable the procurement thereby of local and regional foods from
small businesses, from local and regional farmers and food producers, and from
socially disadvantaged farmers and food producers, and the distribution thereby
of such local and regional foods, to students at partner schools, as part of
the State�s school meal programs.

���� �Local food procurement
partners� means all participating partner schools and school food authorities
which:� are operating within the boundaries of an eligible school district; are
participating in or are benefiting from the implementation of the district�s
proposed local food procurement plan; and are entitled to receive a
district-authorized and apportioned share of program grant funding awarded to
the district in any program year, in order to reimburse the eligible costs
being expended by such schools and school food authorities in association with
their effectuation or undertaking of new, expanded, or modified local food
procurement policies, practices, standards, processes, systems, or activities,
consistent with the district�s proposed local food procurement plan.

���� �Minimally processed� means
that a local food product is in its raw or whole state, or has been cut,
chopped, sliced, butchered, dried, or frozen, but has not been cooked, heated,
canned, or been subject to supplementation with any additives or fillers.

���� �National School Lunch
Program� means the same as that term is defined in section 1 of P.L.2022, c.104
(C.18A:33-3.2).

���� �Participating partner school�
or �partner school� means a school that is identified, by a school district, in
an attestation form submitted pursuant to subsection c. of section 2 of this
act, and which has agreed to participate in the expanded or modified local food
procurement policies, standards, processes, systems, or activities being
implemented or undertaken in the district with the use of grant funds awarded
under the Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program.

���� �Program� means the Farm to
School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program established pursuant
to section 2 of this act.

���� �Program year� means each
State fiscal year, commencing on July 1 of each calendar year following the
date of enactment of this act, for which moneys appropriated, pursuant to
sections 4, 6, or 7 of this act, and deposited into the Farm to School Local Food
Procurement Reimbursement Fund, are available for distribution and use by the
department, for dedicated program purposes.

���� �Proposed local food
procurement plan� means a plan developed by a school district and submitted to
the department, pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection c. of section 2 of this
act, which describes the new, expanded, or modified local food procurement
policies, practices, standards, processes, systems, or activities that are
proposed to be implemented or undertaken by the district, and by its local food
procurement partners, with the assistance of reimbursement grant funding
awarded to the district in and for the program year.

���� �School breakfast program�
means the same as that term is defined in section 1 of P.L.2022, c.104
(C.18A:33-3.2).

���� �School food authority� or
�SFA� means the entity that is responsible for providing, or for contracting
with appropriate food service management companies or other third-party food
service vendors to provide, school meal services to students at one or more
participating partner schools in the State, pursuant to, and for the purposes
of, the State�s school meal programs.

���� �School lunch program� means
the same as that term is defined in section 1 of P.L.2022, c.104
(C.18A:33-3.2).

���� �Secretary� means the
Secretary of Agriculture.

���� �Small or mid-sized family
farm� means a farm that is categorized, by the United States Department of
Agriculture Economic Research Service, as a small family farm having an annual
gross cash farm income of less than $350,000, or as a mid-sized family farm
having an annual gross cash farm income of not less than $350,000, and not more
than $999,999.

���� �Socially disadvantaged
farmer� means a person who is trained to engage in agricultural or
horticultural activities and is a member of a socially disadvantaged group.

���� �Socially disadvantaged group�
means a population group whose members have been subjected to prejudice or
discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability,
or, where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status,
religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, or
participation in any public assistance program, because of their membership in
the group or the shared characteristics of the group, and without regard to
their individual qualities.

���� �Subsidized school meals� or
�subsidized meals� means school lunch or breakfast, or both, the cost of which
is partially or fully subsidized by the State or federal government pursuant to
the National School Lunch Program, the federal School Breakfast Program, and
the associated provisions of P.L.1974, c.53 (C.18A:33-4 et seq.), P.L.2003, c.4
(C.18A:33-9 et seq.); P.L.2019, c.445 (C.18A:33-21.1), and P.L.2022, c.104
(C.18A:33-3.2 et al.).

���� �Subsidized student� means the
same as that term is defined in section 1 of P.L.2022, c.104 (C.18A:33-3.2).

���� �Summer Food Service Program�
means the federal reimbursement program, established under 42 U.S.C. s.1761 and
7 C.F.R. Part 225, pursuant to which the United States Department of
Agriculture is authorized to provide grants-in-aid and other assistance to the
states, as may be necessary to help schools, local government agencies,
nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities, and summer camps finance
the administrative and operational costs of providing meals to children, in
low-income areas, during the summer months and other planned periods of school
closure.

���� 2.��� a.� The Secretary of
Agriculture shall establish and operate a Farm to School Local Food Procurement
Reimbursement Grant Program, in accordance with the provisions of this act and
within the limits of moneys appropriated therefor pursuant to subsection a. of
section 4, and sections 6 and 7, of this act.� The purpose and goals of the
grant program shall be to provide sufficient and proportional reimbursement
financing, to eligible school districts in the State, in order to encourage and
enable such districts to initiate, expand, or otherwise modify the local food
procurement policies, practices, standards, processes, systems, and activities
being employed thereby or undertaken therein, at their own pace, and to
whatever extent that such policies, practices standards, processes, systems,
and activities are capable of being so initiated, expanded, or modified, as may
be necessary to effectuate an increase or expansion in the types or amounts of
local foods being procured for students, the meal periods during which local
foods are served to students, or the total number or types of students being
provided with access to local foods, for the purposes of the National School
Lunch Program, the federal School Breakfast Program, the Summer Food Service
Program, and any other school meals programs operated during the school year or
the summer months, or both.

���� b.��� The secretary shall be
authorized to annually award a program grant, to each eligible school district
that submits an attestation form, pursuant to subsection c. of this section, in
accordance with the following minimum and maximum annual funding allowances:

���� (1)�� a small school district,
which has less than 5,000 students enrolled at partner schools, shall be
eligible to receive an annual program grant of not less than $10,000 and not
more than $50,000;

���� (2)�� a medium-sized school
district, which has not less than 5,000 and not more than 10,000 students
enrolled at partner schools, shall be eligible to receive an annual program
grant of not less than $20,000 and not more than $125,000; and

���� (3)�� a large school district,
which has 10,000 or more students enrolled at partner schools, shall be
eligible to receive an annual program grant of not less than $44,000 and not
more than $250,000.

���� c.���� A school district that
wishes to obtain a reimbursement grant award under the Farm to School Local
Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program, for use in any program year,
shall submit, in a manner and by a deadline prescribed by the secretary, a
program participation attestation form that includes, at a minimum:

���� (1)�� a statement certifying
the total number of partner schools

in the district

which will be participating in, or directly benefitting from,
the local food sourcing and procurement activities

being
undertaken therein with program grant funding;

���� (2)�� based on the number of
students enrolled at all partner schools in the district, as identified
pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, a statement certifying the
district�s status as a small district, a medium-sized district, or a large
district, for the purposes of funding determinations being made pursuant to
this section, and identifying the total amount of program grant funding being
sought by the district, within the appropriate minimum and maximum funding
range established, pursuant to subsection b. of this section, for similarly
sized districts;

���� (3)�� a statement certifying,
and briefly describing, the purposes for which the awarded program grant funds
will be used by the district, and by its local food procurement partners, in
the upcoming program year;

���� (4)�� a statement certifying
whether, and to what extent, the district is seeking the department�s
discretionary authorization, pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection f. of this
section, in order to enable a portion of the district�s program grant award to
be used for technical assistance expense purposes in the upcoming program year,
and specifying the proportion of the total requested program funding award, by
percentage and dollar amount, which is being sought for such discretionary
purposes;

���� (5) a certified copy of the
district�s proposed local food procurement plan, as well as a brief summary
describing the district�s current baseline local food sourcing activities and
approximate local food budget, if any, and identifying the extent to which
farmers have provided local foods to the district�s students during the
immediately preceding school year; and

���� (6)� any other information or
attachments required by the secretary.

���� d.��� (1)� Moneys
appropriated, deposited in the Farm to School Local Food Procurement
Reimbursement Fund, and dedicated for program use in each program year, in
accordance with the provisions of this act, shall be proportionally allocated
and awarded, to and among all eligible school districts, on an equitable, pro
rata basis.� The proportional amount of reimbursement grant funding to be
awarded to each eligible school district, in each program year, shall be
determined by the department, in accordance with a funding formula developed
pursuant to subsection e. of this section, and shall be sufficient to reimburse
all, or a portion of, the district�s eligible costs at a rate that is
proportional to the reimbursement rate applied by the department, in the same program
year, to other, similarly sized and situated school districts.

���� (2)�� Reimbursement grant
funding awarded in each program year, pursuant to this act, shall be
distributed directly , and on an installment basis in accordance with section 3
of this act, to each eligible school district, and each such recipient school
district shall be authorized to use and to further allocate and disburse the
distributed funds, as appropriate and necessary to reimburse the eligible costs
expended, during the program year, by the district, and by its local food
procurement partners, in association with the implementation of the district�s
proposed local food procurement plan.

���� e.���� The funding formula
developed, for the purposes of subsection d. of this section, shall be designed
to:

���� (1)�� facilitate the
apportionment and allocation, to and among all eligible school districts, of
equitable, pro rata shares of funding appropriated, deposited in the Farm to
School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Fund, and available for program
purposes in each program year, based upon, and taking into consideration:� (a)
the size of each district, and the number of participating partner schools
therein; (b) the number and percentage of students enrolled at partner schools,
in each district, who are eligible for subsidized school meals; (c) whether,
and the extent to which, each eligible school district, and participating
partner schools therein, are located in a food desert area; (d) whether, and
the extent to which, awarded program grant funding is expected to be used by
each district, and by the district�s local food procurement partners, in order
to facilitate, encourage, or mandate the sourcing and procurement of local food
products produced by small or mid-sized family farms or socially disadvantaged
farmers in the State; and (e) whether, and how many times, each eligible school
district has previously received, and has fully expended, reimbursement grant
funding awarded in prior program years; and

���� (2)�� provide for
proportionally adjusted pro rata shares of available program funding to be
allocated, in each program year, to those eligible school districts that:� (a)
have a high number or percentage of subsidized students enrolled at partner
schools and will use awarded grant funds, in full or in part, to increase
subsidized students� access to local foods; (b) are located, or have one or
more partner schools located, in a food desert area; (c) will use, or will
encourage or require their local food procurement partners to use awarded grant
funds to facilitate or mandate the increased sourcing and procurement of local
foods produced by small or mid-sized family farms or socially disadvantaged
farmers in the State; or (d) were recipients of a program grant award in one or
more prior program years, the full amount of which has been exhausted, in
compliance with all applicable program requirements , for the reimbursement of
eligible costs expended in the relevant program year.

���� f. (1)� Except as otherwise
provided by paragraph (2) of this subsection, of the program grant funds
annually awarded to an eligible school district, pursuant to this section, 100
percent shall be used to reimburse the costs expended by the district, and by
the district�s local food procurement partners, during the program year, in
sourcing and procuring the increased types or amounts of local foods that are
needed to implement the new, expanded, or modified local food procurement
policies, practices, standards, processes, systems, and activities described in
the district�s proposed local food procurement plan.

���� (2) Notwithstanding the
provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection to the contrary, the department,
acting on a discretionary and individual case basis, may authorize up to 20
percent of the grant funds annually awarded to an eligible school district,
pursuant to this section, to be used for reimbursement of the costs that are
expended , during the program year, by the district and the district�s local
food procurement partners, for technical assistance expenditures that are
deemed, in department�s discretion, to be necessary to facilitate the effective
implementation of the new, expanded, or modified local food procurement
policies, practices, standards, processes, systems, and activities described in
the district�s proposed local food procurement plan; provided, however, that
the use of program grant funds for such technical assistance expenditures, and
the percentage and dollar amount of the total program grant funding award which
is to be made available to a district, for such purposes, shall be authorized
and determined, in the department�s discretion, only in a case where the school
district has included, in the attestation form submitted pursuant to subsection
c. of this section, for the relevant program year, a statement certifying the
need for such technical assistance funding and identifying, by percentage and
dollar amount, the proportion of the total grant funding award being requested
for discretionary allocation and use for such purposes.

���� g.��� Grant moneys awarded
pursuant to the Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant
Program shall not be used to reimburse any ineligible costs, and shall not be
used to reimburse any eligible costs that are already being paid for or
reimbursed with other State or federal funds.� In any case where another State
or federal agency or program is providing funding for eligible costs expended
by the district, or by its local food procurement partners, in association with
the implementation of the district�s proposed local food procurement plan or
any of the new, expanded, or modified local food procurement policies,
practices, standards, processes, systems, or activities described therein, the
total eligible costs that are reimbursable under the Farm to School Local Food
Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program shall be reduced by the amount of the
other State or federal contributions.

���� h.��� (1) A school district
receiving a program grant award, pursuant to this section, shall be required to
prepare and submit , on a monthly, quarterly, or other periodic installment
basis throughout the program year, as specified by department rule or regulation,
an invoice and accounting statement documenting the eligible costs expended by
the district, and by its local food procurement partners, during the relevant
accounting period.�

���� (2) The periodic invoice and
accounting statements required, pursuant to this subsection, shall be submitted
in a form and manner, and at a frequency and by the deadlines, prescribed by
secretary, and shall include:

���� (a)� the name and address of,
or other contact information for, each farm or other local food producer that
supplied local food products to the school district , or to its local food
procurement partners, during the relevant accounting period;

���� (b)� appropriate receipts,
photos, or other documentation verifying the expenditures invoiced, in the
statement, for the relevant accounting period;

���� (c)� a brief explanation
setting forth the basis upon which such invoiced expenditures should be deemed
to constitute eligible costs for the purposes of program reimbursement; and

���� (d)�� any other relevant
information required by the secretary.

���� i.���� Reimbursement payments
authorized pursuant to this section shall be requested by grant award
recipients, and issued by the department, using a reliable and efficient
automated system that is specifically designed, or is otherwise capable of
being used, for program-related expense invoicing and tracking purposes.� The
commissioner shall be authorized either to develop and implement a new
automated system or to modify and utilize an existing automated system, as
necessary to facilitate the submission of reimbursement claims and the issuance
of reimbursement payments under the program, in accordance with the
requirements of this section.

���� 3.��� a.� Reimbursement grant
funds awarded to an eligible school district, under the program, shall not be
disbursed to the recipient district in a single, lump-sum payment, but shall be
disbursed to the school district on a rolling, term-limited, monthly, quarterly,
or other periodic installment basis, as specified by department rule or
regulation, over the course of a single program year and using a draw-down
process that provides for reimbursement checks to be issued within 120 days
after the district submits a periodic invoice and accounting statement for the
relevant accounting period, as required by subsection h. of section 2 of this
act. Each installment payment authorized and issued, pursuant to this section,
shall be sufficient in amount, within the limits of funding annually allocated
to the district in its program grant award, to reimburse the eligible costs
documented in the district�s most recent periodic invoice and accounting
statement.

���� b.��� Reimbursement grant
funds disbursed to a school district, pursuant to this section, may be further
apportioned, allocated, and distributed, by the recipient district, to and
among the district�s local food procurement partners, in order to reimburse the
eligible costs expended thereby during the relevant accounting period, as
documented in the district�s most recent invoice and accounting statement.

���� c.���� Except as otherwise
provided by subsection e. of this section:

���� (1)� any program grant funds
that are awarded to a school district, but which remain unclaimed by the
district at the end of the annual disbursement period established pursuant to
subsection a. of this section, shall be reclaimed by the secretary, at that
time, and redeposited into the Farm to School Local Food Procurement
Reimbursement Fund for the fund�s dedicated purposes; and

���� (2) any program grant funds
that are disbursed, to an eligible school district, through a periodic
installment payment authorized in any program year pursuant to subsection a. of
this section, but which are not used, allocated, or distributed, by the school
district, for the reimbursement of eligible costs identified in its associated
invoice and accounting statement, shall, at the end of such program year, be
reclaimed by the secretary and redeposited into the Farm to School Local Food
Procurement Reimbursement Fund for the fund�s dedicated purposes.

���� d.��� Nothing in this section,
or in any other provision of law, rule, or regulation, shall be deemed to
prohibit an eligible school district that receives a program grant in one year
from applying for another program grant in any subsequent program year.�

���� e.���� (1)� Any eligible
school district that receives a program grant award shall be prohibited from
engaging in the roll-over of the awarded grant funds, from one program year to
the next, except as may be otherwise expressly authorized by the department
pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection.�

���� (2)�� Whenever a school
district receives a program grant award and is unable to use all of the awarded
grant funds in a single program year, due to a hardship beyond the district�s
control, including, but not limited to, a natural disaster, or a significant transition
or turnover in the financial management or staffing of the food service
authorities, providers, or vendors that facilitate local food sourcing or
procurement services in the district, the secretary may, upon application by
the school district, authorize any remaining grant fund balance to be
rolled-over and used by the district, for the same purposes, in the next
program year, subject to the same rolling disbursement requirements established
by subsection a. of this section.� Any school district applying for roll-over
funding, pursuant to this subsection, shall submit documentation sufficient to
establish, to the secretary�s satisfaction, that the district�s failure to
expend the full amount of the grant award, during the program year in which the
awarded grant funds were disbursed pursuant to subsection a. of this section,
is the result of a reasonable, valid, and unexpected hardship outside the
district�s control.

���� 4.� a.� The department and
Legislature shall take appropriate action, to the greatest extent practicable,
to facilitate the uninterrupted, seamless, and continuous operation of the Farm
to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program, and the annual
appropriation and availability of dedicated funding sufficient for the
program�s purposes, from one program year to the next.� To that end, and
following the expenditure of funds initially appropriated for program purposes,
pursuant to sections 6 and 7 of this act:

���� (1)�� the department shall
include, in each annual budget request submitted to the Legislature, a request
for the appropriation of funds in an amount, not exceeding $4,500,000, which is
deemed by the department to be sufficient to support and continue program operations
and facilitate the achievement of program goals and the proportional financing
of individual program grant awards, in the next upcoming program year; and

���� (2)�� the Legislature shall
annually appropriate, from the General Fund to the Department of Agriculture,
for deposit into the Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Fund,
for the dedicated purposes set forth in subsection c. of section 5 of this act,
a sum of moneys, not in excess of $4,500,000, which sum is consistent with the
sum requested in the department�s annual program appropriations request,
submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, and is sufficient to
enable the department to continue operating the program and financing the
issuance of proportional reimbursement grant awards to all eligible school
districts thereunder, in the upcoming program year, in accordance with the
provisions of this act and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

���� b.��� In, and for the purposes
of, each annual appropriations request submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subsection a. of this section, the department shall identify:�

���� (1)�� the total amount of
moneys previously appropriated to the department and deposited into the Farm to
School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Fund, for the program�s purposes,
in each preceding program year and cumulatively, over the program�s lifetime;

���� (2)�� the total amount of
moneys previously deposited in the fund which remain unexpended and available
for appropriation and use in an upcoming program year;

���� (3)�� the estimated number,
and the proposed minimum, maximum, mean, and average dollar amounts, of
individual program grant awards that are expected to be financed with newly
appropriated funds in the upcoming program year;

���� (4)�� the total amount of
federal funding received, in the preceding year, and the total amount of
federal funding expected to be received, in the upcoming year, pursuant to the
Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program or any other similar
federal program or law, for the purposes of facilitating the State�s
procurement of local or regional foods for use by participating partner
schools; and

���� (5)�� any other data or
information required by department rule or regulation.

���� c.���� The department shall,
to the greatest extent practicable:

���� (1)�� maximize the receipt and
use of federal funds that are made available to the State, under the Local Food
for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program or other, similar federal programs or
laws, for the purposes of procuring local or regional food products under the
Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program; and

���� (2)�� fully expend, in each
year, and for the purposes of the Farm to School Local Food Procurement
Reimbursement Grant Program, all federal funding that has been annually
allocated to the State, pursuant to the Local Food Local Food for Schools
Cooperative Agreement Program or other, similar federal programs or laws, to
facilitate the State-level procurement of local or regional foods for schools,
before moving to expend any State-level funding that has been appropriated and
allocated, for the grant program�s use and purposes, in the same program year.

���� d.��� The department shall
annually submit a written program status report to the Governor and, pursuant
to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature,
contemporaneously with its submission of an annual program appropriations
request pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection a. of this section.� Each such
annually submitted program status report shall include, at a minimum, the
following information:

���� (1)�� an update on the
program�s ongoing implementation status and operations, including, but not
limited to, information identifying the total number of program years during
which the program has been operating with dedicated funding, and indicating
whether, and to what extent, there has been any interruption or disruption in
program operations or in program grant award disbursements, or any significant
reduction in the amount of funding appropriated for dedicated program purposes,
during any prior program year, and the reasons therefor;

���� (2)�� an update on the
development and implementation status, and the ongoing use and effectiveness
of, the department�s program funding formula, developed pursuant to subsections
d. and e. of section 2 of this act, including, but not limited to, information
describing whether, how, and to what extent, the funding formula has been
designed, or is, has been, or will be applied in practice, to facilitate the
funding determinations required by section 2 of this act;

���� (3)�� information identifying
the number and percentage of eligible school districts that received upwardly
adjusted pro rata shares of program funding in each program year, as authorized
by paragraph (2) of subsection e. of section 2 of this act, and the basis upon
which, and the minimum, maximum, mean, and average dollar amounts by which,
such pro rata shares were upwardly adjusted;

���� (4)�� an assessment as to
whether, how, and the extent to which, the Farm to School Local Food
Procurement Grant Program has been successful, in each preceding program year
and cumulatively, over the full term of program operations, in facilitating and
incentivizing the implementation and undertaking of new, expanded, or modified
local food procurement policies, practices, standards, processes, and
activities, by and in eligible school districts in the State, consistent with
the goals and purposes of this act;

���� (5)�� a summary of the methods
and approaches that are being used to maximize the federal funding that is made
available for the program�s purposes, as required by subsection c. of this
section; and

���� (6)�� the secretary�s findings
and recommendations regarding the necessity and benefits of continuing program
operations, and of ensuring the continued appropriation and dedication of
funding therefor, in the upcoming program year.

���� 5.��� a.� There is established
in the Department of Agriculture a special, non-lapsing fund to be known as the
Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Fund.� The moneys in the
fund are dedicated, and shall only be used for the purposes set forth in
subsection b. of this section.� The fund shall be credited with:�

���� (1)�� all moneys appropriated
for program purposes pursuant to subsection a. of section 4, and pursuant to
sections 6 and 7, of this act;

���� (2)�� all moneys carried
forward pursuant to subsection d. of this section;

���� (3)�� all interest received
from the investment of moneys in the fund; and

���� (4)�� any other moneys which
may, from time to time, otherwise become available for the purposes of the
fund.�

���� b.��� Moneys deposited in the
fund shall be held in interest-bearing accounts in public depositories, as
defined pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1970, c.236 (C.17:9-41), and may be
invested or reinvested in such securities as are approved by the State
Treasurer, pending the disbursement of program grant awards, in each program
year, pursuant to this act.� Any interest or other income earned on moneys
deposited into the fund, through investments or deposits made pursuant to this
paragraph, shall be credited to the fund as provided by subsection a. of this
section.�

���� c.���� (1) Moneys deposited in
the fund shall be used only for the purposes of financing reimbursement grant
awards issued to eligible school districts, under the Farm to School Local Food
Procurement Grant Program, in accordance with the provisions of this act and
the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, except that, of the total
amount of moneys annually deposited and available in the fund, for use in any
program year, up to 15 percent of such total amount, but not more than
$500,000, may be used to finance the administrative costs, set forth in
paragraph (2) of this subsection, which are annually incurred by the department
in establishing the program and in commencing and continuing program operations
as provided by this act.

���� (2)�� The administrative costs
that are reimbursable with appropriated program funds, as provided by paragraph
(1) of this subsection, shall include, but need not be limited to, any
administrative costs that are incurred by the department in:�

���� (a)�� hiring and employing at
least one full-time staff person and other personnel, as necessary to properly
administer and manage the grant program and provide relevant program-related
information and assistance to eligible school districts thereunder;

���� (b)�� providing relevant
outreach, information, and training to farmers who are engaged, or who plan to
engage, in the sale or donation of local food products to schools and school
districts for program purposes;

���� (c)�� acquiring, maintaining,
and repairing relevant technology, equipment, and computer programs, as
necessary to establish, implement, and successfully operate the program and
facilitate the annual pro rata allocation, awarding, and periodic disbursement
of available program grant funding thereunder; and

���� (d)�� monitoring and
evaluating the ongoing implementation and operational status of the program, as
well as its outcomes, costs, benefits, and ongoing and future funding needs,
and reporting program-related data, assessments, and updates to the Governor
and Legislature, and to members of the public, as necessary to implement the
provisions and effectuate the purposes of this act.

���� d.��� Any moneys deposited in
the Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Fund and remaining
unexpended at the end of the program year shall be carried forward and
dedicated for the program�s use and purposes in future program years, as
provided in subsection b. of this section, subject to legislative
appropriation.

���� 6.� There is appropriated from
the General Fund, to the Department of Agriculture

for
deposit into the Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Fund, the
sum of $4,000,000, which shall be dedicated solely for use, by the department,
in financing initial grant awards to eligible school districts, under the Farm
to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program, in the first
program year commencing on or after the effective date of this section.� The
sums appropriated to the department, pursuant to this section, for the
financing of initial program grant awards, shall be supplemental, and shall be
appropriated in addition, to any sums that are otherwise appropriated thereto
pursuant to, and on or after the effective date of, section 7 of this act, for
the purposes of financing the department�s initial program-related
administrative expenses.

���� 7.��� In addition to the sums
required to be appropriated for initial program grant awards pursuant to
section 6 of this act, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the
Department of Agriculture, the sum of $500,000, which shall be dedicated solely
for the department�s use in financing the administrative costs, as set forth in
paragraph (2) of subsection c. of section 5 of this act, which are incurred in
association with the department�s initial establishment of the Farm to School
Local Food Reimbursement Grant Program, pursuant to this act, and its
commencement of initial program operations thereunder, in and for the first
program year.

���� 8.� a.� Section 7 of this act
shall take effect immediately.�

���� b.��� Sections 1 through 6 of
this act shall take effect on the first day of the thirteenth month next
following the� date of enactment, or on January 1 of the second full calendar
year next following the date of enactment, whichever date is later, except that
the Department of Agriculture shall take anticipatory administrative action, in
advance of such effective date, and using the funds appropriated pursuant to
section 7 of this act, as may be necessary to establish the Farm to School
Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program and otherwise implement the
provisions, and effectuate the purposes, of this act.