Establishes Food Recovery Infrastructure Grant Program in Department of Agriculture; makes appropriation.

A4067

ASSEMBLY, No. 4067

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 12, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes Food Recovery Infrastructure Grant
Program in Department of Agriculture; makes appropriation.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning food recovery organizations, 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.��� a.� As used in this
section:

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

���� �Food recovery organization�
means a food bank, food pantry, soup kitchen, food gleaning organization, food
donation aggregator, shelter for the homeless, or other nonprofit organization
that distributes food to individuals in need of assistance.

���� �Grant program� means the Food
Recovery Infrastructure Grant Program established pursuant to this section.

���� b.� There is hereby
established in the Department of Agriculture the Food Recovery Infrastructure
Grant Program.� The purpose of the grant program shall be to award grants to
food recovery organizations to support food recovery organizations and assist with
the purchase of equipment that is necessary to safely recover and store food
obtained from food donors.

���� c.� The department shall
administer the grant program and make grants available to food recovery
organizations in this State to assist with the: costs of providing salaries,
wages, or compensation to the organization�s employees; overhead and general
administrative costs of the organization; and costs of purchasing eligible
equipment.� Eligible equipment shall include:

���� (1)�� refrigerators, including
commercial refrigerators;

���� (2)�� freezers, including
commercial freezers;

���� (3)�� refrigerant and
non-refrigerant box trucks;

���� (4) retrofit refrigerator
units;

���� (5)� mobile cooler units;

���� (6)�� cargo vans;

���� (7)�� pallet jacks;

���� (8)�� dollies;

���� (9)�� hand fork lifts;

���� (10) � stoves;

���� (11)� ovens;

���� (12)� microwaves;

���� (13)� freezer blankets;

���� (14)� industrial shelving;

���� (15) �reusable bags; and

���� (16)� any other equipment the
department deems necessary for food recovery operations.

���� d.� The Department of
Agriculture, in consultation with the Office of the Food Security Advocate,
shall develop an application by which a food recovery organization may apply
for a grant, and criteria by which to evaluate the applications received by the
department, and select grant awardees from those applications.� The department
shall provide notice of the availability of funding under the grant program and
make the application available on the department's Internet website.

���� e.���� A food recovery
organization seeking to participate in the grant program shall submit an
application in a form and manner determined by the department.� The application
shall include such information the department determines is necessary to
administer the program.

���� f.� A grant awarded pursuant
to this section shall be in an amount determined by the department, not to
exceed $50,000 and subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of
Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury.

���� g.� A food recovery
organization that receives a grant pursuant to this section may use up to 10
percent of the total amount of the grant for the salaries, wages, or
compensation of the organization�s employees and the organization�s overhead
and general administrative costs.

���� h.� The Secretary of
Agriculture shall annually apply for any federal grants funds or other forms of
non-State financial assistance, which may be available to be used for the grant
program, and may, if applicable, apply for federal grant funds or other forms
of non-State financial assistance on behalf of one or more entities approved
for participation in the grant program.

���� i.� The department may use
available monies to provide grants, singly or in combination, from the
following sources: any federal grants funds or other forms of non-State
financial assistance, which may be available to be used for the grant program;
the "Global Warming Solutions Fund," subject to the requirements of
P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-50) and any other applicable rule or regulation
concerning the use of the monies in the Global Warming Solutions Fund; any
appropriations made by the Legislature for the program; and any other sources
of available funding.� In awarding grants under the program, the department shall
expend any available federal funds or other forms of non-State financial
assistance before expending State funds.

���� 2.� The Secretary of
Agriculture shall adopt rules and regulations, in accordance with the
�Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as
necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.

���� 3.� There is appropriated from
the General Fund to the Department of Agriculture such sums as are necessary to
effectuate the purposes of this act.

���� 4.� This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes the Food
Recovery Infrastructure Grant Program (program) in the Department of
Agriculture (department).� The purpose of the program will be to award grants
to food recovery organizations to support food recovery organizations and assist
with the purchase of the equipment that is necessary to safely recover and
store food obtained from food donors.

���� The bill requires the
department to administer the program and make grants available to food recovery
organizations in this State to assist with the: costs of providing salaries,
wages, or compensation to the organization�s employees; overhead and general
administrative costs of the organization; and costs of purchasing eligible
equipment necessary to safely recover and store food obtained from food donors.

���� The bill requires the
department, in consultation with Office of the Food Security Advocate, to
develop an application by which a food recovery organization may apply for a
grant, and criteria by which to evaluate the applications received by the
department, and to select grant awardees from those applications.� The
department will provide notice of the availability of funding under the grant
program and make the application available on the department's Internet
website.

���� A food recovery organization
seeking to participate in the grant program will be required to submit an
application in a form and manner determined by the department.� A grant awarded
pursuant to the bill will be in an amount determined by the department, not to
exceed $50,000 and subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of
Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury.

���� The bill authorizes the
department to utilize any combination of available funding from various sources
to provide grants under the program.� In awarding grants under the program, the
department will expend any available forms of non-State financial assistance
before expending State funds.� The bill appropriates from the General Fund to
the Department of Agriculture such sums as are necessary to effectuate the
purposes of the bill.

���� In 2022, food banks in New
Jersey distributed over 125 million pounds of food and provided over 100
million meals through various feeding agencies, including soup kitchens, food
pantries, and shelters.� Each year the New Jersey Food Distribution Program
provides more than 40 million pounds of United States Department of Agriculture-donated
food commodities to over 1,000 recipient agencies and feeding programs.� It is
the sponsor�s belief that ensuring the proper storage and preservation of food
throughout the food recovery supply chain will result in the distribution of
fresher and more nutritious food to people in this State who are food insecure.