Requires Departments of Agriculture and Education to cooperatively implement new "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative to promote and facilitate increased procurement and use of local and regional foods for school meals program purposes.

A4754

ASSEMBLY, No. 4754

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

Assemblywoman� SHAMA A. HAIDER

District 37 (Bergen)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires Departments of Agriculture and Education to
cooperatively implement new �Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food� initiative to
promote and facilitate increased procurement and use of local and regional
foods for school meals program purposes.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning
the procurement of local and regional
foods, food products, and ingredients for school meals program purposes,
amending P.L.2022, c.104, and supplementing chapter 33 of Title 18A of the New
Jersey Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� Section 1 of P.L.2022,
c.104 (C.18A:33-3.2) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1.��� As used in this chapter:

���� "Categorically
eligible" means that a student is homeless, is a migrant child, is a
runaway child, is a foster child, or is a Head Start child, as defined in 7
C.F.R. Part 245, or is receiving assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program
(TANF), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), or, to
the extent that the United States Department of Agriculture authorizes the
matching of Medicaid data to identify children who are eligible for free school
meals, is a participant in the Medicaid program, and which student, by virtue
of such status, is automatically eligible to be certified to receive free
school meals under the National School Lunch Program or the federal School
Breakfast Program, without first submitting an application or being subject to
the federal income verification requirements established by 7 C.F.R. Part 245.

���� "Community Eligibility
Provision" means a type of special assistance alternative, identified at 7
C.F.R. Part 245, pursuant to which the United States Department of Agriculture
provides reimbursement for free school meals that are provided by eligible,
high-poverty local educational agencies and schools that participate in both
the National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program.

���� "Eligible student"
means a student who is categorically eligible or income-eligible for one or
more subsidized school meals.

���� "Emergency meals
distribution program" means a program, established under section 1 of
P.L.2020, c.6 (C.18A:33-27.2), pursuant to which a school district is required
to provide subsidized school meals to eligible students, through designated distribution
sites, during any period in which a school in the district is subject to a
public health-related closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

���� "Federal School Breakfast
Program" means the federal reimbursement program, established under the
"Child Nutrition Act of 1966," 42 U.S.C. s.1771 et seq., 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
finance the establishment, maintenance, operation, and expansion of school
breakfast programs and facilitate the provision of free and reduced price
breakfasts to eligible students.

���� "Federally eligible for
free or reduced price meals" or "federally eligible" means that
a student is categorically eligible for free lunch under the National School
Lunch Program or for free breakfast under the federal School Breakfast Program,
or that the student satisfies federal income eligibility requirements, adopted
by the United States Department of Agriculture pursuant to 7 C.F.R. Part 245,
as is necessary to federally qualify for and receive free or reduced price
lunch under the National School Lunch Program or free or reduced price
breakfast under the federal School Breakfast Program.

���� "Federally ineligible for
free or reduced price meals" or "federally ineligible" means
that a student is not categorically eligible for, and fails to satisfy federal
income eligibility requirements, adopted by the United States Department of
Agriculture pursuant to 7 C.F.R. Part 245, as is necessary for the student to
federally qualify for and receive free or reduced price lunch under the
National School Lunch Program or free or reduced price breakfast under the
federal School Breakfast Program.

����
�Food service management
company� means a commercial enterprise or nonprofit organization that is or may
be contracted by a school food authority to manage the daily provision of
school meals, or any other aspect of a school meal service that is provided, to
students at one or more participating schools in the State.

���� "Income-eligible"
means that a student either satisfies federal income eligibility requirements,
adopted by the United States Department of Agriculture pursuant to 7 C.F.R.
Part 245, or satisfies State-level income eligibility requirements, set forth
in subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.1974, c.53 (C.18A:33-4) or subsection a.
of section 12 of P.L.2022, c.104 (C.18A:33-14a), as is necessary for the
student to qualify for and receive subsidized lunch under the National School
Lunch Program or subsidized breakfast under the federal School Breakfast
Program, on the basis of income.

���� "Low-income family"
means a family with an annual household income amounting to not more than 185
percent of the federal poverty level.

���� "Middle-income
family" means a family with an annual household income amounting to not
less than 186 percent, and not more than 224 percent, of the federal poverty
level.

���� "National School Lunch
Program" means the federal reimbursement program established under the
"Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act," 42 U.S.C. s.1751 et
seq., 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 finance the establishment, maintenance, operation, and
expansion of school lunch programs and facilitate the provision of free and
reduced price lunches to eligible students.

���� "Participating
school" means a public or nonpublic school that provides daily lunch to
enrolled students, through a school lunch program operated pursuant to the
National School Lunch Program, or that provides daily breakfast to enrolled
students, through a school breakfast program or breakfast after the bell
program operated pursuant to the federal School Breakfast Program, or both.

���� "Participating school
district or nonpublic school" means a public school district or a
nonpublic school that is required, or elects, to participate in the National
School Lunch Program, the federal School Breakfast Program, or both, as the case
may be.

���� "School breakfast
program" means a program that is established and operated by a public or
nonpublic school, in accordance with the requirements of the federal School
Breakfast Program and, in the case of a public school, in accordance with a plan
adopted pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2003, c.4 (C.18A:33-10) or section 6 of
P.L.2022, c.104 (C.18A:33-10.1), and pursuant to which the school offers daily
breakfasts to all enrolled students.

����
�School food authority�
means the entity that is responsible for providing, or for contracting with
appropriate food service management companies or third-party food service
vendors to provide, meal services to students at one or more participating
schools in the State, pursuant to, and for the purposes of, the National School
Lunch Program or federal School Breakfast Program, or both.

���� "School lunch
program" means a program that is established and operated by a school
district, or by a nonpublic school, in accordance with the requirements of the
National School Lunch Program and the provisions of section 1 of P.L.1974, c.53
(C.18A:33-4), and pursuant to which the district or nonpublic school offers
daily lunches to all students enrolled therein.

���� "Special assistance
alternative" means a special nutrition assistance alternative federal
reimbursement method that is authorized by the United States Department of
Agriculture, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. s.1759a and 7 C.F.R. Part 245, for eligible schools
that serve free meals to all enrolled students.� "Special assistance
alternative" includes Provision 2, Provision 3, and the Community
Eligibility Provision, as described in 7 C.F.R. Part 245, as well as any other
similar alternative reimbursement method that is authorized by the United
States Department of Agriculture, now or in the future, for schools that serve
free meals to all enrolled students.

���� "Student" means a
child 18 years of age or younger who is enrolled at a school in the State.

���� "Subsidized school
breakfast" or "subsidized breakfast" means a school breakfast
that is offered to an eligible student, free of charge, and the costs of which
are reimbursed by the State or federal government, as provided by subsections
a. and b. of section 12 of P.L.2022, c.104 (C.18A:33-14a).

���� "Subsidized school
lunch" or "subsidized lunch" means a school lunch that is
offered to an eligible student, free of charge, and the costs of which are
reimbursed by the State or federal government, as provided by subsections a.
and b. of section 1 of P.L.1974, c.53 (C.18A:33-4).

���� "Subsidized school
meals" or "subsidized meals" includes both subsidized school
breakfasts and subsidized school lunches.

���� "Subsidized school meals
application" means an application that identifies a student's annual
household income and is completed by the student's parent or guardian, pursuant
to section 16 of P.L.2022, c.104 (C.18A:33-21b1), subsection c. of section 1 of
P.L.2015, c.15 (C.18A:33-21), or applicable federal law, and which may be used
by a school district, or by a public school or nonpublic school, both for the
purposes of determining whether a student is income-eligible for subsidized
school meals and for the other limited purposes specified in subsection c. of
section 16 of P.L.2022, c.104 (C.18A:33-21b1).

���� "Subsidized school meals
certification process" or "subsidized meals certification" means
the process pursuant to which a school or school district obtains and reviews a
student's subsidized school meals application, or engages in the review of
other relevant documentation and materials pertaining to the student, as
necessary to determine whether the student is categorically eligible or
income-eligible for subsidized school meals under the National School Lunch
Program, or under the federal School Breakfast Program, or both.

���� "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.

���� "Summer meals
program" means the Summer Food Service Program, the Seamless Summer Option
authorized by 42 U.S.C. s.1761, or any other similar State or federal program
that is designed to ensure that children have access to nutritious meals during
the summer months and other planned periods of school closure.

���� "Unreimbursed costs"
means the costs of a school lunch or school breakfast, which costs are not
eligible for reimbursement from the federal government.

���� "Unsubsidized school
breakfast" or "unsubsidized breakfast" means a school breakfast
that is offered, upon the payment of a fee, to a student who is neither
categorically eligible nor income-eligible for subsidized breakfast, regardless
of whether such student remains income-eligible for subsidized school lunch
under the provisions of paragraph (4) of subsection a. of section 1 of
P.L.1974, c.53 (C.18A:33-4), and the cost of which breakfast is not
reimbursable by the State or federal government.

���� "Unsubsidized school
lunch" or "unsubsidized lunch" means a school lunch that is
offered, upon the payment of a fee, to a student who is not categorically
eligible or income-eligible for subsidized lunch, and the cost of which is not reimbursable
by the State or federal government.

(cf:� P.L.2023, c.336, s.1)

���� 2.��� (New section) a.� The
Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education, working in
consultation with one another, shall cooperatively establish and implement a
�Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food� initiative, not more than 180 days after the
effective date of this act.�

���� b.��� The purpose and goals
of the �Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food� initiative shall be to promote and
facilitate the increased and expanded procurement and use, by school food
authorities, food service management companies, and other third-party food
service vendors, for school meals program purposes, and the increased selection
by students, for daily consumption under the State�s school meals programs, of
locally and regionally produced foods, food products, and ingredients and,
particularly, foods, food products, and ingredients which are produced by local
farmers, local ranchers, and other local food producers or production systems
in New Jersey.� To that end, the initiative shall be designed to:

���� (1)�� raise Statewide
awareness about the availability, for school meals program purposes, of locally
and regionally produced foods, food products, and ingredients; particularly,
those foods, food products, and ingredients which are or have been produced by
farmers, by ranchers, or by other food producers or production systems in New
Jersey;

���� (2)�� facilitate the
collection and dissemination, to school food authorities, food service
management companies, and other third-party food service vendors, and to
students and the parents and guardians of students throughout the State,
through a centralized �Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food� online resource hub,
of comprehensive and consolidated information relevant to the procurement of
local and regional foods, food products, and ingredients, including, but not
limited to, information identifying:� (a) the various types of foods, food
products, and ingredients which are produced by local and regional farmers,
ranchers, and other food producers and production systems and, particularly, by
local farmers, local ranchers, and other local food producers and production
systems located in New Jersey, and which are available for procurement and use
by school food authorities, food service management companies, and other
third-party food service vendors under, and for the purposes of, the State�s
school meals programs; (b) the local and regional farmers, ranchers, and other
food producers or production systems, by name and location, which are current
and active participants in the State�s school meals programs, as well as the
specific types of foods, food products, and ingredients being procured
therefrom for school meals program purposes; and (c) the school food
authorities, food service management companies, and other third-party food
service vendors which are actively engaged in the procurement of foods, food
products, or ingredients from each local or regional farmer, rancher, and other
food producer or production system identified pursuant to subparagraph (b) of
this paragraph, as well as the name and location of each school served thereby
and the types of local and regional foods, food products, and ingredients being
procured for students at each such school;

���� (3)�� highlight and recognize,
during each month of each year, at least one local or regional farmer, rancher,
or other food producer or production system which has made significant
contributions to the State�s school meals programs, or which has utilized unique
or particularly effective or otherwise notable means to facilitate the
development or maintenance of economically productive relationships and
associated food procurement arrangements with school food authorities, food
service management companies, and other third-party food service vendors, as
necessary to facilitate the ongoing procurement and use of foods, food
products, and ingredients produced, by the local or regional farmer, rancher,
or food producer or production system, for school meals program purposes.� When
determining which farmers, ranchers, and food producers or production systems
to monthly recognize and highlight pursuant to, and for the purposes of, this
paragraph, preference shall be given to those local farmers, local ranchers,
and other local food producers and production systems which are located in New
Jersey;

���� (4)�� review and modify
existing State regulations adopted under, and for the purposes of, the State�s
school meals programs, as necessary to authorize and facilitate the use of
existing funds and other available resources for the purpose of promoting,
encouraging, and facilitating the development of more productive and
longer-term food procurement arrangements between school food authorities, food
service management companies, and local and regional farmers, ranchers, and
other food producers and production systems, particularly those located in New
Jersey; and

���� (5)�� take other appropriate
actions to promote, encourage, and facilitate the increased procurement and
use, by schools, school districts, school food authorities, food service
management companies, and other third-party food service vendors, and the
increased distribution to students, for school meals program purposes, of
foods, food products, and ingredients produced by local and regional farmers,
ranchers, and other food producers and food production systems, particularly
those located in New Jersey.

���� 3.��� The Secretary of
Agriculture and the Commissioner of Education shall each adopt rules and
regulations, in cooperation and consultation with each other and pursuant to
the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as
may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.� The rules and
regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall, at a minimum, define the
physical boundaries or identify other criteria to be used, by the Departments
of Agriculture and Education, and by school food authorities, food service
management companies, and other third-party food vendors throughout the State,
in determining whether food, food products, or ingredients are produced on a
local or regional basis, for the purposes of providing for the increased and
expanded procurement thereof, for school meals program purposes, pursuant to
section 2 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill).� Any definitions or boundaries established, pursuant to this
subsection, shall be consistent with relevant definitions and boundaries
established, by the United States Department of Agriculture or the United
States Department of Education, in association with the implementation of
federal farm-to-school initiatives.�

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill would require the
Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education, working in
cooperation and consultation with one another, to establish and implement a
�Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food� initiative, not more than 180 days after the
bill�s effective date.� The purpose and goals of the �Know Your Farmer, Know
Your Food� initiative would be to promote and facilitate the increased and
expanded procurement and use, by school food authorities, and by associated
food service management corporations and other third-party food vendors, for
school meals program purposes, and the increased selection by students, for
daily consumption under the State�s school meals programs, of locally and
regionally produced foods, food products, and ingredients, particularly, those
produced by farmers, ranchers, and other food producers or production systems
in New Jersey.�

���� This legislation is intended
both to increase student awareness regarding the availability and benefits of
procuring and consuming foods that are grown and produced, from the land, by
individual farmers, ranchers, and other food producers in the local and
regional area, and to encourage the increased purchasing and consumption, by
students, of these types of locally and regionally produced, land-derived
foods, as an alternative to other types of foods commonly sold by supermarkets,
corner stores, and drive-through establishments.� By putting a local face to
the food students are eating, the State can more directly show students the
benefits of eating locally and regionally grown foods, and can better
demonstrate how the use of money to purchase goods produced by such local and
regional farmers, ranchers, and other, similar land-based food producers can
ultimately help local communities thrive.