Directs Dept. of Agriculture to establish "Urban Gardening Pilot Program"; appropriates $100,000.

S3351

SENATE, No. 3351

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 5, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� SHIRLEY K. TURNER

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

SYNOPSIS

���� Directs Dept. of Agriculture to establish �Urban Gardening
Pilot Program�; appropriates $100,000.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning urban gardening 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:

���� "Applicant" means
any municipality or nonprofit organization applying for a grant pursuant to
this act.

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

���� "Low-income area"
means a census tract, as reported in the most recently completed decennial
census published by the United States Census Bureau, that has a poverty rate of
at least 20 percent or in which the median family income does not exceed 80
percent of the Statewide or metropolitan median family income, whichever is
greater.

���� �State-wide nonprofit
organization� or �nonprofit organization� means a charitable organization
serving qualified State residents and having operations throughout the State,
that is a corporation organized in the State operated exclusively for
charitable purposes under the "New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation Act,"
Title 15A of the New Jersey Statutes, and is exempt from federal income tax
under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code (26
U.S.C.s.501(c)(3)).

���� "Program" means the
�Urban Gardening Pilot Program� established pursuant to section 2 of this act.

���� �Urban area� means a
neighborhood in, or portion of, a city of the first class, second class, third
class, or fourth class in the State or a neighborhood in, or portion of, a
municipality eligible to receive State aid pursuant to P.L.1978, c.14 (C.52:27D-178
et seq.).

���� �Urban gardening� means
gardening in an urban area on land or in or on a building or the rooftop
thereof, where flowers, fresh produce, or other agricultural products are grown
or raised for consumption as food by traditional agricultural methods, in greenhouses
using the appropriate methods for these structures, or through the use of
aquaponics, hydroponics, or another nontraditional method of farming.� �Urban
gardening� shall not include the cultivation of marijuana for medicinal or any
other purpose.

���� 2.��� a.� The
department shall establish and administer a pilot program, to be known as the
�Urban Gardening Pilot Program,�
to improve local
neighborhood conditions in low-income areas of the State by providing three
qualified applicants with grants, of up to $35,000, to create an urban garden.
The department shall identify no fewer than three projects
in different low-income areas of the State that the department considers to be
appropriate for the pilot program.� The department shall operate the pilot
program for three consecutive years. The grants shall be used by qualified
applicants to establish an urban garden in a low-income area of the State.� The
goal of the urban garden shall be to improve local neighborhood conditions and
integrate residents of diverse communities.�

���� b.��� In
establishing and implementing the program, the department may enter into
agreements with local agencies, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and
individuals for funds in order to leverage its grants with funds from such
entities.� The terms and conditions of any agreements for funds shall be
determined by the department.

���� 3.��� a.�
The department shall provide grants to three applicants determined to be
qualified by the department to participate in the program, in accordance with
the criteria set forth in this section.� Three qualified applicants shall be
awarded a grant of up to $35,000 each, which shall be used by the applicant
over the three-year pilot program established pursuant to this act.

���� b.��� In
order to receive a grant from the department pursuant to this act, the
applicant shall meet the following requirements:

���� (1)�� the
applicant shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department that the
applicant has access to an urban area upon which a viable urban garden may be
established;

���� (2)�� the
applicant shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department that the
urban garden is to be located within a low-income area of the State; and

���� (3)�� the
applicant shall demonstrate that the applicant has or will have a contractual
relationship with an agronomist or with a qualified individual from the New
Jersey Cooperative Extension Service to teach local residents how to plant and
cultivate fresh produce or other agricultural products for consumption as food
in the urban garden.

���� c.���� In
determining the criteria for qualifying applicants for grants, the department
shall consider:

���� (1)�� the
degree to which the program will advance local community goals for improving
the neighborhood and integrating residents of different ethnic backgrounds;

���� (2)�� the
level of financial and other participation provided by the applicant or by
local and economic development agencies, county government entities, for-profit
and nonprofit organizations, or lending institutions.

���� d.��� An
applicant shall, as a condition of receiving a grant pursuant to this act,
commit to:

���� (1)�� using
the grant for an urban garden only; and

���� (2)�� complying
with any other criteria established by the department.

���� e.
���� The
department shall review each complete application and approve three applications
that meet the requirements of this section and any other criteria adopted by
the department.

����
f.���� A
grant shall be made by the department in the manner the department establishes,
subject to the terms and conditions considered appropriate by the department
that are consistent with the purposes of this act.

���� 4.���
No
later than three years after the effective date of this act, the Secretary of
Agriculture shall prepare and submit a written report to the Governor and,
pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature
summarizing the activities and findings of the program, providing information
on whether the program provided benefits to the local communities, evaluating
the
effectiveness of urban gardening in low-income areas as a means of improving
the conditions in the neighborhood and

integrating
residents of different ethnic backgrounds
, and providing
recommendations for legislative action, including whether or not to make the
program permanent.

���� 5.�� There is appropriated to
the Department of Agriculture the sum of $100,000 from the General Fund in
order to implement the provisions of this act. The department may retain an
amount for administrative costs and transaction fees not to exceed 5 percent of
the appropriated funds.

���� 6.��� This act shall take
effect immediately, and shall expire upon the submittal by the department of
the report required pursuant to section 4 of this act.

STATEMENT

���� The bill establishes in the
Department of Agriculture, the
�Urban Gardening Pilot
Program,� to provide grants to three qualified applicants to establish an urban
garden in a low-income area of the State. The bill requires the department to
award three qualified applicants a grant of up to $35,000 each, which the
applicant will use for an urban garden for the three-year pilot program.� The
goal of the urban garden is to improve the local neighborhood conditions and
integrate residents of diverse communities.� The bill requires an agronomist or
a qualified individual from the New Jersey Cooperative Extension Service to
teach local residents how to plant and cultivate fresh produce or other
agricultural products for consumption as food in the urban garden.

���� Within
three years after the effective date of this bill, the Secretary of Agriculture
would be required to prepare and submit a written report to the Governor and to
the Legislature summarizing the activities and findings of the program. The
report would provide information on whether the program provided benefits to
the local communities, evaluate
the effectiveness of urban gardening in
low-income areas as a means of improving the neighborhood
and
integrating residents of different ethnic
backgrounds
, and provide recommendations for
legislative action, including whether or not to make the program permanent.

����
The
bill appropriates $100,000 to the Department of Agriculture from the General
Fund in order to provide grants to three qualified applicants as required under
the bill.�