NJ S356

New Jersey Department of Agriculture would establish a program to purchase unsold produce from farmers at reasonable market prices when they cannot find other buyers, acting as a purchaser of last resort.

Purchased produce would be distributed to food banks, homeless shelters, senior citizen centers, adult day care centers, veterans organizations, and other nonprofit recipients providing food to the public.

The Department of Agriculture must establish criteria for farmer and recipient participation and operate the program in compliance with Department of Health food safety rules and guidelines.

The Secretary of Agriculture is required to include funding requests for the program in the department's annual budget.

The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment and requires the department to adopt necessary regulations through the Administrative Procedure Act.