Budget Testimony for Local Food Systems
Good afternoon Chairwoman and members of the Committee. I am speaking on behalf of the New Jersey Food Democracy Collaborative, a network of hundreds food justice and sustainable agriculture organizations and businesses. We convene the NJ Food System Policy Council.
I am here today to request the Legislature to include funding in the next budget for the Department of Agriculture to operate a Farm to Pantry local food purchasing program, modeled on the highly-successful federal Local Food Purchase Assistance program, with key improvements designed for the New Jersey landscape.
From 2022 to 2025, The State was in a Cooperative Agreement with USDA to implement the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, known as LFPA. Before the program was abruptly cancelled in 2025, more than 100 New Jersey farmers were operating under LFPA purchase orders, creating new or expanded relationships between local food pantries and farms in their communities — 47 percent of participating farmers were historically underserved producers. New Jersey farmers were paid $18.9 million for food grown and raised in our state,
National evaluations show that LFPA has generated over $1.5 billion in economic impact in local food economies while creating new market opportunities for farmers. When the program ended, New Jersey lost federal funding, which would have generated more than $16.9 million in economic impact for our state.
When farms sell product, they hire workers, buy equipment, purchase seed and supplies, and spend money locally. When farmers have reliable local markets – like schools, emergency food institutions and health care institutions, they can remain in their communities providing short- and long-term food security for our state.
Every farmer we work with will tell you the same thing: LFPA was a gamechanger for their business. It provided the stable institutional market that allowed farm businesses to scale production, hire workers, and plan.
Last fall, the Legislature provided $6 million to the Department of Agriculture to create a Farm-to-Pantry grant program to replace and improve upon LFPA. But during the government shutdown SNAP crisis last October, that funding was redirected to meet emergency food demands. That was going to launch a state program designed to reach small and mid-sized farms and historically underserved farms that are often excluded from traditional food bank purchasing systems because of price, volume, or logistical barriers.
We respectfully request the Legislature include meaningful funding in the budget for a Department of Agriculture Farm-to-Pantry purchasing program, as dozens of other states have done. Few investments do as much at once: keeping farms in business, strengthening local supply chains, and ensuring that New Jersey-grown food reaches families across our state who need it most. Thank you.
