Please sign the Letter to Protect New Jersey’s Urban Agriculture, Horticulture, Green Spaces, and Food Systems!
*By signing below, you add your name or organization's name to this letter.*
An open letter to:
The Honourable Paul Sarlo The Honourable Linda R. Greenstein Deputy Majority Leader Assistant Majority Leader Chairman of Senate Budget and Vice-Chair of Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Appropriations Committee 496 Columbia Boulevard, First Floor 1249 South River Road, Suite 105 Wood-Ridge, New Jersey 07075 Cranbury, New Jersey 0851
The Honourable Craig J. Coughlin The Honourable Eliana Pintor Marin Assembly Speaker Assembly Budget Chair State Leasing and Space Utilization Chairman of Budget Committee Committee 263 Lafayette Street, 1st Floor, 569 Rahway Avenue Woodbridge, Newark, New Jersey 07105 New Jersey 07095
The Honourable William W. Spearman The Honourable Assemblywoman Assemblyman Chair Shanique Speight Commerce & Economic Development Committee Deputy Speaker of the Assembly
608 North Broad Street, Suite 200, Chair of the Aging and Human Services Committee Woodbury, New Jersey 07102 50 Park Place, Lobby 5 , Newark, New Jersey,
We, the undersigned, support the development of Bill S4350 /A4795 as sponsored by Senator Shirley Turner and Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds Jackson to authorize Garden State Preservation Trust 37 to encourage and expand urban agriculture throughout the state of New Jersey. Urban agriculture is an important part of communities across the state. Community gardens, urban farms, and other agricultural spaces increase access to fresh, locally grown food while promoting biodiversity, sustainability, and stronger, more resilient neighborhoods. Urban agriculture also strengthens food security by allowing residents to grow and access fresh fruits and vegetables, reducing grocery costs, and providing an additional source of food when traditional supply chains are disrupted by economic, climate-related, or other emergencies.
In addition, urban agriculture promotes food sovereignty by giving communities greater control over how food is grown, distributed, and accessed. Community gardens and urban farms allow residents to participate directly in decisions about what is grown, how land is used, and how food is shared within their neighborhoods.
New Jersey has a number of urban agriculture organizations in Paterson, Elizabeth, Newark, Trenton, Camden, Atlantic City, and numerous other cities across the state actively working to support the transformation of underused urban spaces into agricultural revolutions. We are asking for your cosponsorship which will allow organizations to achieve the overall mission of successful urban agriculture. Urban agriculture needs your support now!
What The Bill Will Do:
Create an Urban Agriculture Preservation Program: Allow the Garden State Preservation Trust to acquire urban land for agricultural and horticultural use through purchases, development easements, and conservation restrictions.
Prioritize Small Urban Parcels: Establish eligibility criteria and an application process, with priority given to small parcels suitable for farming and horticulture.
Lease Preserved Land for Farming: Allow State-owned land to be competitively leased to qualified parties for agricultural and horticultural purposes.
Designate Urban Agriculture Areas: Require the Trust to identify urban areas based on population density, development, and land-use characteristics and establish rules to implement the program.
Dedicate Funding for Urban Agriculture: Create the Preserve New Jersey Urban Agriculture and Horticulture Fund, including an initial $25 million allocation and 5% of annual Preserve New Jersey Fund revenues thereafter.
Fund Stewardship & Climate Resilience: Establish grants covering up to 90% of eligible project costs for soil health, climate resiliency, erosion control, and other stewardship activities.
Support Land Acquisition & Administration: Allow fund resources to support land preservation, stewardship grants, and necessary administration, with administrative costs capped at 15%.
Expand Local Open-Space Funding: Allow counties and municipalities to use their open-space trust funds to acquire and steward urban land for agricultural and horticultural purposes.
