North Jersey to share in $40M fund aimed at attracting grocers to underserved areas – NorthJersey.com
It may be the Garden State, but New Jersey has 50 “food deserts” in need of a $40 million annual carrot to attract businesses that can supply fresh fruits and vegetables to residents.
New Jersey’s Food Desert Relief Program will offer up to $240 million in tax credits, loans, grants and technical assistance over the next six years to attract providers to these 50 underserved areas.
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority estimates 1.5 million residents live in one of these so-called deserts, including 330,229 in Essex County, 133,609 in Passaic County and 10,478 in Morris County.
Fairview was the only Bergen County municipality to qualify, mostly because its 1,135 residents share a retail area with neighboring Hudson County, where an estimated 303,129 residents are underserved.
“Access is key,” said Susan Colacurcio, executive director of Fairview’s Franciscan Community Development Center, which feeds the food insecure. “These people don’t have cars, they can’t afford taxis or jitneys, so they have to be able to walk to the store. The stroller is the universal carrier. If there’s a child in the stroller, they carry less food per trip.”
The authority will issue participation regulations later this year, said CEO Tim Sullivan.
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A food desert is a geographic area where access to affordable, healthy food is limited or nonexistent because grocery stores that provide nutritious food such as fresh fruits and vegetables are too far away.
The New Jersey program is part of the Economic Recovery Act signed into law last January. The municipalities were given factor scores based on retail environment, demographics, economic and health indicators. Camden/Woodlynne had the worst overall access to healthful foods of the 50 chosen sites, with a score of 100. Montague Township in Sussex County scored 26.1. Passaic was worst in Passaic County, at 81.3. Fairview came in at 48.3.
In North Jersey the “desert” sites include:
- Bergen County: Fairview
- Passaic County: Passaic, Paterson, Prospect Park, Haledon, and Hawthorne
- Morris County: Dover
- Essex County: Newark, Irvington, East and West Orange, Orange and Montclair
- Sussex County: Montague
City Green in Clifton runs a variety of food-related programs, and is “following this very closely” said Jasmine Moreano, director of advocacy and community engagement.
“We think they’re on the right track, thinking outside the box,” Moreno said. “There are many variables to contribute to these areas, and the goals are to make food accessible and affordable.”
Moreno cited her own family experience struggling for access after a Pathmark closed in Paterson. It meant a bus trip to Fair Lawn’s ShopRite.
“There are many factors,” Moreno said. “Small stores need help buying refrigerators so they can keep fresh produce. Farmers market people need help with wireless terminals so they can process SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Access Program]. It’s a lot of little stuff like that that makes it prohibitive to set up in these areas.”
New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher cited the state’s 10,000 farms as hope for the future.
“We can, and must, leverage the ingenuity of our farmers and the resources made available through the Food Desert Relief Act to connect food insecure New Jerseyans with access to the fresh-grown fruits and vegetables grown at these farms,” Fisher said.
To view an interactive map of food deserts, click here.
Marsha Stoltz is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: stoltz@northjersey.com
Twitter: @marsha_stoltz