BUSE Farmer Working Group Letter to NJDA
New Jersey Food Democracy Collaborative
Beginner, Urban, Small-Scale, and Emerging (BUSE) Producers Working Group
PO Box 446, Haddonfield, NJ 08033
fooddemocracycollabnj@gmail.com
Jun 10, 2025
NJ State Board of Agriculture
Attn: David DeFrange
New Jersey Department of Agriculture
P.O. Box 330
Trenton, NJ 08625-0330
Dear Honorable Members of the NJ State Board of Agriculture,
On behalf of the Beginner, Urban, Small-Scale, and Emerging (BUSE) Producers Working Group of the New Jersey Food Democracy Collaborative (NJFDC), we write to express our strong interest in supporting the implementation of the “Urban Agriculture” resolution adopted at the 2025 NJ Board of Agriculture Convention.The resolution calls on the New Jersey Department of Agriculture to “facilitate a working group of pertinent organizations with experience and expertise in the subject, develop a comprehensive strategic plan that recognizes the importance of urban agriculture and sets priorities for supporting current and emerging urban farmers.”
We believe our Working Group represents exactly the type of collaborative body envisioned by this resolution and respectfully request to be included in this effort. The BUSE group requests to know the current status of this resolution – whether or not this working group has been initiated.
Since 2021, NJFDC has convened an Urban Farmer Workgroup, which evolved in 2023 into the current BUSE Farmer Working Group. Our members represent a diverse cross-section of stakeholders—urban farm practitioners, community-based nonprofits, academic institutions, private businesses, local and state government, and statewide advocacy organizations. Collectively, we bring deep experience and knowledge in:
- Urban food production and growing
- Navigating local zoning and land use policies
- Land ownership and access, including “adapt-a-lot” models
- Legal structures for urban farms (nonprofit and for-profit)
- Community organizing and engagement
- Partnerships with local government and the private sector
- Education, workforce development, and job training
- Market access for small-scale and urban producers
Current Working Group members are:
| NOFA-NJ | Foodshed Alliance | North Jersey RC&D | Newark Science and Sustainability |
| Urban Agriculture Cooperative | The Urban Health Coalition of NJ | Apiary in the Sky | Rutgers Cooperative Extension |
| Unaffiliated individuals with research and lived experience with urban agriculture | Food Recovery Network | NJ Black Farmers Collaborative | Parkside Roots to Prevention |
| Pinelands Preservation Alliance | Al-Munir Farms | C.R.O.P.S. NJ | City of Newark |
| Participating/Non-members: NJDA from Next Gen Farmers PRogram and Underserved Farmer Network, USDA NRCS | |||
In 2022, our group developed the attached “Priority Policy Solutions for Urban Farming in NJ,” which has guided our education and advocacy efforts with legislators and partners. Additionally, in 2024, NJFDC launched a municipal policy research project to document and analyze urban agriculture zoning and permitting across 12 New Jersey cities. We are collaborating with the Vermont Law School’s Center for Agriculture and Food Systems to share key resources, including Zoning for Urban Agriculture, which we recently featured in a webinar for NJ stakeholders on April 14. Earlier this year, we also joined over a dozen partner organizations in co-signing a letter to the Office of the Food Security Advocate (OFSA), urging that the state’s forthcoming strategic plan for food security address the unique challenges facing urban growers.
We welcome the opportunity to share our ongoing research and policy recommendations with NJDA, as we are a highly engaged group of practitioners in the urban and small-scale agriculture space in NJ, and to serve as a resource and partner in developing a comprehensive and inclusive strategic plan for urban agriculture in New Jersey.
Thank you for your leadership and attention to this vital sector of our state’s food system. We look forward to your response and the opportunity to collaborate.
Sincerely,
Bilal Walker
Co-Chair, BUSE Producers Working Group
New Jersey Food Democracy Collaborative
almunirconsulting@gmail.com
CC: Secretary Ed Wengryn, NJDA
Linda Walker, NJDA
Enclosure: Priority Policy Solutions for Urban Farming in NJ