City Green Receives $131,000 in New Jersey State Funding to Advance the Good Food Bucks Program
City Green is pleased to announce that it has been selected to receive a $131,000 grant through the New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate’s (OFSA) New Jersey Food System Enhancements Program (FSEP). This funding will support an expansion of the Good Food Bucks program, a project that will increase the purchasing power of WIC FMNP and Senior FMNP participants when buying fresh fruits and vegetables from participating farm-direct retailers throughout New Jersey.
FSEP invests in projects expanding community-based food infrastructure and market channel creation, aligned with Focus Area 2 of the New Jersey Food Security Strategic Plan. By supporting community-rooted food infrastructure, local market development, and innovative food system partnerships, the funds will help build a more resilient, equitable, and regionally grounded food economy. OFSA awarded a total of five FSEP grants statewide. City Green congratulates the entire cohort of awardees and looks forward to working in collaboration with them toward a food system that works for more people.
With this grant, City Green will expand the reach of the Good Food Bucks nutrition incentive program by distributing incentives to a new customer base for additional participants using WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (Senior FMNP) benefits at participating farm-direct retail partners across New Jersey. By extending the program beyond SNAP incentives to now include WIC FMNP and Senior FMNP participants statewide, more New Jersey households will be able to access affordable, fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables in their communities.
The Good Food Bucks program is inextricably linked to our partnerships with food retailers, especially our network of farm-direct retailers. We also rely on municipal and state government agencies like the NJ Department of Health and county Offices on Aging to promote the program and communicate the information to nutrition benefit recipients. The program also supports our local farm economy by increasing farm-fresh food sales through the redemption of FMNP and Good Food Buck incentive dollars.
The project will focus on communities all throughout New Jersey, supporting purchasing opportunities for households with limited food budgets and benefiting participating farmers through increased sales and stronger connections to local consumers.
“The impact of Good Food Buck nutrition incentives has been made clear in the last decade – improved food security and fresh food consumption for program users, and more sales for our small, local farmers. This project will amplify those benefits by doubling the value of nutritious food dollars for even more New Jerseyans who experience limited healthy food access, including older adults, women, and children,” said Lisa Martin, Director of Food Access at City Green.
"Good Food Bucks is a great program for our community,” said Shanna Cole, Food Program Manager & Assistant Market Manager at the Highland Park Farmers Market. “It expands access to high-quality farm fresh produce to those who might otherwise not be able to afford it. Customers often tell us how grateful they are for Good Food Bucks, and we are proud participants of the program. We believe in the program's mission that everyone deserves access to fresh, nutritious, local food."
City Green has begun implementation as of June 2026 and expects to expand access to FMNP and Senior FMNP doubling at farm-direct retail sites.
About City Green
City Green is a 501(c)3 nonprofit farming and gardening organization, based in Clifton, New Jersey. Our programs offer practical, technical and financial resources to foster equitable access to local food and green spaces, in support of sustainable, healthy communities.
City Green envisions livable, green urban communities that are socially, economically and environmentally rejuvenated. Because of the community garden and greening projects carried out by the community with the help of City Green, residents have access to bountiful fresh produce; youth have volunteer, work and leadership opportunities in the community; and neighborhoods have welcoming, safe, natural respites that are a focal point for sociability, community involvement, cultural expression and individual empowerment.
About OFSA
The New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate (OFSA) is currently the only food security advocacy office in the United States that is placed in the highest level of state government, the Governor’s Office. Under the leadership of the Governor and Speaker Craig J. Coughlin, legislation was drafted to create OFSA in 2021 to transform the state’s approach to food security through systems change, collaboration, and data-driven action, and the office began its work in September 2022. The office focuses its work in four areas: supporting state agencies in conducting food security work, supporting the advancement of policy aligned with ongoing food security work, collaborating with the philanthropic sector, and supporting and participating in community-driven food security work. Guided by its mandate to coordinate statewide efforts and address unmet needs, OFSA convened partners across sectors to co-develop and release the New Jersey Food Security Strategic Plan in February 2026. By design, OFSA’s first-ever funding initiatives, including ROOTED, support efforts to ensure all New Jerseyans can better access, afford, and utilize nourishing food with dignity, stability, and choice now and for generations to come.
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