1. a. The Department of Agriculture shall authorize the establishment of food hubs in the State, and establish guidelines to assist and support farms and farmers seeking to belong to food hubs in their area of the State. The department, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt any rules and regulations necessary for the establishment and operation of food hubs.
b. As used in this section, "food hub" means a business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local or regional producers to strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail, and institutional demand.