5. a. The department shall work with participating municipalities to identify and recruit appropriate and qualified persons to serve as vendors to provide fresh produce for sale to residents in urban food desert communities in participating municipalities.
b. In implementing subsection a. of this section, the department shall use to the maximum extent practicable in-State produce farmers, collaborative farmers' organizations, or private, non-profit, or governmental entities that are engaged in fresh produce rescue efforts, such as the New Jersey Agricultural Society in its "Farmers Against Hunger" program and the New Jersey Federation of Food Banks, which is the network of food banks which exist in New Jersey. The department shall encourage the State's produce farmers and other entities to participate in the initiative as fresh mobile vendors.
The department shall make reasonable efforts to ensure, through the adoption of appropriate regulatory requirements or otherwise, that a consistent, year-round supply of reasonably priced fresh produce, sufficient to satisfy the fresh produce needs of residents in the urban food desert communities in the participating municipalities, will be made available by the fresh mobile vendors recruited to participate in the pilot program. In the event that in-State produce farmers are unable to meet the needs of residents in the designated communities, the secretary may recruit out-of-State produce farmers to meet those needs.