Coronavirus New Jersey: Proposed Bill Would Allow State To Purchase Crops From Struggling Farmers, Donate It To Food Banks
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- New Jersey is a national coronavirus hot spot. While the number of new cases is flattening, officials say there are 1 million people out of work.
The state is taking new steps to help those out of work.
Deaths associated with nursing homes and other long-term care facilities now make up more than half of the nearly 9,000 COVID-19 casualties in New Jersey.
In the latest effort to help, 120 members of the New Jersey National Guard are being assigned to work at the facilities.
"We don't take this step lightly but we take it knowing that the crisis in our long-term care facilities requires us to take it," Gov. Phil Murphy said.
While again refusing to give a timeline on reopening nonessential businesses, Murphy reiterated his awareness that there is a COVID-19 economic crisis happening alongside the health one.
To date, New Jersey has received more than 1 million unemployment claims in the last two months. Labor officials say while more than 90% of claims are processed in less than two weeks, about 300 claimants are waiting for answers right now.
The state Labor Department is launching new online tools and bringing on hundreds of new unemployment processing staff.
"Thousands of workers in our department have not stopped working to get you the help that you deserve," Department of Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said.
Officials say many New Jersey farmers are also facing unprecedented hardships, needing to destroy their crops, eggs and dairy products rather than pay workers to harvest for a floundering produce market.
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State Sen. Michael Testa, from Vineland, is sponsoring a bill to allot $1 million to purchase crops from local farmers and donate the products to food banks.
"We are the Garden State and I think the smaller pool of individuals or farms or food banks that are interested in these programs, they can go right to their local farms and it would streamline the process greatly in my opinion," Testa said.
Sen. Testa's bill to help farmers is in its infancy and would supplement the new $19 billion federal food assistance program that began last month.
